I just finished my bacharel degree in computer science and I saw myself creating distributed objects in Java, having a
good skill in networkings and C programming. I was studying to archieve the java programmer, developer and so on certifications.
But when I stopped to thing about what I would like to continue to learn I entered to Perlmonks because in the unix world (the world that i know better)
there is something different - that you create things because you like it, not just because you need it. - we use things we know.
Noone can predict the future of the Java platform (once that it belongs to Sun).
Anyway to a hacker the language is just a tool and in an interview you will talk about experience as a developer using tools not only about the formal syntax of a specific tool.
That's the way I thing. By now I prefer Perl although I used to know more of Java and knowing not just Perl but how to design OO and work with it I will be able to work with any language that can be created by the human beeings - and even by ets :)
(Okay. the sun is rise I going to sleep.. - :p)