Hi,
This is my first post, I joined specifically to post this as I'm in need of advice.
I have almost 5 years experience as a developer,
Java is the technology I have most experience with but unfortunately it was a few years ago and I've fallen behind. The projects I've worked on has resulted in me being a 'Jack of all trades and expert in none', I know bits and pieces of Java EE, Oracle databases, PL/SQL, Spring, .NET, Scala, linux scripts.... but not as proficient in any of them as I would like to be in this stage in my career.
I left my previous job 18 months ago for my new role where I was promised Java EE development, I was instantly put on a Scala project and haven't seen any Java code since. I am frustrated by the way things are going and feel that it is time for me to move jobs but before I do I want to start learning technologies before any interviews/new role.
I want to focus on Java EE/related technologies but it's been a while since I used them and they have all moved on somewhat. I feel that there is a mountain of stuff for me to (re)learn and it's quite daunting, I don't know where to start really.... which is why I'm posting.
I would be grateful if you could give any advise on what I should focus my learning on, I plan to get up to speed with the new features in Java 8 but also feel that I need to brush up on Java as a whole. I have used bits of Java EE previously and a little spring but would appreciate views on what I should concentrate my learning on?
If you could give a list of a few key areas that I should focus my attention on to ensure I have a solid grounding which would allow me to get a new role as a Java developer. Also any tips for how attack the mountain of learning I have, i.e. what topics to tackle first, would be gratefully received.
Many thanks in advance,
mdc
PS - any recommended texts, web resources would be gratefully received.