SCJP Book Givaway Question

[Brett Lewinski]

Hello -
I have been a Java Programmer for over 5 years now. I started with 1.4 and am currently using Java 5; soon we will be upgrading to Java 6. I have never taken the SCJP exam and recently I have started to think about taking it. I actually have 2 questions. First is taking the exam worth it? Will having the certificate benefit my career more than not having it? Secondly if I do decide to take the exam what is the best way to prepare for it considering there are some areas of Java which I will need to re-acclimate myself with as I haven't used them in years and other areas that I feel pretty solid with?

Thanks!

Brett

[Ryan Wilson]

Brett,

When I was writing Java code I thought I knew Java. I found out that I really did not know as much as I thought I did.
Studying for the exam made me really learn the language and it was this knowledge that was most beneficial to my career.

[Khalid A. Mughal]

In addition to extending (no pun intended) your knowledge about Java, having internationally recognized credentials can open new career doors.

[Khalid A. Mughal]

Brett Lewinski wrote:Hello -
... what is the best way to prepare for it ...

Here are some rough guidelines.
I suggest you familiarize yourself with the exam objectives first (Appendix B).
Then read up on topics you know the least about (there are references from the exam objectives to the topics in the book), and reinforce these by doing the review questions for these topics.
As you get to the topics that (you think) you know a lot about, start with the review questions first to gauge how much you know.
Finally try the mock exam -- and some more mock exams from the net -- until you are confident.
IMHO, without practicing answering the review questions, it is very hard to clear the exam.
Good luck!

[Leandro Coutinho]

nice strategy!!!
bookmarked it =D

[Anselm Paulinus]

Brett Lewinski wrote:Hello -
I have been a Java Programmer for over 5 years now. I started with 1.4 and am currently using Java 5; soon we will be upgrading to Java 6. I have never taken the SCJP exam and recently I have started to think about taking it. I actually have 2 questions. First is taking the exam worth it? Will having the certificate benefit my career more than not having it? Secondly if I do decide to take the exam what is the best way to prepare for it considering there are some areas of Java which I will need to re-acclimate myself with as I haven't used them in years and other areas that I feel pretty solid with?

Thanks!

Brett

wonder why holders of java certifications are nicknamed walking compilers!

[John Kimball]

You're a prime candidate for certification (I'm in the same boat, btw), and I really wish I had realized this several years ago.

First, there are tons of little details/gotchas that certification covers, that you wouldn't really know or think about.
Second, the certification road is a structured way to get acclimated with the new features.

Edit: You'll actually get far more out of certification after having a few years of experience under your belt, as opposed to the other way around. Which is why you're a prime candidate.

[Rashmi Jaik]

Even after having years of experience with Java, doesn't give a satisfaction of being well-rounded in it because most usually at work - we focus only on certain parts of Java.

Studying for the SCJP certification makes us well-rounded in core Java.

SCJP is also a pre-requisite for taking additional Sun certification exams http://www.sun.com/training/certification/java/index.xml .

By reading SCJP books, I learned many things about Java that I wouldn't have known from just programming experience like:

- One interface can extend another interface. An interface can extend multiple interfaces.

- Polymorphism applies only to instance methods ( not static method and not instance or static variables)

and so many other things are in the books

Some of these may be covered in regular non-SCJP books , but an SCJP book is focused on the objectives of the exam which includes everything in core Java to make a well-rounded programmer.

[Brett Lewinski]

Thanks for all the great reply's!

If I were to go for the certification what version would you all recommend I take it for? It seems pointless to take it 1.4 as we already have moved on from that. We are currently on Java 5 but are planning on moving to Java 6 in the near future.

Seems like Java 6 is the most logical. Anyone have thoughts?

Thanks!

[Ruben Soto]

Brett,

Have you tried going to your Ford dealership and insisting on buying a new 1998 Ford Explorer? Always go with the newest model (unless you are talking Camaro, but that's another story altogether.)

[Khalid A. Mughal]

Brett Lewinski wrote:Thanks for all the great reply's!

If I were to go for the certification what version would you all recommend I take it for? It seems pointless to take it 1.4 as we already have moved on from that. We are currently on Java 5 but are planning on moving to Java 6 in the near future.

Seems like Java 6 is the most logical. Anyone have thoughts?

Thanks!

Elementary. my dear Watson!
The number is 6.
:-)

Very good discussion in this thread!