Kafka is an open-source programming platform developed by the Apache Foundation. It's programmed in Scala and Java. The platform is mostly used in parallel computing and distributed computing, with several computers working on different parts of big data analysis.
Learning Kafka enables you to write parallel programs in order to make applications run faster and to analyze large data sets. Then, you can take your computer science skills deeper by learning concurrent and distributed programming. Or, you can use your big data analytics skills with Kafka to analyze data and create reports for users. Another next step would be to learn how to manage data sets for better integration and processing.
Typical careers that use Kafka are those in parallel computing, functional programming, big data analytics, and other aspects of computer science. The increasing use of machine learning to process big data calls for greater experience with platforms like Kafka. The analytics are particularly useful in biomedical research and in financial analysis. More and more industries are finding ways to pull out information from large sets of data. Also, the skills learned with Kafka can be applied to other big data platforms, such as Google Cloud. Those who will be moving into leadership positions in organizations with large computing environments will also need to be familiar with the relevant platforms, including Kafka.
Kafka requires knowledge of Java, and you can find courses on Coursera to get you started with that. Depending on your interests, you can learn Kafka as part of courses covering big data, distributed computing, machine learning, or data analytics. You can also concentrate on related platforms like Scala or TensorFlow if needed for the computing environment where you work.