Is it worth learning Java and Spring MVC as of 2016?

Why learn Java?

1. Java has been leading the TIOBE index (a measure of popularity of programming languages) for the last 3 years by a large margin
2. It’s a mature language (20+ years old) with a vast and lively ecosystem with  quality open-source tools for basically anything (Apache Commons, manipulating Excel, messaging, Object-Relational Mapping, real-time streaming, distributed in-memory cache, distributed scheduling, reporting, full-text search engine, etc.). You name it, we have it
3. There’s a reason why it’s been used heavily by most tech giants (Google, eBay, Netflix, Apple, etc.) and most financial institutes
4. Currently, there’s a shortage of Java developers. Companies just can’t find enough skilled Java developers

Why Learn the Spring MVC/Spring Framework?

1. It’s the de facto standard for building enterprise applications in Java
2. It’s used by companies like Netflix, Groupon, Cisco, BMW, etc.
3. It’s way more productive than using Java Enterprise Edition
4. It’s one of the most mature Java web frameworks
5. It’s not just an MVC, but a whole platform. When you use Spring MVC, you get a dozen other Spring frameworks for “free”, including:

• Spring Boot – Spring on steroids
• Spring Security – for authentication/authorization
• Spring Data – the simplest and easiest way in Java to communicate with both SQL and NonSQL databases
• Spring Cloud – to run the application in the cloud and to benefit from the open-source netflix libraries
• Spring Batch – for batch processing
• Spring Social – to easily integrate with APIs like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc.
• Spring XD – that simplifies development of big data applications