Develop applications and deploy them ?

Hello friends . I have a decent programming experience in Java . I want to utilize it for creating real world applications and also deploy them . It is not for hobby but to develop my skills . I want you guys to suggest how can i develop applications with Industry specific standards so that when i venture into developing applications for company my experience comes handy .

I try to develop something but my determination fails since i do not know where exactly to start or what should be my approach . Please suggest some good resources or your own experience of working in a teams and alone .

Another help that i need is , that i want to join communities like Launchpad and contribute to projects but lack of expertise causes me to step back . Do recommend steps in this field as well .

Thank You in Advance ...