I am currently working on a contract and it'll probably be up in 6 months. I work from home now and I want to start preparing for a Java Developer job. I have 2 years experience programming Java web apps--no j2ee experience though. I do have a Masters and I graduated at the top of my class. I have been trying to learn EJB 3.0, Spring, and Struts2 in my spare time but I don't know if that's going to count for anything towards a job. Is it a waste of my time?
My questions are what types of jobs should I be looking for? What can I do in the next six months to increase my potential to get hired as a Java programmer or possibly even a j2ee developer? What salary should I ask for?
Thanks in advance!