Java developers are not a dime a dozen. Given the rapid pace of technological change and the ever-expanding scope of the job market, they’re a hot commodity in today’s competitive tech industry. That’s why your team needs to get serious about finding qualified candidates and hiring the best Java developers.
Finding the best Java developer might seem like a lot of work, but we’re here to make it easy. We’ve done all the research for you, and this practical guide will suggest to you the basics needed to hire the perfect candidates for your Java development role.
What is Java and Why Should You Care?
Java is among top-6 programming languages for developing apps and websites, according to Statista. However, Java development is a complex process because of the many components that need to be in place to allow for the smooth operation of applications. This process also requires code testing and debugging and the installation of various frameworks, libraries, and plugins. The Android platform, for example, requires Java and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to run.
Here are some reasons why companies choose Java over other languages:
- Reliability: Java has built-in security mechanisms to help prevent memory leaks, buffer overflows, and other issues. It also has robust logging capabilities and a runtime that is completely updatable.
- Open source: Java is an open-source language that is freely licensed, and thousands of developers use it across various projects. This open-source structure means bugs get fixed easily at any time.
- Community: Java has a vibrant community of programmers, developers, and contributors. This community encourages sharing experiences, troubleshooting problems, and developing new ideas.
- Deployment: Java does not require any pre-startup code to run in an application. It also has a multi-threaded runtime that allows for multi-threading deployment.
- Cross-platform: Java has a reputation as being one of the best cross-platform programming languages. As a result, Java and its frameworks can be used in almost any environment and operating system, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
So, if you plan to hire the best Java developers for your project, you must first understand what skills and experience they will need.
Java Developer Best Skills
With Java being one of the most prevalent programming languages, there still needs to be more candidates. And the reason is simple: it’s a highly in-demand tech skill and not easy to learn.
Let’s look at the candidate’s job profile you might be seeking.
Coding Skills
The best developers will have strong coding skills. They know how to program in Java and should be able to grab the source code of any open-source library they find online and edit it accordingly.
Java Frameworks
Depending on the technical side of your project, you should find candidates experienced in using any of the following Java frameworks: Spring, Google Web Toolkit, Grails, Wicket, Vaadin, and the Play framework.
REST APIs
Good Java developers will know how to create REST APIs for existing modules and integrations. They’ll be able to easily create HTTP requests, parse JSON and XML responses, insert the data into your database or send it to an external application.
Data Structures
Inevitably, you’ll be reporting data back to your application’s users. The best Java software developers will know how to create the correct data structures to store that data, search for it, sort it and filter it. They’ll be able to create a tree-based hash table or a simple linked list.
Distributed Systems
The best Java developers should also have some experience in distributed systems. For example, they should know how to deploy a server-side application on a Java EE application server, or they should be able to write and run a cloud-based service.
Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms
Java is often used for AI applications, as it’s a great platform for developing machine learning algorithms. So, you’ll want to make sure that the candidates you’re considering know how to create rules, perform fuzzy logic, and apply mathematical operations to train artificial neural networks. You might want to learn more about hiring AI developers.
Top 5 Places to Find and Hire Talented Java Developers
It is a tricky question: where to look for the best Java developers?
While it might be tempting to just put up an advertisement on LinkedIn, you should know that Java programmers are in high demand and are more likely to be well-paid than most other software developers.
So, where should you look?
Here are some great places to find candidates for your Java job opening.
1) LinkedIn recruiting
LinkedIn’s hiring platform has been a great place to seek candidates and recruit top Java talent for years. Here are a few steps to push your Java programmer search on LinkedIn:
- create your company’s LinkedIn career page;
- post and update Java job openings;
- post and share the jobs in your own and your colleagues’ LinkedIn feed;
- run LinkedIn jobs ads;
- subscribe to LinkedIn Jobs + Recruiter.
2) Job boards
The job boards are still a great tool, but finding suitable Java candidates is more challenging, and there might be a lot of noise on these sites. An excellent place to start is with the following job boards and community websites:
- StackOverflow
- ITJobPro
- Indeed Prime
- Dice
- Glassdoor
3) Third-party recruitment
You can outsource your recruitment efforts to a third-party agency that finds Java software developers and other software engineers. They’ll do the hard work for you, vetting applicants and conducting interviews to find the perfect match for your Java developer role.
4) Freelance marketplaces
If working with freelance Java developers is an appropriate option for your tech project, you should look into remote hiring platforms such as Upwork, Toptal, and Guru. Finding talented developers for virtually any programming language or technology is one of the top benefits of using a freelance marketplace. However, the weak side is that this process might be challenging and time-consuming.
5) In-house recruitment
As the name suggests, in-house recruitment means that you’ll work with your existing IT talent to find, train and relocate potential Java engineers in your company. It is a meaningful option if you’re making a strategic move or are planning to stabilize your organization’s technology stack.
How Much to Pay American Java Developers in 2022?
As Indeed suggests, you should expect to pay at least $105,000 yearly, the national average salary of Java developers in the United States.
There are several Java developer salaries benchmarks that you should consider.
- Experience. A Java engineer with 3 to 5 years of programming experience will earn $115,000 a year.
- Location. Cities like San Francisco, New York, and Washington D.C. are among the highest-paying markets, where a Java developer can earn $125,000 a year.
- Seniority. Senior developers earn more, from $130,000 to $150,000 a year.
- Technology skills. Java developers with expertise in cloud technologies, big data, artificial intelligence, and customer software development tend to earn 20% more than the median Java developer salary in the United States.
Many American companies hire Mexican or Canadian Java developers as the salaries in those countries are lower. For instance, the average pay of Mexican Java developers is $100,000, while their Canadian counterparts make $72,000 a year. So, when you hire nearshore Java developers, you save up to 30% of your payroll budget compared to local talent.
Wrapping up
There are many options available to find great Java developers for your project. This article has looked at some of the best ways to find and hire good Java developers. We’ve also explored deciding on a salary for your new hires.
An excellent way to find the best Java developers for your project is to start with a comprehensive Java developer job posting and post your Java jobs on LinkedIn. Then, use the in-person recruiting approach to speak with candidates.
A worthwhile alternative to hiring Java developers in-house is outsourcing your recruitment efforts to third-party consulting companies like Intersog, which specializes in talent hiring. You will be able to save both your time and money by working with Intersog, which has strong relationships with local, nearshore, and offshore IT talent.