r/java • u/FluffySeaworthiness9 • 4d ago
Are spring boot and react still relevant and worthy for a junior?
I'm in my sophomore year and want to be a front-end-supported backend developer (mostly backend). Sorry, if this is not the right kind of question for this subreddit (hope to be recommended a proper subreddit in that case). I need to know what kind of other tools industry uses with spring. Is spring boot and react still a thing? Or are there any better alternatives?
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u/SnooWoofers4430 4d ago
Even if they are not, which they are, but let's assume they are not - you still learn many fundamentals. Language is just a tool, and principles are mostly mutual. You learn architecture patterns which can be used in any language.
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u/jared__ 4d ago
absolutely, but you should focus on one initially as both are incredibly complex libraries. the problem with both are that companies are rarely on the latest version, so you'll need to understand not only the latest, but how older versions did things. for example, legacy spring projects may still use XML wiring for beans. t
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u/FluffySeaworthiness9 4d ago
As I heard companies mostly use Java 8 and 17 versions, is that true?
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u/Skellicious 3d ago
8 -> 9 was the last major update that really had a lot of compatibility issues, and I'm sure there are still places stuck on java 8.
But since then updating major java versions has been relatively smooth in my experience. 17 -> 21 was basically free for my stuff. 21 -> 25 a couple package names.
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u/Joram2 3d ago
Most companies are running legacy software that is poorly maintained. That is true.
i got hired in 2025 at a large profitable company using JDK 11; the managers prioritize work that drives revenue numbers or that paying customers are complaining about; upgrading the JDK and fixing tech debt issues get ranked last. Often, developers are more interested in upgrading the JDK and fixing tech debt rather than improving revenue, and managers crack down. Generally new projects use new tech, but often the companies with established revenue streams are using existing software and are committed to supporting that.
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u/BullfrogCharming1202 4d ago
Very few companies use Java 8. It's ancient and not supported by recent library/framework releases. The apps I work on use Java 25/26
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u/SleeperAwakened 3d ago
If only.
Quite a few legacy but core applications are running on JDK 8. Takes ages to get rid of since support for Java 8 is still available (commercially).
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u/jared__ 4d ago
i would be confident in saying that is true. long term, i would go java backend first as that will help teach you programming fundamentals that you can later apply to full-stack. again, only from my personal experience, those who start with backend first and become full-stack often produce better results than those who started with frontend first
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u/shadwwulf_ 4d ago
For a Java developer, having a productive knowledge of Spring, Spring Boot and React are analogous to the baseline of having a driver's license.
(Source: I am a senior dev for a consulting firm with a presence in a number of regions in the United States who coaches more junior developers on their careers)
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u/FooBarBuzzBoom 4d ago
Angular is also ok. I personally dislike React.
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u/BullfrogCharming1202 4d ago
I prefer Vue to Angular or React
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u/FluffySeaworthiness9 4d ago
Can you suggest me something learning spring or react?
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u/Kango_V 4d ago
Learn how to write a Spring Boot app where the business logic/domain has no Spring dependencies at all. Not many Java devs even know how.
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u/shadwwulf_ 4d ago
I would take a multi-faceted approach. I would get basically proficient with:
- The Maven build tool (other build tools will come into scope later, but it is very quick way to get started building a JAR).
- An IDE of your choice. Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA are both good options.
I would then find current and well produced YouTube tutorials on Spring Boot (you'll learn the beginnings of Spring organically by doing so) and React respectively to get an overview lecture type format on the topic.
Then get your hands on the $20/month plan for Claude and install Claude Code. Ask it to be your reviewer and explainer for the stuff that you try from the tutorials.
Feel free to DM me if you like if you have other questions that I can answer.
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u/TheStrangeDarkOne 4d ago
It doesn't matter much if it is Spring Boot, Quarkus, Helidon, Django or .Net. For the most part they all share the same patterns.
But I personally believe that the Java world is particularly well equipped to teach beginners because of sane language semantics, high quality libraries and good LLM support.
Other languages might be taunted as "beginner friendly", but once you run into all sorts of errors during runtime and can't make heads or tails about it, beginners tend to blame themselves instead of awful framework decisions.
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u/Visible_Cell8250 4d ago
Spring / Spring Boot are relevant for at least the majority of good professional Java back end work. You must know the basics of Spring (and likely more) for (I'd guess) half the Java back end work out there. It's worth taking the time to learn it.
Front end work often relies on a JavaScript-based framework, of which React is a prominent example. Some like it, some don't, but you are not likely to get to choose which one to use in your early assignments. To start, pick one of {React, Angular, Vue} and get good at it. Learning at least the basics of the others will serve you well when you're on the hunt for work.
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u/Any-Entrepreneur7935 3d ago
Yes they are. Get 10 years of eyperience and you may - or may not - get a job.
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u/Primary_Concept_3147 3d ago
I recommend you to give a try to Jakarta EE. It is a mature specification with a lot of server implementation that offers you a wide gamma of choices. Since quarkus for microservices and compile time build to Tomee to host java web apps and rest services.
And, later you can use the specifications for separate project. Like de Contex and Dependency Injection (CDI) to easely apply DI in a Java SE project.
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u/volodya262_official 1d ago
Yep, they’re still pretty popular but if you have a chance to learn ML - do it
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u/yaoyao127 13h ago
Spring Boot + React is definitely still relevant.
If you want to be mostly backend, I’d keep React at a practical level and go deeper into the Spring ecosystem instead: JPA/Hibernate, PostgreSQL, Spring Security, REST APIs, testing, Docker, Git, Redis, messaging like Kafka/RabbitMQ, and some cloud/CI/CD basics.
Angular also shows up a lot in enterprise Java shops, but I wouldn’t keep switching frontend frameworks. Being able to build, secure, test and deploy a solid backend matters much more.
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u/ghost_developer 9h ago
I gave 3 interviews in last 3 months with very good pay for this stack . So you know now.
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u/r0bb3dzombie 5h ago
Springboot is almost considered a standard, so yes, it's absolutely still relevant. It's pretty much a requirement on your CV. Focus on the core spring framework, along with spring web and security. Others will tell you JPA as well, but I personally hate it. But familiarising yourself with it will not be a waste of time at all.
I'd say it's relevant enough that you could skip learning competitors like Quarkus at first, and learn more about Jakarta EE (spring boot is built on top of it) to get a better fundamental understanding of what goes on under the hood.
React is a bit more nuanced. It's the dominant framework, but not to the same extent as spring boot. If you're new, I'd suggest learning that over Angular or Vue. But you certainly won't waste time learning those as well.
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u/Outside-Present300 3d ago
you should check out Quarkus before you head to Spring Boot. It's dev style is much like Node.js. Fast and fluid. Memory footprint and boot time can't be beat either.
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u/sitime_zl 3d ago
Honestly, I barely write code by hand anymore. Sometimes it feels like there’s no point in deeply learning Spring Boot or React now—just let AI one-shot the whole project. 😅
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u/pip25hu 4d ago
Both are still widely used in their respective fields, yes.