I will be finishing the core Java course and now I have to move on to Java EE side. I am so much confused that I should simply go with Java EE 6 because I have the books which easily teach from start to end and everything is there.
Or should I start with Spring only?
Because as I have to start from scratch it is good I follow the trend which is good and more job oriented.
Or even if I do Java EE only and then if I need to move on to Spring it will be fast or vice versa.
Also where does Hibernate stand between them? I mean if I use Java EE 6, do I still need Hibernate or in Java EE 6, I don't need it.
Will I be at a disadvantage if I don't use Spring or Spring can make my building web application any way easier than the core Java EE/ JSF framework.
Though your question suggests that Spring and Java EE are two different things, in reality they are not. You can use many Java EE components like
The only major thing Spring replaces in the Java EE stack is the EJB. Unless you insist on using EJBs, Spring should be the way to go. Also Spring provides inbuilt support for webservices and other things as well.
Also checkout the Groovy and Grails that use Spring as the base.
Finally I would say, functionality wise both does the same. It's code (Java EE) vs configuration (Spring), a matter of preference really.