Career moves · 231,145 postings · 163 markets · 2026-07-16
Where can your career go next?
Search the role you're in. We count what employers ask for across 231,145 active postings, then show you the markets one step away: how big each one is, and exactly which skills you'd need to add.
What this is and isn't
Markets sit close together when employers on both sides ask for the same skills, measured across 350 normalized skills. This is not a record of people moving between them. That would need career histories we don't have. A close market also isn't automatically a good move. Skills counted are the ones postings list explicitly, so every figure is a floor.
You are here
Java Developer
173 open jobs·88 employers
10 markets are one step away
These are the 10 careers with the highest skill overlap with Java Developer. Bigger circles mean more openings; careers closer to the center require fewer new skills.
Among nearby careers, Software Engineer has the most openings (7,054), while Backend Developer requires the fewest new skills.
Skill transition
How much each market's required skills differ from your
current role.
- Very close1
- Close9
Larger circles = more open jobs, from 114 to 7,054 here.
TapSelect a market to put it at the center.
Backend Developer
from Java Developer
Excellent match
Very close
The closest move to Java Developer we can see. Most of the distance is one skill: nodejs. The rest of the gap is small.
204
openings in Backend Developer
6
skills you already have
1
skills to learn
2
skills to strengthen
You already have
Java DeveloperBackend Developershare of postingsapi design
35%30%
postgresql
18%22%
microservices
48%21%
mysql
15%17%
spring boot
77%13%
mongodb
23%11%
You'll need to learn
- nodejsasked for in 28% of Backend Developer postings
Strengthen what you have
- postgresql18% → 22%
- mysql15% → 17%
How much work is out there
Java Developer173Backend Developer204What to do next
1 · Learn
nodejs
Asked for in 28% of Backend Developer postings, the only genuinely new one.
2 · Strengthen
postgresql
18% of Java Developer postings ask for it, against 22% of Backend Developer.
3 · Look at the work
204 Backend Developer postings
Observed active in this snapshot.
173 Java Developer postings · 204 Backend Developer postings · 350 normalized skills · snapshot 2026-07-16
Methodology
What is this based on?
231,145 live job postings from 28,870 employers across 163 markets, captured 2026-07-16. Skills come from each posting's stated requirements.
How is distance calculated?
Each market becomes a profile of the skills its postings request, and markets are compared by how much those profiles overlap (an IDF-weighted cosine similarity, so skills that appear in almost every role count for less). The closest markets sit nearest the center, grouped into five bands from Very close to Different field.
What do the skill lists mean?
Shared skills are the ones both roles commonly ask for. Skills to learn are the ones the target market asks for that your current role doesn't, ranked by how much more often they come up.
What isn't included?
Years of experience, seniority, salary, portfolio or certification requirements, or how competitive a role is to land. Skill overlap is one axis of a move, not the whole picture.
Read how graphic and product design split into two markets →