thinking about taking the exam before August 1st.

[Jonathan Elkharrat]

Hi, people.

Like most of you, i just heard about the new ORACLE instruction (good thing
i got subscribed to the ranch newsletters) and i said to myself that if i
want to be a certified developer, it's now or never.
I hope i could finish the assignment and then doing immediately the exam.
At the worst case i could resubmit the assignment after August 1st.
(as hinted by Sean Keane here:
https://coderanch.com/t/529131/java-developer-SCJD/certification/Mandatory-Course-Requirement-OCMJD-OCMJEA
taking the ORACLE course would cost a hell more than that that)

I just have a couple of questions and would appreciate if someone could answer them:

1. Since i don't want to waste time, i'll pay for the exam at the prometric center.
ORACLE says on their website that:
How do I purchase vouchers for Sun Certifications now?
Certification candidates no longer need to purchase vouchers to register for an exam. The process has been streamlined so you can simply register for an exam and pay for it with a credit card at prometric.com/oracle on September 1, 2010.

Did somebody actually try that? that would save me a lot of time.


2. Did you pay for the assigment also with a credit card? if yes, then that's also a relief.
I really don't want to waste precious time in this certification...

[Roel De Nijs]

I guess that would be no problem, since that seems to be the new way to pay for an exam. If you don't have a credit card, you have to do a lot of extra administration (a friend of mine had to do that for his SCJA). So it would be strange to me if Oracle says "pay per credit card" and then you should not be able to do so.

[Sean Keane]

Hi Jonathan! I just downloaded the assignment there and I can confirm that you can use a credit card.

I followed the instructions on this page here. Everything is straight forward.

You sign up for an Oracle account - you need your prometric ID for this (the ID that you used to pass the programmer certification). Then you log into the Oracle account and follow the instructions from the page I linked to above.

You eventually get to a page where you can enter your credit card details and pay for the assignment. After this you go to the page with the instructions for your assignment. You need to print of these instructions. On the instructions page there is also a link to the database file that you need for the assignment - you must download this database file.

That's it, simple

[Sean Keane]

Just in case you were hoping to book Part 2 of the certification, here's my experience. The instructions on the page I linked to in my previous post above say:

The Part 2 exam (310-027) you must register for and take at Prometric.com/oracle.

I went to register for the Part 2 exam at Prometric. But it seems the maximum time in advance that you can register for the exam is two months. The latest date I was able to book was the end of May. I seem to remember this two month rule when I was doing the Programmer certification - so I don't think it is anything new. I will just have to return to book this in May.

With regards paying for Part 2 via Prometric using your credit card. I never got to a page that requested payment as I didn't book the exam. But this is precisely how I paid for the 6.0 Programmer certification - via Prometric with my credit card. So I am happy enough that I will be able to pay at the Prometric site when I come to booking the Part 2 exam.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your assignment

[Jonathan Elkharrat]

so basically i can do that:

1. order the assigment this week. (with my credit card)
2. finish it in 3 months, say..
3. submit.
4. immediately order the essay exam for July. (i guess
that with oracle you dont need voucher to order an
exam and it let you pay by credit card at prometric
center, or even in the prometric site itself. i'll have
to check that out...)

(5. i'll have to resubmit the assignment after august 1st
if i fail)


in any case i won't have to do the mandatory course by oracle.

am i right?

[Sean Keane]

More or less! But at the end of May\start of June you could book the essay exam for the last week in July (assuming the max time in the future you can be the exam for is 2 months).

If you submit the assignment and do the exam before the 1st August, then you can resubmit after the 1st August and you won't have to do a course. See my post here with clarification from Oracle.

[Roel De Nijs]

If you submit your assignment and take the essay exam before August 1 you don't have to take the mandatory course. If you complete your assignment and essay before 01 Aug 2011 then for the resubmission you will not be required to complete the Hands-on course requirement.

[edit] Sean was a few minutes faster

[Jonathan Elkharrat]

Thanks a lot, guys..