Hi,
I passed my Spring 3.0 Certification today with a mark of 88%.
Here is my story...
1. In March I passed my SCBCD and decided to follow it with a Spring certification. I applied to Spring via the Grandfather route. I think I must have been one of the last to be accepted via this path.
2. In July I started on my Spring 2.5 certification. I began by reading the reference
doc and summarizing it.
3. My studies took a back seat until October, when I found Jeanne's Blog (super big thank you!!) and I switched to Spring 3.0
4. Using her notes as a base, I studied most weekends in Oct and sat the exam today.
5. Passed with 88%
My impressions...
The certification was MUCH easier than the Sun ones. The questions tend to concentrate on features and concepts and do not ask syntax and implementation.
The "difficulty" is the lack of resources (mock exams, notes, etc) which makes it very hard to tell what is in scope and what is not. Spring 3.0 was much better in this area as it had clear objectives.
The exam itself was of a good standard. Questions were clear, but a little tricky (especially with the use of negatives).
My wish...
SpringSource should open this certification up to anyone who pays for the voucher. Linking it to the training is a pretty poor effort. I passed the exam without going on the training. I now have a very good idea of how to use Spring and its many wonderful features. Come on SpringSource!!!
For the resources I used (and gathered) as well as my last minute study notes (based on Jeanne's notes), check out the link in the JavaRanch Spring Cert FAQ (
http://faq.javaranch.com/java/SpringCertificationFaq)
Finally, a big thank you to all those who help me along by providing mock exams, hints and guidance. A special thank you to Jeanne!!
Cheers
Gavin