How long will SCJP 5 Certification be offered?

I am preparing to take the 5.0 test sometime in late-July/early-August 2009, but I am worried that Sun may pull out the exam altogether because SCJP 6.0 has also been offered for a while now.

I spoke with their customer service representatives, and they mentioned that it would be a Marketing decision and they cannot tell anything.

Can some of you who have been following these trends share how long Sun keeps a previous version of the certification open when a new one has come out as well?

Thank you!

You might as well answer SCJP 6.0 in that case..There is very little difference between 5.0 and 6.0...Only few minor changes..So prepare for SCJP 5.0 and learn those few extra things..I'm also planning to do the same.

Read this post here : http://www.coderanch.com/t/142606/Sun-Certification-Results/certification/Difference-between-SCJP-SCJP

All the best !!!

Usually Sun provides a sufficiently long time frame before they pull the plug on an exam. > 6 months I would say.

SCJP 6 and 5 are almost identical. You should go for 6.

Go for six, but I don't see 5 being retired for a very, very long time. The 1.4 exam was around for ages.

-Cameron McKenzie

Why do you seek SCJP 5 when the upgrade version of the exam is available??

Thanks everyone for your input. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they keep it open for another 2 months.

I would like to take the 6.0 test, but I am not sure I'll have the time to prepare for it... I am working in a very narrow time window before school restarts in August. But thanks for the recommendation.

...now there is a SCJP+ !

http://www.coderanch.com/t/452410/Programmer-Certification-SCJP/certification/Sun-Java-Programmer-Plus-Certification

nothing to panic about though.