Learn Java through SCJA & SCJP?

Hi everyone, I saw a course with 5 day classes for each certification and thought of learning Java by taking both of them over 2-3 months. I have no programming experience... is this doable or am I completely insane?

Hi Ming,

Ming Daines wrote:Hi everyone, I saw a course with 5 day classes for each certification and thought of learning Java by taking both of them over 2-3 months. I have no programming experience... is this doable or am I completely insane?

I don't know about the SCJA but I have 15 years programming experience (not just Java) and I prepared more then 5 days for the SCJP.

Hi Ming,

Do you have no programming experience at all or no experience in Java?

In first case you need to get comfortable with a lot of programming concepts which
will definitely require more than 5 days to absorb.

Even if you have experience in other language/s I would say
1) learning basic Java will take a month easily &
2) after taking mock exams listed in the SCJP FAQ on this site you can decide on the time frame.

Also if your educational background is not related to computers/IT/programming
it could take more time depending on how fast you can learn.

Please let us know if you need more information.

It would take a good 5 days to comfortably read the SCJP, and even that would feel a bit rushed.

Are these courses run by Sun/Oracle?

It might be good to study alone for some time, gain some experience etc, then use the 5 day course as preparation (after you've done mock tests etc)

Thanks everyone for the kind advice. Yes those classes are run by Oracle and I thought it'll be a great way to learn...until I realized on these forums how much people, even experienced programmers had to study for it. Now I've decided to read Head First Java like many people suggest then take the SCJA classes for 5 days. Baby steps!

Best of Luck Ming !!!

The forum & members are always present to extend any help needed.
(I realized this in just couple of posts)

It's really nice to see seasoned professionals lending a hand to rookies like me. Thanks Avishkar and all!