Joseph Kwok

Ok, I think the view points expressed here are geared towards the extremes.

I think the EBJ certificate is valuable, and I also think the experience is too. On the other hand, the flip sides could be true too. The key point is "whatever works for you!". Some people get lucky starting with a Java job and learn all the trades getting paid, while some unlucky ones have to prove that they are good programmers by going thru the certification paying from their own pocket. There is nothing wrong of choosing whatever the way to achieve your goal. Seriously, there is no set formula of how to get thru our life, as long as you take one step at a time. Therefore, I don't quite understand the debates here.

Regards,
Joseph Kwok

I build embedded device using Linux for living. I know for sure the embedded OS and/or software is a huge market. There is no reason why J2ME cannot be used as a good embedded device OS. I think the problems are as follows:
- Lack of education on the J2ME, period. Most people think J2ME is just for Mobile phone. This is not 100% accurate.
- J2ME is inefficient and not suitable for the embedded device. Again, this is not 100% correct either.
Because of the misconception and weak marketing on J2ME to the management, project won't get approved to use J2ME. This is totally unfair to J2ME. Therefore, I have no doubt whatsoever that a HF book on J2ME would drive the grass root effort. There are tons of Java developers out there to support this.

Regards,
Joseph Kwok

Beny,

You can bet that both Collections and Thread are in the exam. Both topics are big by itself. Just concentrate on the basics and make sure you undertand, THEN you memorize the static stuff. This should save you some time in the exam. By the way, I read from many places that time is no factor. Unfortunately, I used every ounce of the 2 hours, I very much ran out of time and have to hurry on several questions. Therefore, do set a faster pace.

Regards,
Joseph Kwok

I just passed the SCJP today. I don't have the high power 90's or 100% test scores that got announced constantly in this forum by others, but I feel good and accomplish something. Seeing all the high scores posted before my exam, I feel quite low because I know I will never get that high. In fact, I was wondering why SUN made the passing grade 51% while almost everyone is getting 90%. I must be stupid or something. Anyway, for these people who are not top tier but still want to pass the exam and make a good living, here is my 2 cents:
- Concentrate on the Java fundamentals. I over-prepared myself by doing a lot of mock exams. In the end, I lost the reality of the importance of the fundamentals.
- Use the K&B book, read every inch of it and do the exercises.
- That's should be enough.

Regards,
Joseph Kwok

Dan,

I had tried your mock exam. It is one of the most difficult ones out there. The questions are well thought. I highly recommended. By the way, your feedback yahoo email as indicated on the website doesn't work. Please check. Thanks for your reply.

Does anyone know in the real SCJP exam whether the question will indicate # of answers is expected, for example, choose 2 etc ...? I discover there is a 10% difference in my mock test results if the number is not shown.

No doubt, you may have to pass both eventually. Since you are SCWCD ready, you can get it certified first. Then, move on to the next exam. The competitions are fierce out there. Many (repeat many) engineers that I known are out of job for 2 to 3 years already, and they are going for all these SUN certifications just to be more competitive.

This question is for Billy. I saw you had so many certifications, quite amazing to me. How do these certs help you in landing job(s), if at all?

Anyone know the number of SUN Certified Programmers, Developers, etc so far? Some ballpark figures would be nice.