One of the most heated topics of debate is which programming language offers better pay, Java or Python? 

This “Java vs Python salary” debate can cause a lot of confusion. That’s why we have prepared the following article. It will throw light on the differences between Java and Python in terms of their average pay. This way, you can figure out which programming language is more profitable to learn. 

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The debate surrounding the salary comparison between Java and Python programming languages has sparked extensive discussions among professionals. In this article, we aim to provide insights into the average Java developer vs Python developer salary comparison, assisting you in determining which language offers greater financial rewards upon mastery. Python, one of the most used programming languages in Today’s Digital world where everything becomes dependent upon technology, earns an average yearly income of INR 5.10 lakh in India.

When it comes to Java developers in the Indian job market, their average annual pay stands at an impressive INR 4.43 lakh. However, seasoned professionals who have honed their skills and gained substantial experience can command salaries reaching a remarkable INR 11 lakh per year. It is important to keep in mind that Python developers often earn slightly higher average wages when comparing Java vs Python salaries. However, it is important to consider that Java’s demand in mobile and web development industries contributes to its competitive pay scale.

Python Developer Salary in India

The average Python developer salary in India is INR 5.10 lakh per annum. Beginners in this field earn around INR 2.31 lakh per annum whereas experienced developers earn up to INR 12.61 lakh per annum. Some of the prominent employers of Python developers in India include Tata Consultancy Services, Accenture, and Wipro. 

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Python is among the most popular programming languages right now. According to StackOverflow’s Developer Survey 2019, Python is the 2nd most popular programming language across the globe. 

Due to its easy-to-learn syntax and numerous libraries, Python has become an industry staple in multiple sectors including machine learning and data science. Many of these industries are relatively new and are growing at a rapid pace which is why the demand for Python developers is sky-rocketing. 

When a skill’s demand is very high, the salary for that skill increases accordingly. This is the reason why Python developers earn so lucrative salaries in India. 

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Java Developer Salary in India

Now that we have covered Python salary in India, our Java vs Python salary comparison would be incomplete if we don’t talk about how much Java developers make in this country. 

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The average pay of a Java developer in India is INR 4.43 lakh per annum. Freshers in this field earn around INR 1.99 lakh per annum while experienced Java developers can earn up to INR 11 lakh per annum. 

As you can see, the average salary of Java developers in India is slightly lower than that of Python developers. However, it offers quite a handsome pay. Moreover, the demand for Java developers has increased substantially since the boom in the mobile development and web development industries. 

Java professionals are widely popular in mobile development, GUI development, and web development sectors, which is a big reason why they command such high salaries. 

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Difference Between Java vs Python Developer

Language Characteristics:

• Java: Java serves as an object-oriented language that adheres to strict syntax. It requires explicit declaration of variable types and undergoes compilation before execution, resulting in enhanced performance.
• Python: Python, on the other hand, is a dynamically typed language recognized for its simplicity and readability. It features a more relaxed syntax and does not necessitate explicit type declarations. Python code is interpreted and executed at runtime, potentially leading to slower execution compared to Java.

Performance:

• Java: Due to its compiled nature, Java generally performs better than Python. The bytecode generated by the Java compiler facilitates efficient execution.
• Python: Python’s interpreted nature can result in slower execution speed compared to Java. Nevertheless, Python’s extensive libraries and frameworks help mitigate this performance disparity in many scenarios.

Popularity and Community:

• Java: Java has remained a popular programming language for numerous years and maintains a large and active developer community. It finds extensive usage in enterprise software development, Android app development, and large-scale systems.
• Python: Python has witnessed significant growth in popularity, particularly among beginners and data scientists. It boasts a vibrant community and a vast ecosystem of libraries and frameworks tailored for various domains.

Syntax and Learning Curve:

• Java: With a stricter syntax enforcing strong typing and the requirement of semicolons at the end of each statement, Java proves more suitable for larger projects. Its static typing nature facilitates error detection at compile time.
• Python: Python exhibits simpler and more readable syntax, making it more beginner-friendly. It utilises dynamic typing, enabling developers to write code more flexibly. Python places emphasis on code readability and mandates indentation as part of its syntax.

Salary and Job Market:

• Java: Java developers frequently enjoy favourable job prospects and competitive salaries. The widespread usage of Java in enterprise systems and Android app development sustains the demand for Java skills.
• Python: Python developers are also in high demand, particularly in fields such as data science, machine learning, and web development. Python’s versatility and popularity have contributed to a growing job market and competitive salaries.

The choice between Java and Python as a developer depends on various factors such as specific project requirements, performance needs, learning curves, career aspirations, and Java vs Python salary comparison. Both languages possess unique strengths and find application in different areas, necessitating careful consideration of these factors when making a decision.

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Java vs Python Salary: Profession Comparison

Both Java and Python are widely popular programming languages and have very diverse applications. To understand the difference between Java vs Python salary, you must look at the average salaries of the prominent careers you can pursue with these programming languages.

When comparing Python vs Java Salary, it is critical to consider criteria such as employment type, geography, experience, and market demand. Python is recognized as one of the highest-paying languages, with an average annual income of over 5.10 lakh in India. As a popular and widely used language, Java also offers competitive salaries.

For example, Java is a preferred programming language for mobile development while Python is more popular among machine learning engineers. 

However, keep in mind that both of these programming languages are highly versatile and you can use them for most applications. 

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Java Careers

Following are some of the most prominent careers you can pursue as a Java developer:

Software Developer

The average pay of a software developer in India is INR 5.72 lakh per annum including shared profits, bonuses, and commissions. The salary of software developers in India ranges from INR 2.5 lakh per annum to INR 20 lakh per annum. 

