Java Full Stack Developer Roadmap

This is the order that works for most people starting from zero: the language first, then data, then the web, then the frameworks companies hire for. The times assume about 2 hours a day. Go slower if you need to; skipping a stage costs more time later than it saves.

Your progress on each stage fills in as you complete lessons.

Core Java (3 weeks)#

Learn to think in code: variables, conditions, loops, arrays, methods and the collections you will use in every project.

You are ready to move on when you can read input, store it in an ArrayList or HashMap, loop over it and print a summary without looking anything up.

Mini project: a student grade manager that reads marks, calculates averages and prints a report card.

Object-oriented programming (2 weeks)#

Interviews for Java roles spend more time on OOP than on any other topic. Learn classes, constructors, encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, interfaces and equals/hashCode.

You are ready when you can explain overloading vs overriding and abstract class vs interface with your own example.

Mini project: a small library system with books, members and loans.

SQL and databases (2 weeks)#

Almost every backend stores data in a relational database. Learn to create tables, query them, join them and add keys and indexes.

You are ready when you can write a query that joins three tables and groups the result.

Web basics: HTML, CSS and JavaScript (4 weeks)#

A full stack developer builds the screens too. Learn page structure, styling and layouts, then JavaScript for interactivity and calling APIs with fetch.

You are ready when you can build a responsive page with a form that sends data to an API and shows the result.

How Java web apps work: Servlets and JSP (1 week)#

Spring hides HTTP from you. One week with Servlets shows what happens underneath: requests, responses, sessions and filters.

JPA and Hibernate (2 weeks)#

Learn how Java objects are saved to tables: entities, relationships, the persistence context, lazy loading and the N+1 problem that slows real apps down.

You are ready when you can map a one-to-many relationship and explain when a query runs.

Spring Framework (2 weeks)#

Dependency injection, beans, configuration, AOP and transactions: the ideas behind everything Spring Boot does for you.

Spring Boot (3 weeks)#

The most requested Java skill in job posts. Build REST APIs, connect a database with Spring Data JPA, validate input, secure the API with JWT, write tests and deploy.

Mini project: the course enrollment API from the last lesson, then package it with Docker as shown in the deployment lesson.

A front-end framework: React or Angular (3 weeks)#

Pick one. React is more common in startups; Angular is common in large companies and in many Java shops. Both lessons build the same Course Hub front end, so you can connect it to your Spring Boot API.

DSA and interview practice (ongoing, start by week 8)#

Coding rounds are part of most interviews. Start with 30 minutes a day once you are comfortable with Java, and keep going until you get the job. The DSA lessons use Python for their examples, but every pattern works the same way in Java.

Your portfolio#

By the end you have four projects: the grade manager, the library system, the enrollment API and the Course Hub front end. Put each on GitHub with a short README that says what it does and how to run it, and link them on your resume and LinkedIn. Finish each path to earn a free certificate you can add to LinkedIn.