Yesterday while browsing around a new weblog I found I came across this statement/question. I must admit I have a similar question. What areas of java pay more or are in more demand? And I wonder that not in the traditional role (architect/VP/Sr Developer/Jr Developer) type thing, but in a specialized knowledge type thing. Crowbar seems to indicate that developers who develop Swing apps are paid less just because of that skill. I certianly hope not since I've been kind of backed into that role through chance, but fortunately the stuff I did is provable magic and not simple VB form builder stuff. Another local guy got loads of contract work just because he let his contract handler know he was playing around with web services. It's not like he only knew how to spell "Whisdel," he actullay had some good knowledge to back it up, but sometimes it makes wonder if Buzzword Bingo is the way to job security. That and the experience we had with some (not all) of the contractors we used to use proved that just because you can monkey around with J2EE middleware doesn't mean you are worth one tenth of the money that is spent on you. So I throw this question out to the blogshpere... Where's the $$ in Java at?
Comments (4)
Danno;
Crowbar wants to expound on our statements regarding Swing development. We will make it short and sweet, since as you may know, we are busy rewriting the Air Traffic Control System.
Our observation has been that sub-par server side development is commonly overlooked as it is not immediately evident to the end user. For example, it is a common anti-pattern to load a JDBC driver and make a connection for every request to the server, yet it is quite possible that users may not notice this problem.
On the other hand, a Swing user interface with an equivalent problem would be immediately experienced and in accumulation would make the application unacceptable.
Our point is that the barrier to excelence is much higher developing Swing than it is developing backend services, and consequently, the number of applications based on Swing that are considered crap are higher, per capita (or applica ?) than for panzy Servlet & JSP apps.
Excelent Swing is a rare and precious commodity, and at Crowbar, we wish it was otherwise, but we appreciate it all the same.
Posted by The Crowbar In Chief | February 13, 2003 9:16 AM
Posted on February 13, 2003 09:16
I think you're right about web services (which usually means SOAP, UDDI, WSDL), that was my experience during my last round of interviews.
Posted by Steve Conover | February 13, 2003 9:33 AM
Posted on February 13, 2003 09:33
I think J2EE and/or EJB skills will pay you best.
Posted by Mats Henricson | February 13, 2003 10:53 AM
Posted on February 13, 2003 10:53
> I think J2EE and/or EJB skills will pay you best.
I can't wait until that's all over. We all see the EJB backlash starting, I just wish it'd play out faster.
Posted by Steve Conover | February 13, 2003 10:59 AM
Posted on February 13, 2003 10:59