Jason Hodges

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since Jan 20, 2015
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Recent posts by Jason Hodges

I just want to thank everyone that helped with my preparation for the exam.
I just received my results from Oracle and I passed with a 63%! I am OFFICIALLY Java Certified but the bigger goal of being a college graduate has just became a reality. At 34 years young, working full time and being a husband as well as a father to two boys. Today is AMAZING!
I"m thankful especially for a comment @Roel De Nijs had left someone explaining his tip to double check a question you think is too easy. One of the very last questions I was trying to answer had two different primitive variables declared centered in some busy code. The lines of code masked a tiny little swap on the variable declarations that I caught doing my 'double check'. I thought the question was about something else and then spotted that little sly move. Glad I did, that one would have most likely been the slip that cost me the pass.

Blake Edward wrote:When I left work Thursday I had the old Java program working.


Blake, how is the work on your project going? Are you planning to create a new and improved version of the old program?

Blake Edward wrote:I think you are going to do it this time!


Thank you Blake, I appreciate the encouragement. I just finished the Enthuware Standard 5 mock with a score of 61%, using 7224 seconds (over by 84). I marked 23 questions, 11 of which I got incorrect. These will be heavily studied to determine why I got fubared. I'm pretty sure I scored a bonus study day before the weekend as well. Unexpected but very welcomed.

Roel De Nijs wrote:
I'll limit myself to listing some topics


Roel, as soon as I read these first few words I pictured you in an epic movie scene shouting "don't do it man! You haven't even passed the mocks exams.."
I realize the odds are against me but I can't keep avoiding the inevitable.
**UPDATE**
I am still scheduled to take the exam Monday. I have been continually studying and coding out problems I am still rough on. I have the Standard mock 5 and 6 as well as the Last Day mock of Enthuware left. I will have the entire weekend for a non-stop cram session. If any of you have any final words of advice, encouragement, or whatever else...please share.
I took a first attempt at Standard test 3 in my Enthuware this morning. My score has improved but I still have a way to go. I finished in 117 minutes with a score of 49%. I had three questions marked when I finished that I had time to review. An observation I made was that analyzing each question and developing reason, whether correct or not, seemed to be a bit easier. Now I will take the next few days to thoroughly go through each of the questions to understand my strengths and weaknesses.

Roel De Nijs wrote:

Jason Hodges wrote:**UPDATE** I have scheduled the exam for August 24th.


I assume you postponed your exam to a later date. What's the current status of your preparation?



Hello Roel, I have rescheduled it for Monday, September 28th. I am still approved to walk in graduation on the 26th since this is my last class. As for my preparation, I am studying daily, trying to code as much as I can, watching video tutorial courses, reviewing the questions I've already tested on in Enthuware and the Oracle mocks.
I have a question regarding the advice given for judging preparedness with the Enthuware exams. Roel, you had wrote this on another thread

Roel De Nijs wrote:why do you take the OCA exam if you fail 3 Enthuware tests in a row Second and third attempts don't count!


So what is the advice if you fail the first Standard and second Standard Enthuware mock? I get that studying and coding a lot is beneficial but how does one go about getting the test taking experience and speed if it is advised to not push forward with the Enthuware exams? Thanks

Roel De Nijs wrote:

Jason Hodges wrote:After studying each question in the Standard Test 1, I have attempted Standard Test 2 tonight only to score 36%.


Roel De Nijs wrote:And is your score on Standard Test 2 similar to the one on Standard Test 1?


The score was identical. I had posted last week that my first attempt score was 34% but it was actually 36%, same as my Standard Test 2 score.


Roel De Nijs wrote: And did you study a lot between taking both standard tests? Or did you just studied each question of Standard Test 1 before taking Standard Test 2?


I studied each question in the Standard Test 1 and tried reviewing the concepts I didn't feel confident on.

Roel De Nijs wrote:Do you see any pattern in the questions you answered wrong? Is it actually some problems with content (e.g. overloading/overriding, ArrayList, not spotting compiler errors) or is it more about test taking techniques (e.g. time management per question and having to rush at the end)?


I didn't feel as good on time for the Standard Test 2 and I did taking the Standard Test 1. I don't know if I just had more distraction, was thinking into each question too much or what. One thing I do know is that I am missing a lot of the multiple answer questions by one answer. This in itself is frustrating because you feel so close but I know no one wins by almost making it to the finish line.

I am trying not to let it get me down, though I am questioning if my mind is constructing a sort of mental block because I've been studying the material so much. A co-worker suggested I take a break and work on some fun project and my school mentor suggested I take a night off. I just can't bring myself to do this. I can't give up. I plan to try another technique for the little parts that need locked into memory. I have a voice note app on my phone that I will be recording important statements into that I can then loop through headphones while at work or driving.

In response to an earlier reply from a fellow coderanch member, attending graduation is important to me. I am 34, married, proud father to two boys. This school is the 6th school I've attended post high-school yet due to life roadblocks I never attained a degree. This certification will mean a lot to me but finally getting my degree will mean more. I have all intentions of continuing to learn and develop with Java but right now I am so close to being done with school and that is my goal at the moment.
Starting the week off frustrated. After studying each question in the Standard Test 1, I have attempted Standard Test 2 tonight only to score 36%. I have to do something different. I don't get why the knowledge isn't sticking, I am studying Java every free minute I get.
Nick, another thing you could do to test your Java knowledge is join hacker rank.com and work through some of the problems in the Java track. I've done this is some free time and it will make you think and not having a solution stored in memory will forc you to seek out a solutions, in return learning new valuable information.
So would you use the ''try-with-riches" to catch an exception thrown by an operation utilizing the "diamond operator"?
I wasn't sure where to post this but figured since I started this thread and this is related to my studies and prep I would go ahead and post it here. To get some more question answering practice in I have been going through the end of chapter quizzes in the school provided material I have access to. The material is uCertify but also list McGrawHill and Enthuware inside the actual quiz engine. I really am not sure how much input Enthuware has had because I have come across some possible answers that DO NOT seem on par with the standard I've come to trust with Enthuware. For example I had a question earlier on topic with inheritance which had a possible answer of 'super duper class'. I just had a question on topic of Exception Handling that asked about new features of Java 7 which list a possible answer of ''try-with-riches' feature and a possible answer of the 'boomerang' feature. This, in one way, makes me chuckle. In the other way it makes me skeptical of the quality of school provided material. Anyway, just had to take a break and share that...maybe someone will get a laugh

Roel De Nijs wrote:

And finally, if you don't feel confident about your level and knowledge, you should simply postpone your exam. You can reschedule your exam for free. According to the Reschedule Policy of the Oracle Certification Program Policies there's just 1 restriction: you must reschedule at least 1 business day prior to your exam appointment.



Thanks Roel! For whatever reason I hadn't really looked at the retake policy until last night. 14 day waiting period before you can purchase the voucher and register for retake. This doesn't help my stress at all
Thanks for the tips guys. So I took the standard test 1 in Enthuware. My score was 34% which shocked me because I felt pretty confident going through it. My time was in good shape I feel, I finished with 4 questions marked and about 10 minutes left. Mind you, it was extremely late when I took the mock. I am doing my best to not let this first score get me down. I am reviewing each question, sorted by objective and coding the problems of others similar, also sorted by objective (eg. package obj2;). I am going back through the end of chapter test in the Mala book each night during dinner. The pressure of needing to pass in order to attend graduation ceremony in September isn't making it any easier. I'll keep you guys updated