Well I passed SCJP2 this morning. After just one month of preparation. Here's my story...
I have a very average programming background. I've actually been a project manager for about five years with zero technical work. Prior to that I was doing some light Visual Basic (4.0/non-OO) work. I also did some undergrad work (almost 10 years ago) with C++ and several procedural programming languages.
About a month ago (the week after New Year's), I picked up my first set of
Java books. A friend and I decided we wanted to get into some Java work, and that certification would be a great starting point. I picked up core Java Fundamentals (Sun Press) and we each picked up a certification "cram" book. I picked up "Mike Meyer's Passport to Java Cert" and he picked up the Corolios "Exam Cram" book.
We went through all of the chapter tests at the end of each chapter in both cram books. First pass we were scoring (by working together) around 40-60%. We would focus in on the more difficult concepts, try some coding, do some reading, quiz each other, etc. Then we took a second pass at it and scored around 70-80%. Then we took the mock
test in the back of Exam Cram book and I scored a 68% on it. That was about 1 1/2 weeks ago.
We took some of the Sybex tests (my friend bought the CD) and I scored horribly. (40-50%) Mostly due to the fact that those tests are junk. Don't bother buying it.
Then we hit Javaranch.com...and started reading some posts. From your tips we picked up JQ+ and started playing Rules Roundup. I first took the Marcus tests and scored a 75%(Test#1) and 71%(Test#2) My scores on JQ+ were as follows:
1. Didn't take Test#1
2. 61%
3. 63%
4. 68%
5. 78%
6. 90%
7. 76%
8. 78%
9. & 10. Didn't take Test#9 and Test#10
We really spent a lot of time reviewing each question and going over the "tricks" and difficult materials.
I decided (based on fellow Ranchers advice) that I was ready for the test. Last Thursday I bought my voucher and scheduled the test for this morning. I spent several hours over the weekend reviewing material and relaxing. Got a good night's sleep last night and arrived at the Prometric center this morning.
I finished the test in about one hour (they give you 120 minutes). I could have spent more time reviewing but I was tired and I felt pretty confident that I passed. [We didn't really care about getting a high score...we just wanted to pass] So I hit the submit button.
I couldn't see my total percentage right away, but knew that I did fairly well from my section scores:
After printing my results and visiting the front desk, I found that my total score was 91%. I was very pleased given my amount of preparation.
The one piece of advice that I can't stress enough is this:
GET JQ+, DO EVERY TEST AND UNDERSTAND EVERY QUESTION.
I think if you do that...and you can score decently (65%+) on the JQ+ exams...then you are definitely ready for the real thing.
Good luck!
Dan Lastoria
Sun Certified Java Programmer (hey, I like the sound of that)
[Not sure if this should have gone in the results forum or the main one...sorry if it's misplaced]
[ February 11, 2002: Message edited by: Dan Lastoria ]