Passed with 94 %

[Reghu Ram Thanumalayan]

Hello Friends,
After nearly two months of preparation, i finally took it on last wednesday. Though i thought, while taking the exam that i would have got atleast two more questions right, i ended up with 66/70 ( 94% ).
Actually , atleast 80 % of the questions are simple and straightforward. The rest 20% is where our ability gets tested.
I found some 4-5 questions to be worded very briefly, so that so many assumptions could be made. I missed out on 2 such questions.
So i am happy that within 5 months of being exposed to Java, i have been able to complete two certifications ( SCJP - 98% and SCBCD - 94% ). And my success in SCBCD, is mainly due to JavaRanch.
I did get so many doubts while reading the EJB Spec because it says so many things should not be done but mostly little explanation why it should not be done. And i got answers for that in JavaRanch. And guys like Phil, Keith
and not to forget Kathy, plus many others were very prompt in providing the answers. That is one aspect which keeps me hooked to this forum.
About my preparation, I read Mastering EJB by Ed Roman first and tried deploying the Beans in an Application Server ( Weblogic ). Then i read thru HFE and EJB Spec side by side. This reading i completed in 40 days.
The next 20 days, I spend my time in Mock Exams. I used SoftSCBCD which is pretty useful and cheap of course. I also took mock exams in ejbcertificate.com and jdiscuss.com. After getting an average of 85 % in the Mock Exams,i was confident of taking the real one. The Real one is much simpler than the Mock Exams which i took.
So once again thanks to all the people here in Javaranch. About my next destination, i guess I will be doing SCWCD once the new version comes and then may be SCEA.

[Jayant Kulkarni]

Hay Reghu,
Its gr8 score buddy....!!!
Congratulations....
Thanks for your input. ANy last minute notes will be useful..
Cheers,
Jayant

[Paul Anilprem]

Congratulations, Reghu Ram!!! Excellent Score.
Thanks for posting your scores on SCBCD Score Comparison page

[Keith Rosenfield]

Congratulations Reghu.

Our preparations and scores were very similar. I studied two months also and used basically the same materials and scored 95%. I'm glad to have played a role in your success.
BTW...you should update your signature to include SCBCD.
Good luck on your future pursuits.

[ February 13, 2004: Message edited by: Keith Rosenfield ]

[Reghu Ram Thanumalayan]

I forgot one thing in my last post. The Study Notes by Mikalai Zaikin are really very very good. I read them the night before the exam and i was very confident of repeating my score in SCJP. But i missed it somehow might be due to my over confidence. Also the SoftSCBCD tutorials were very helpful at the last minute.
And take the Exam given in HFE Book only the day before you take the real one. That gives you a feel of the questions that will be asked in the real exam.
Also i went through all the questions given at the end of each chapter of HFE, the day before i took the exam. I guess this helps.

[RamPrasad Gottipati]

Congratulations Reghu !!!
Your guide lines will help lot of us ,who are about start prepartion for SCBCD.
I got most of the part how you prepared for Exam,except HFE(It could be my ignorance).Could please through some more light on this.
Iam planning to take exam by mid of march,already have working experience in EJB using WebLogic App server.
Could please let me know whether i should start with "Mastering EJB" by Ed Roman followed by EJB Spec.
Thanks
Ramu

[Keith Rosenfield]

HF is Head First EJB. If you were to use only one source, this would be it. I would also refer to the specification for those tricky areas.
Good luck.

[Reghu Ram Thanumalayan]

Hello friends,
I read through Mastering EJB since it gives a more detailed description of writing the bean code, depolyment descriptors and depolying them since i was completely new to EJB.
According to me, People with work experience in EJB can directly start reading the Head First EJB Book by Kathy and Bert. That's one BOOK of it's kind. Along with this, the EJB Spec will give more insight into some really important details.
So with 10 days for Mock Exams, i think people with experience can complete the exam in one month.

[Manoj Gupta]

Congratulations Reghu

[Veena Pointi]

Congratulations.Good Score.
Amazingly ur's and keith's preparation time is same.Is this the average time everyone taking to prepare for SCBCD?
I have little knowledge about EJB.I am starting my preparation directly with HFE.Is it ok to prepare like this?I mean can I get high score?I have a feeling that I should read some EJB book like Mastering EJB by EdRoman .... Then again I feel like reading HFEJB twice or thrice will give same understanding.So is reading HFE and understanding concepts given in HFE enough?
Thanks
Veena

[Keith Rosenfield]

There is not a question on the exam that you won't be able to answer if you read HF carefully for complete understanding. You should also refer to the spec when necessary. You should spend at least a week or two taking mock tests which will help bring out your week points. I would also reccomend Valentine Crettaz's cheat sheets, especially the life cycle diagrams. You can find them by following the SCBCD links link at the top of the page.
Good luck.
[ February 13, 2004: Message edited by: Keith Rosenfield ]

[Valentin Crettaz]

Nice job Reghu
I'm moving your post to the results forum. Please continue the discussion there . Thank you

[Philippe Maquet]

Good job Reghu! Congratulations!
Phil.

[Vishwa Kumba]

Congratulations!

[Thomas De Vos]

Many congratulations.
We are pleased that the website was useful.
Well done.

[ February 16, 2004: Message edited by: Thomas De Vos ]

[Bert Bates]

Reghu -
Awesome job!
Hope you'll stick around and help answer some questions now that you're a certified guru!
Bert