I’m learning Java. Why? Because I have a lofty goal of becoming a DevRel Engineer at Google. Why that role? Because I always had the goal to write code at a company, but I also want to continue train others and discuss cool technologies that can improve one’s productivity at work.
This is going to be a long journey, which is why I had the bright idea to blog about it. DevRel Engineers create content about what they’re working on and learning, and I do need content for my website, so that’s a win-win for me.
What Is DevRel?
DevRel is an abbrevation of Developer Relations. This department collaborates with developers in the technical community to help them adopt and use the company’s code/framework/technology/service.
To get specific at what DevRel Engineers do at Google I pulled this explanation from a job posting:
In Developer Relations, we get excited to collaborate and connect with the communities that love technology as much as we do. Part community manager and part developer advocate, Developer Programs Engineers collaborate with developers at conferences and online, and advocate for developers interests internally at Google.
Not afraid to be hands-on, you write sample code and client libraries as well as participate in developer forums and support queues to troubleshoot and debug coding problems developers encounter.
Internally, you work with product engineering teams improve our products by conveying feedback from developers, reviewing API designs and testing new features.
Why Am I Learning Java?
Google is pretty transparent about the skills one needs to get a new role at the company. In my research on how to become a DevRel Engineer I found a prep guide for those in a non-developer role who want to become a developer. That’s me because I work at Google as a Data Center Technician.
In that guide the first recommendation was to learn Java. That makes sense because Google uses Java for many of their products and services. The company also uses Go and Python too, but Java is at the forefront. If I want the best chance to get this role I need to know the language.
The guide recommended two classes to use and I chose the first: Learning Java 11 on LinkedIn Learning. Google provides free access to LinkedIn Learning to its employees as well as some other online learning platforms.
I installed Intellij Community Edition on my personal laptop running Fedora 39 Workstation, installed the latest version of the OpenJDK Developer package, configured everything, and got to learning.
I’m In For A Major Change
I already know another programming language: Python. And I love using Python for its simplicitiy. No need for braces or semi-colons or verbose syntax! Well, I gotta buckle down and change my mindset and programming style. Java isn’t like Python at all!
Change is good, however. It keeps me interested and excited. And I’m excited for the journey ahead of me. I will post about it on my website and my social media accounts for everyone to read and comment.