Ask HN: Why Java positions require plus 5 years of experience?

I was doing job hunting and I found that most of Java positions require +5 years of professional experience, although java isn't that complicated to require that much of experience.

It’s a culture thing more than a competency. Java is an institution and for some older developers it’s all they have ever done.

In the big corporate world it’s not about how well you write software. Nobody cares. It’s how well you fit in. You are an interchangeable cog doing the same things in the same way each day for years. That is what employers are looking for.

Under the hood that means a repetitive low creativity environment. So don’t go in there thinking you are going to innovate anything. Just play the game in the same way as everyone else.