[reitanqild]

1. Java has had huge amounts of open source code for years. (Case in point: course provider sales representative telling my colleague somewhat annoyed that Java people are the worst because "they are used to get everything for free.)

2. Im going to read that as "... 1 month after finishing studies".

I will recommend starting somewhere where you get good colleagues. When I finished school I was sure I could never work with Java: it was hard and unforgiving compared to VB and PHP that I had picked up on my own.

After getting introduced to ides and working build systems however I was starting to get work done within a week and within a year I was confident enough to make a real difference.

Also I picked up a feel for just how annoying it is to be left with maintaining code based on abandoned commercial tools (old Delphi code).

3. No idea, but IMO no way banks are leaving it anytime soon so plenty of jobs and momentum for the next few years:-)

[vonklaus]

I mean, could I teach myself Java and build something interesting in a month. Sounds like a no?

[reitanqild]

Depends on you as well as your definition of interesting.

I'd say you should start in a good team anyway because real life experience IMO is crucial and getting on a good team is a way of getting it fast and as painless as possible (I.E. without breaking your bank.)

If you just want to make "something" go with whatever is less friction for you (for me it was php), just be prepared that there will be friction in any language as soon as you step outside of the tutorials.

Also keep in mind that if you get a good job you can do quite a lot on your spare time. I used to code a utility program in php while commuting. It never became a commercial success but a rewritten version became a major hit with the church I belong to, was maintained and in use for years and gave me both experience in sw architecture as well as bragging rights in job interviews for several years. (Oh and it totally helped in getting my head ready for my paid work in the morning as well as unwinding after work.)

But I also think Java has come a far way towards beginner-friendly. If you do just accept that in Java land IDEs are a must. Getting used to IDEs was were Java "clicked" for me. Use either Netbeans (all features free, my preferred choice), IntelliJ (lots of features free) or Eclipse (all features you'll ever want is free but takes some getting used to, I would never picked it as my first IDE if it wasn't the preferred choice on my first team and they where happy to help me up to speed.) And dismiss everyone who tells you that one of them is crap or way better: it is just a matter of preference in most cases. (Notable exception: android development where IntelliJ is the officially supported alternative.)

Also learn to use Maven or gradle.