SCJP 1.4 passed

[�sa Bergstr�m]

Hi all. I passed on december 12th with 85%. Oh joy!

I've only worked with other programming languages so I wanted to brush up on my java from uni by getting the certificate.


Study routine
I read through Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates book two (some chapters more) times, did the self-tests a couple of times, and took all free mock exams I could find. I also paid the small fee to get access to the Marcus Green question database and that was well-worth the money. Apart from that, my best advise is to write small programs to try out stuff. I think i spent about 80 hours on studying all in all. My mock scores in the beginning of my studies were truly pathetic, but I didn't give up because I paid the exam fee myself before I started to study.

Darn Nerves
For some reason I got really nervous the last days before the test. I couldn't sleep at all the night before and at the time I arrived at the test center my hands were shaking and my head felt like porridge. My self-esteem was at a low also because I used some of the sleepless hours to revise my least-favourite chapters - 'Inner Classes' and 'Threads'. On the self tests that time I got something like 30% and the test was only a few hours away!

Test Experience
The ladies at the test center were overly nice to me. They gave me coffee, a pat on the shoulder and told me that its okay to fail the first time. I must have looked like a wreck. After going through one-third or so of the test however, I started to relax because the test was much easier, less complex anyway, than expected. My lowest score was on Operators and Assignments.

Thanks to
Forum members
Marcus Green
Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates
My boyfriend

[Bert Bates]

Congrats �sa,

We're glad the book helped.

- Bert

[Thomas De Vos]

Many congratulations, great score.

Well done.

[Devi Sri]

Hi Asa,

Congratulations!!

Regards,
DeviSri.