🌱 The Beginning of My Spring Boot Journey

When I first heard about Spring Boot, it felt like a buzzword that only big company developers cared about. I had built some projects in Java, used servlets, and even played with JDBC, but modern frameworks like Spring seemed overwhelming. Dependency injection? Auto-configuration? REST controllers? I was lost. But I also knew one thing: to grow as a full-stack developer and work on real-world scalable systems, Spring Boot was essential. So I started. From scratch. ---

📚 How I Got Started with Spring Boot

I began with the official Spring.io guides. They helped, but I needed more structure. Here’s what I used to build my foundation:

• YouTube playlists (JavaBrains, Amigoscode, Telusko)
• Hands-on GitHub projects with CRUD operations
• Spring Boot documentation (lightly, not too deep initially)

I created my first app: a simple Student Management REST API. It had just two endpoints — create and fetch students. But for me, it was a milestone. 🌟 ---

💥 Hitting Roadblocks (and Learning from Them)

Every step came with challenges. Here are the real pain points I faced:

1. Autowiring Errors

I’d see `No qualifying bean of type found` errors. Turns out, I wasn’t annotating classes properly or wasn't scanning the correct package. @Service public class MyService { ... } I learned that Spring scans only within the base package unless told otherwise.

2. POST APIs Not Working

Sometimes, my JSON payload wouldn't map to the DTO. I later understood the importance of using `@RequestBody` and matching field names. @PostMapping("/add") public ResponseEntity<Student> add(@RequestBody Student student) { ... } 

3. Connecting to MySQL

Spring Boot made DB connection easy — but also picky. One missing dependency or wrong `application.properties` format, and it’d break. I started creating a checklist to avoid this. ---

🚀 How I Structured My First Real Project

When I got comfortable, I decided to build a proper full-stack app. Here's what I used:

• Backend: Spring Boot (REST APIs)
• Frontend: React.js
• Database: MySQL
• Tools: Postman, Swagger, Git

I used this folder structure (Clean Architecture inspired):

/controller  
/service  
/repository  
/model  
/dto  
/config  

This helped me keep code readable, testable, and modular. ---

🧠 Key Concepts I Mastered Along the Way

Through practice and bugs, I slowly understood some core Spring Boot concepts deeply:

• @RestController vs @Controller
• @Service vs @Component
• @RequestMapping, @GetMapping, @PostMapping
• Custom Exceptions and Global Exception Handling
• DTOs for request/response decoupling
• Validation with @Valid and @NotNull

I even experimented with advanced stuff like `@Query`, JPQL, and pagination using `Pageable`. ---

🔥 Performance Optimization & Real-World Experience

Later, while working on actual client-based systems, I had to: - Implement caching using `@Cacheable` with Redis - Add logging and monitoring - Create secure endpoints using Spring Security - Deploy apps on AWS (EC2 + RDS) - Use Docker to containerize my microservice - Add Swagger UI for documentation This is when my Spring Boot journey matured — when I learned beyond “what” to write and focused on “why” and “how it scales”. ---

📦 Key Projects I Built

1. Utility Bill Management API – with external API integration and payment status tracking
2. Vehicle Tracking System – Real-time map updates using WebSocket + Spring
3. UP Pension Scheme Backend – A real-life backend for government apps (CRUD + auth)

These gave me exposure to: - Multi-environment config - Exception handling middleware - Third-party libraries (Twilio, Paytm, etc.) ---

💡 Tips for Anyone Starting with Spring Boot

1. Don’t try to learn everything at once. Start with CRUD + MySQL.
2. Use Postman and Swagger early for testing and understanding request flow.
3. Follow one project completely end-to-end (build → test → deploy).
4. Keep practicing — learn pagination, file upload, custom queries.
5. Ask for code reviews or feedback from friends or GitHub community.

---

📚 My Current Stack

Today, I’m confident working with:

• Spring Boot 3.x
• MySQL / PostgreSQL
• Spring Security
• JWT Token-based Auth
• OpenAPI / Swagger
• Docker + GitHub Actions

I’m still learning — but now I feel like a **Spring Boot Developer**, not just a Java coder. ---

📌 Final Thoughts

Spring Boot felt hard in the beginning, but the journey was worth it. Today, I can: ✅ Build production-ready APIs ✅ Debug tricky DI issues ✅ Design scalable microservices ✅ Work with real clients & backend systems I believe anyone can master Spring Boot if they follow a real-world, project-based approach. ---

🔗 Let’s Connect

Want to share your own journey or ask something?

• GitHub: github.com/csharma198
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mrcsharma198

Keep building, keep debugging, and never stop learning! 🚀