Hello JavaRanch,
I passed
SCJP 5.0, my first Sun exam, on Monday - so I registered here to report my results and perhaps offer some small advice and encouragement to future test-takers.
Score: 65 questions out of 72 = 90%
Sections:
Declarations etc - 100%
Flow Control - 100%
API Contents - 90%
Concurrency - 87%
OO Concepts - 90%
Collections/Generics - 60%
Fundamentals - 100%
Overall the exam was quite a bit easier than I had expected (and a LOT easier than the self-tests in Kathy and Bert's book). You'll notice a much lower score in the Generics section than in the rest of the exam - this is because I haven't actually used Generics (nor most of the different Collections, for that matter) much in real-life programming and I sadly didn't have a lot of time to prepare and learn more about the subject. I also found the drag-and-drop questions considerably more difficult than the multiple choice ones - I guess that's where at least 5 of my 7 lost points went.
I used about two days strictly for studying, during which I skimmed through Kathy and Bert's book and tried various mock exams. My humble advice for future test-takers, should any of them be reading: take ample time to prepare! I think about a week should be enough, if you've actually used
Java before and have a solid grasp of the fundamentals (inheritance, flow control, scoping etc). Focus on your weak areas. Kathy and Bert's book is excellent and probably the only one you will need, I found it easy to read and entertaining. Thanks and good luck!
Next stop: SCWCD
