If you are aiming for the games industry and seek to program for PCs or Consoles, then its best to learn C++. Games made in Java are mainly for mobile phones, though it's seeing a fair bit of action in internet browser games. For handheld consoles such as the DS or PSP, I would say they are using Assembly. The iPhone uses Objective-C...

Putting aside job-hunting, and speaking as a programmer wanting to make a 2D RPG...

1) Strengthen your knowledge of the language you intend to use. Java is a good choice, and given a bit more time it might see more share of the games industry. I myself am planing on a Phantasy Star 1 style game in Java for my Nokia 2700...

2) Do a course or two in Software Development. Compared to an action game they may seem more simple graphically, but they are much larger programs and with far more content. With an RPG you'll spend more time managing and designing your project than optimising. Trust me, you need to be well organised for this kind of game! o_O

3) For an 2D rpg, you can get by with just MSPaint if you want!

4) Be prepared to write some editors and do file input/output like never before!

5) It's a good idea to do some...hmmm...cough...ahem..."D&D". o_O

...and on that note I'd better dash!