Members of Gen Z will have no personal experience of life before the dawn of the digital age. However, South Africans born in the ’60s are sure to recall depending on snail mail and landlines to communicate, and when the only way to keep up to date with current events was to read a newspaper. Today we enjoy the convenience of email, smartphones, PC games and instant access to all manner of information via Google and Wikipedia. However, the vital role played by java courses in preparing those who made the digital revolution possible is perhaps somewhat less well-known.
Few areas of our daily lives have not been made simpler by software. How would we have fared during the more restrictive periods of lockdown when many were forced to work from home and endure a form of self-imposed house arrest? Zoom calls, Skype and WhatsApp, enabled us to cooperate with colleagues and management and receive and submit assignments. Online shopping, banking and streaming channels helped keep us fed and entertained due to the skills learned from java courses and similar IT training by the engineers and programmers responsible for developing and maintaining these systems.
As is the case in many other branches of technology, progress in computerisation has been accelerating, with new applications finding their way to consumers almost daily. However, although some things gain popularity only to fade into obscurity a while later, others manage to retain and even extend their usefulness. A classic example of the latter category is the powerful cross-platform programming language developed by Sun Microsystems and first released in 1995. Today, more than a quarter of a century later, java courses are still attracting more learners than most other IT training programmes.
The explanation for this language’s continued universal popularity is easy to understand. A developer needs only to write the code once, and it will be ready to run on any digital device, from a PC, laptop or tablet to a smartphone or gaming console. There are now more smartphones on the planet than people, and computer gaming has become a billion-dollar industry. Both sectors offer lucrative employment opportunities for those with the appropriate programming skills. Signing up for some java courses could well be the best way to elevate your position on these industries’ shortlists.
While a degree in information technology may be impressive, practical skills and imagination are in high demand. Many of the more useful or entertaining apps we enjoy today are not the work of graduates. Instead, they were developed by enthusiasts who gained their abilities through self-study or short training courses and practical skills by applying their knowledge for personal amusement. Furthermore, the decision to study programming need not limit a learner to a future as an employee. Attending java courses could also provide the foundation for the more entrepreneurial types to launch their own businesses.
Are you worried that you don’t have the time? geeks4learning is dedicated to advancing those with the ambition to achieve more. As a learner, you have the opportunity to master the fundamentals of this versatile programming language with just six weeks of part-time study. Why not talk to the geeks4learning experts about which of their java courses might best suit your career goals.
