To be or not to be certified (Java developers journal)

[Java geezer]

http://www.sys-con.com/java/article.cfm?id=1303

[ersin eser]

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web sites used --> JavaRanch.com

[Valentin Crettaz]

Keith,
I partly agree with you, but some of your statements do not make any sense.

It was like going back to school, memorizing pieces of information that seem totally and completely irrelevant, such as remembering all the adapter classes in the AWT API. Now, about one month after the event, I've forgotten a lot of these facts because, frankly, they're irrelevant.

This statement definitely proves that you do not satisfy the first requirement which states that you should already be an experienced Java programmer. If you were, you'd know that those classes are not irrelevant. Moreover, you'd also already know them and wouldn't complain about memorizing things.

What does it really say about a programmer's skills? Does it say "He must be a good programmer because he's Sun certified?" I don't think so. In fact I'm fairly convinced that someone with no Java experience at all could, with the help of one of those big fat "get certified" books, pass the exam.

Absolutely...

I did it because I'm playing the game. I'm playing the game invented by Sun (and all other companies that offer certification exams) and played by employees and employers

Actually, I would rephrase that from another perspective. The game has not been invented by Sun, but by people who ARE NOT experienced programmers and "believe" they would become experienced only by getting certified. SCJP has been banalized! The only mistake Sun is making is that the certification exam is way too "easy". In this respect, SCJD is much more worth taking.

To get some real Java programming credentials under your belt, I would suggest that the next stage of the exam process, the Sun Certified Developer for Java 2 Platform, would be a worthwhile exercise. You actually have to write some code.

Absolutely.
If only people would take this certification seriously, SCJP certified would get more credibility. But it just seems to me that some people have absolutely no knowledge of Java, and decide to seek for certification right away. Even before learning the language itself, they would like to master its details. Makes no sense to me.