I work using the Enterprise Java stack. This may be obvious, but let me start here - Java Enterprise involves understanding the spec (essentially the API) and t

I work using the Enterprise Java stack. This may be obvious, but let me start here - Java Enterprise involves understanding the spec (essentially the API) and then understanding how a vendor implements the same (e.g. JAX-RS vs. RestEasy). Furthermore - the Java ecosystem is huge. There are multiple vendors for each API, and trying to find a starting point can prove to be overwhelming. My advice - start with something small and move from there. The Spring Framework (which at it's core is merely a Dependency Injection framework and does not implement a J2EE API) is something a lot of Java shops use to wire their applications together, and can be used even on a stand-alone Java/Swing application. The Spring documentation is pretty comprehensive. After that - try to implement persistence - This will introduce you to JPA (Java Persistence API and potentially EJB) and a persistence provider (like Hibernate). Again, go lightweight using a in-memory DB like HSQLDB or H2 so you don't spend time tweaking a DB). Then you are ready to take on something a little bit more complex like a web-app. Look into the Servlet API (this forms the basis of a lot of front-end technologies in Java like JSPs). This should be a good starting point. If you need something more, drop me an email (in my profile) and hopefully I can help. Good luck.