I sat for the exam on Saturday...

I think I bombed....

I think the first 10-15 questions took me a half hour. I was able to finish with about 10 minutes to go though.

The exam stuck to the objectives pretty well (I could of sworn threads were not mentioned on the ojbectives...a double check just now puts my foot in my mouth...really wish i hadn't made that comment). 122 questions was a lot though.

I can see how this exam would be really easy for someone with SCJP, SCJD, or other advanced certifications.

I can also see how this exam would be difficult for someone right out of school. Not so much difficult but challenging. There wasn't any question I was completely ignorant on but I didn't leave the testing center feeling wholely confident about my performance.

In short I'm worried what the passing rate will be. I'm really hoping that hte number of "experts" that took the exam is really low so the curve isn't blown but then again they may omit those results if it can be determined that this person was too skilled for the exam.

But what's done is done. I've taken it, I've learned something from the process, I can only hope for the best while I prepare for SCJP but coding more for the next 2 months (or until I've saved the money).

One thing I noticed and was glad about....you could go back and check/change answers. A few of the questions gave the right answer implicitly to questions already asked. I love it when exams do that.

All in all...a good experience for a first ever certification sitting.

I'm worried what the passing rate will be. I'm really hoping that hte number of "experts" that took the exam is really low so the curve isn't blown but then again they may omit those results if it can be determined that this person was too skilled for the exam.

You don't really have to worry because SUN will make suitable adjustment on the passing rate, so did other vendors. I remembered when I took OCA Oracle10g DBA beta exam, most of my workmates (around 30 people) passed it with 90+%. However, the passing rate of 1z0-042 was finally defined as 65% only.

But what's done is done. I've taken it, I've learned something from the process, I can only hope for the best while I prepare for SCJP but coding more for the next 2 months (or until I've saved the money).

I believe this is the most important point, and the most valuable part.

Nick

Like Andrew mentioned in one of the threads, I believe that Sun will also take the initial self-evaluation survey into account and set the final passing score for SCJA. That self-evaluation survey can indicate the expertise level of the exam candidate and his/her score is considered in a different way with others' scores.

So let's wait and see...