Cindy:
The fact that you are taking a break after your first year at college bothers me. Why are you taking a break?
Under no circumstances should you postpone college just to take the SCJP2 exam. If all you have is partial college and the SCJP2 and no experience - you will not get the greater than $8/hour IT job. More than likely, no job at all. I am 100% certain on that fact.
Your #1 priority is to get that bloody CD Degree.
Your #2 priority is to grab an internship - doing ANYTHING in the IT industry. Even if you are an intern with IBM - pouring
coffee 90% of the time - you will get some experience. And 3 months with IBM is three months with IBM.
Regarding internship pay - it varies widely. Who cares, as long as it will pay the rent and some food.
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Exposing the myth. The IT industry is not a job - it's a career. And for most (there are exceptions) of us, we have had to climb up the ladder. There is no "magical solution". It's a lot of hard - bust your butt off work. Sorry, but that is reality in this game.
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So what should you do?
If you are taking a break from college - that is fine. But use the time in an internship or some IT company role. It won't be as a Java developer. More than likely you will be proofing code - or testing - or doing production support. Expecially, since you mentioned you are just getting started in school.
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There are low paying IT jobs out there doing production support and meaningless tasks (tape backups / batch cycle operator). This is where you are going to have to start. They only pay about $8-$10 to start. And
alot of them are the graveyard shift.
Even working as a lab monitor in college will help.
Talk to the career services people. Visit with them every day.
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The CS major is difficult enough - you don't want to work 40+ hour week in the IT industry at $8-$10 per hour. And then go to class and then hit the books for 3 or 4 hours.
If you think classes are hard and time consuming now - just wait until you hit the junior and senior years. See those guys in the library at 2AM. Well that's you during your last 2 years. Reason for the 70-80% dropout rate.
Not only do you have exams - but you have projects. And if it isn't the CS-classes - it's the myriad of physics/math/economics/english classes that will keep you tied up.
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Going back to your original question:
"Could someone give me some advice about how likely it is that I will be able to find a job without experience."
It won't happen. No degree / No certification = No real full time job. No degree / Yes certification = Perhaps something - but it will be a total bear to find. Who knows what this market is doing. On one hand we hear good news from CNN about college hiring this year. On the other hand, unemployment is the highest since 89 or 91.
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So what should you do?
Grap an internship this summer. See if you can CO-OP this fall with the same company. Not all schools will do this. But some let you work 6 months at a company - and earn credits for doing this. Usually the company pays you like $500/week and the 6 credit tuition bill.
Now you have grabbed experience / $$$ / and college credits all in one shot.
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Sorry about all the negative news. But I have found the IT industry to be a total pain in the butt to get started in. But, I have stuck it out and have had a lot of fun the past 5 years. Even got an MS-Computer Science degree paid for. Took 3 separate companies (EDS / Lehigh Univ / Osh Kosh Little Brats Clothing) to do it - but hey - that's the game.
Been laid off 3 times (EDS / Lucent / AMS) in the past 5 years.
Looking at another 1800 mile relocation back to PA in the next few weeks. See how 3rd round of interviews go.
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Wow!!! That's a lot of typing.
Gotta run,
John Coxey
(jpcoxey@aol.com)
. I have just passed the SCJP exam, and was sailing on cloud 9, but reading this thread has brought me back to the ground with a THUD 
, for sharing that happy story....and that advice. You be sure, I have taken it.
