Need some help.

[John Seminall]

Hi Everyone, thanks for reading my post.
I am somewhat new to Java, I have just completed my second college level class in this language (We used the Dietel and Dietel book). My question is, what should I read next to help me get a job? I am somewhat depressed that most positions are for "Senior Developers", and there are no "Junior Programmer" positions in my neck of the woods. What happened to the IT market? The whole reason I decided to take these two classes was in the hopes that I could get a job. I really need some good advice on what to read to help me get competitive.
Also, all my previous coursework was with J2SE and not J2EE. The only other Java related technology I have worked with is Tomcat and some JSP (in the form of a basic website which takes a login and checks it against a mySQL database). Is there a huge differance between J2SE and J2EE, and what is a good way to pick up some of the knowledge. If you have specific books in mind, please list them.
I am desperate to find a job. Otherwise it is back to a data entry. Please help!
Thank you all so much and God Bless!

[Tom Purl]

There really isn't a book that will get you a job. If you can take more classes that involve J2EE or JSP or anything like that it will help. However, when you're about to graduate from college, the best thing you can do is try to get good grades and work on your interviewing skills.
Why do either of those matter in the real world? They don't, but it's what college recruiters are looking for. The good news is that after working for a couple of years, all they care about is competence and experience (real or perceived).
One thing you may want to ask yourself when you look at how cruddy the tech market is right now is whether or not you really enjoy developing software. If you're just in this for the big money or the job security, then quit now because both of those are *very* hard to come by in this industry for any decent length of time. And while the market may improve a little in the near future, it will always be a faily tough and uncertain field.
However, if (like myself) you really enjoy creating software then keep trying and good luck! Remember that your first job probably won't be your job forever, so don't worry too much if it's not perfect. Also, it's always good to round out your skill set a bit if you can't get a Java coding job. I've done it in the past and it's definitely made me more marketable.
Hope that helps!

[John Seminall]

Thanks Tom,
My main worry is the lack of positions for entry level Java programmers. According to Dice and Monster, all the job openings near me are for "Senior J2EE Project Leaders". I obviosuly do not have the work experiance they are asking for, and there are no entry level job postings. The college I attended does not offer any other Java classes outside of the two courses I completed. I was thinking, if I could get a topic or two most often wanted by buisnesses from the J2EE, I would get a book and attempt to write code at home. I have a small LAN set up, so I could emulate a buisness setting with a server and clients.
I guess what I would like to do is learn more, and since there are no more Java classes available at my school, I have to learn on my own. I just do not know where to start. I was wishing someone here could point me in the right direction.
Thanks!

[Cindy Glass]

Moving to Jobs Discussion.

[William Barnes]

I have not used the job search site much, but I wouldn't think that they have have listings for "entry" level anything.
Most companies have their own job listings on their company web pages. Check those out.
And you need to start networking. Develop contacts which may help you get jobs. Start talking to all your fiends and find out where all of their friends work. And so on.
The sun site has lots of tutorials which can help you learn more java things. Sun tutorials

[John Coxey]

John:
- If you are in college:
- Go to your career service folks. Hammer on them - EVERY DAY!!!
- Go to your professors - even if you are not in their classes - go see them. Someone may have project laying around - or may have an internship no one knows about. Worked for me with Osh-Kosh Children's Clothing.
- If professors and career services won't help you out. Then go to the Univ President or whoever is in charge.
- Raise Hell!!! I am serious!. Why should you spend money at their institution if they aren't willing to reciprocate and provide you with some real-world or even research type projects.
- You may not get paid - but that's not the point. You need to beef up the resume'. Where's a better place for entry level jobs that through the college environment.
- If they can't or won't help you...then spend your money someplace else.
John Coxey
([e-mail])