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Recognize your cloud-native Java development skills with the Liberty Developer Essentials Badge
In a world where in-demand skills are critical for job success, security, and progression, it’s vital that we, as developers, ensure we are showcasing our skills to the wider world. This can include qualifications, courses, and badges, all of which help us to advertise our skills and highlight our professional experiences and expertise.
So, to help make this easier (and free!) for Java developers, the Open Liberty team created the first-ever Liberty badge: Liberty Developer Essentials!
This badge enables developers to showcase their ability to use open source technologies, such as Open Liberty, Jakarta EE, and MicroProfile, to effectively create a cloud-native Java application.
If you’re not familiar with Open Liberty, it is an open application framework that is designed for the cloud. It’s small, lightweight, and designed with modern cloud-native application development in mind. It supports the full MicroProfile and Jakarta EE APIs and is composable, meaning that you can use only the features that you need and keep everything lightweight, which is great for microservices. It also deploys to every major cloud platform, including Docker, Kubernetes, and Cloud Foundry. You can check out more about why developers love Liberty in this article on IBM Developer.
Who should apply for this badge?
New Java developers and experienced Java developers can both benefit from this badge!
New developers
If you’re new to the world of developing cloud-native Java applications and you’re looking for a good place to start, this badge and its corresponding course are a great starting point. By completing this course, you’ll learn practical, hands-on skills to effectively develop a basic Java application. You’ll then be able to apply these skills and be recognised for them through the associated badge that you can advertise on your CV, LinkedIn profile, and elsewhere.
Experienced developers:
Alternatively, if you already have experience developing cloud-native Java applications, you can benefit from this badge as a way to showcase and advertise your skills externally. If you’re a developer who is already using Liberty, this is a great way to easily show the experience you have and ability to use Liberty and other enterprise-level, open source technologies and standards to effectively create cloud-native Java applications.
On the other hand, if you’re experienced in developing cloud-native Java applications but have not used Liberty before, this course and badge offer you an opportunity to showcase your transferable skills, add Liberty to your tool belt, and widen the range of proven platforms that you can apply your development skills to.
How can I get this badge?
To earn the badge, there are two core components:
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A hands-on course
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An exam that tests the skills and knowledge learnt through the course
Hands-on Course
Developers who complete the Essentials for Cloud-Native Java Application Development beginner-level course on cognitiveclass.ai can earn this badge.
Note: If you’re already an experienced Liberty user, you’re also welcome to skip straight to the end exam.
This course teaches you the essential skills and technologies to create a basic cloud-native Java application with Open Liberty. It is composed of 5 modules that all involve hands-on coding experience using some of the Open Liberty interactive guides.
Course modules:
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Getting started with Open Liberty
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Creating a RESTful web service
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Consuming a RESTful web service
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Injecting dependencies into microservices
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Configuring microservices
By completing these modules, you’ll learn about REST applications, contexts and dependency injection (CDI), externalizing application configuration, and more. All of these skills are essential for developing a basic cloud-native Java application. These modules utilise enterprise, open source, industry standards, including MicroProfile and Jakarta EE - skills that are especially important for developers working on enterprise applications.
There are no hard requirements to be able to take this course. However, a basic knowledge of Java, Maven, and microservices will be useful. It’s also worth noting that this is a self-paced course and can be taken at any time.
End Exam
At the end of the course, you’ll be presented with an exam to complete. To pass this end exam, you must score at least 80% on higher. The exam consists of 20 multiple-choice questions based on the skills and knowledge you gained by competing the the course.
Once you successfully pass this final exam, you’ll receive the Liberty Developer Essentials badge from Credly. You can then share this badge through social media sites like LinkedIn, or add it to things like your CV or email footer.
The first of many…
This badge is what we hope will be the first of many Liberty badges, enabling developers to learn and be recognised for various skills that are required for effective cloud-native Java app development. In the future, we aim to create badges that go beyond the beginner level into deeper, more challenging topics. Keep your eyes peeled for updates. If you have suggestions for badges you’d like to see, share them with us by creating an issue on the Open Liberty GitHub repository.
Get your Liberty Developer Essentials Badge today!
So, whether you’re new to Java development or a seasoned pro, get your Liberty Developer Essentials badge today and showcase your cloud-native Java application development skills! Once you’ve been awarded the badge, we’d love to see them on social media - please do tag us on X (@OpenLibertyIO) and LinkedIn (Open Liberty) so we can celebrate with you!