Experience is a vital factor in this field as software developers with one to four years of professional experience earn around INR 5.28 lakh per annum. On the other hand, software developers with 10 to 19 years of professional experience earn INR 10 lakh per annum on average. 

What Does a Software Developer Do?

A software developer is responsible for developing computer applications, which users can use to perform specific tasks. As a software developer, you would develop or modify existing solutions that control networks or run devices. You’d be using visual development environments and source debuggers while testing and documenting software for client applications. 

Software developers work in teams so it’s crucial to have strong communication skills. Java is a necessary programming language for software developers, however, you might also have to learn other languages such as JavaScript, PHP, C++, and Python among others. 

Java is a popular language for GUI application development, which is why it’s preferred expertise for software developers. 

Web Developer

A web developer earns an average pay of INR 5.89 lakh per annum in India. Salary in this field ranges from INR 2.42 lakh per annum while the upper limit for the pay in this field is INR 10 lakh per annum. 

Java web developers with one to four years of professional experience make INR 4.91 lakh per annum on average while those with five to nine years of experience get INR 10 lakh per annum. Late career Java web developers (10+ years of experience) get around INR 12 lakh per annum on average. 

What does a Web Developer do?

Java web developers write and test code for software used in websites. They create and implement plans, attend meetings, write reports, and maintain the documentation for the software they work on. Usually, Java web developers work in teams under a senior developer. They also work alongside other teams of the organization such as design, management, and customer service. 

Java web developers are primarily responsible for writing, modifying, and debugging the software for websites. They write code for web pages, business logic servers and databases. Knowledge of additional web development languages would be very helpful to get ahead in this field. 

Mobile Application Developer

A mobile application developer in India earns an average salary of INR 4.21 lakh per annum. Their salary ranges from INR 1.66 lakh per annum to INR 10 lakh per annum, including bonuses, commissions, and shared profits. Freshers in this industry with less than a year’s experience earn INR 2.48 lakh per annum while those with one to four years of professional experience make INR 4 lakh per annum on average. 

With more experience, your pay in this field would increase substantially as mobile application developers with five to nine years of experience make around INR 8.59 lakh per annum. Similarly, professionals in this field with more than 10 years of experience make more than INR 10 lakh per annum on average. 

What does a Mobile Application Developer do?

As the name suggests, a mobile applications developer develops and tests mobile application software. They are responsible for coding the mobile application. Mobile application developers must be familiar with different operating systems including iOS and Android. 

Java is a must-have for mobile applications developers because it’s the imperative language for Android app development. Apart from Java, these professionals must be familiar with IT programming, wireless networks, cloud storage, and other programming languages such as C++, PHP, and HTML. There’s a huge demand for mobile applications developers due to the rise in popularity of smartphones and tablets. 

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Python Careers

Python has many applications in the latest tech industries including data science, IoT (Internet of Things), and artificial intelligence. Some of the most high-paying careers in Python are: 

Data Engineer

The average salary of a data engineer in India is INR 8.32 lakh per annum. The pay range in this field starts from INR 3.65 lakh per annum and goes up to INR 20 lakh per annum. 

Data engineers with less than a year’s experience earn around INR 4.66 lakh per annum while those with one to four years of experience earn INR 7.23 lakh per annum on average. Like all the careers we have discussed so far, your experience matters a lot in this field as data engineers with 10+ years of experience make around INR 20 lakh per annum. 

What does a Data Engineer do?

Data engineers are responsible for developing solutions to improve data usage and access. They focus on understanding the data needs of their company and advise them on technological resources. 

They develop and translating computer algorithms into prototype code while maintaining, organizing, and finding patterns in large data sets. Data engineers must be proficient in using SQL, Python, Hive, Java, and Storm. 

Data engineers often work in teams so apart from having strong programming and problem-solving skills, they must be good at communication and collaboration. Other notable skills for this profession include Apache Spark, Big Data Analytics, and ETL (Extract, Transform, Load). 

Machine Learning Engineer

A machine learning engineer earns an average salary of INR 6.86 lakh per annum in India. Pay in this field starts from INR 3.03 lakh per annum and can go up to INR 20 lakh per annum, including bonuses, shared profits, and commissions. 

Entry-level ML engineers with less than a year’s experience make INR 5.07 lakh per annum on average. On the other hand, ML engineers with one to four years of professional experience earn around INR 6.75 lakh per annum and those with five to nine years of experience get INR 10 lakh per annum on average.

Late-career machine learning engineers earn around INR 20 lakh per annum on average. It’s certainly one of the most lucrative sectors. 

What Does a Machine Learning Engineer Do?

The role of a machine learning engineer is quite similar to that of a data scientist because they both work with complex modelling solutions and large amounts of data. However, a machine learning engineer focuses on building software solutions that can perform tasks and learn automatically without human intervention. 

There are many applications of machine learning algorithms such as recommendation systems, natural language processing, face recognition, etc. ML engineers must be experts in computer science, programming, and artificial intelligence.

Python has multiple libraries that ML engineers use. Thus, if you want to become an ML engineer as a Python programmer, you only need to learn about machine learning and the related concepts. 

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Conclusion

In the “Java vs Python salary” debate, Python seems to be the winner (since it helps you bag the most trending jobs in the market)! With a strong grasp of Python, you can enter many of the latest tech fields such as artificial intelligence and big data. However, that doesn’t mean Java is obsolete – it is just more confined to a specific niche.

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