Today I passed "SJCP 5.0" (91%) and I hope that this post might help some of you guys as many posts helped me in my preparation.
My Background:
No
Java but strong experience in C++ and OOP.
My Materials:
- K&B book
- Whizlabs Mocks
- Some Internet Mocks (the best one: JMMock written by a Javaranch member (John I think))
My computer with a JAVA
IDE (NetBeans for instance) installed and running.
Javadoc help
My preparation planning:
I had almost all my days free for preparing the exam.
- 10 first day: read entirely the R&D book (1 chapter/day). Note things that looked important to me.
- 10 next days: Alternatively, I:
- review my notes
- take a mock exam
- review my wrong answers
- try any idea or doubts by programming it in the IDE.
- update the notes
Well I think that you can even be ready in 15 days if you just want to pass. (it was my only goal, a high score was not interested me)
The exam itself:
- The exam is much easier than any mock I could have trained on. Questions are easier but also, since they indicate the number of options to answer, it really hep in case you have a doubt...
- Time is not an issue BUT don't waste it neither (I finished like 20 minutes before the time)
- Drag and Drop questions: even if you do not answer but just take a look, the software will consider that you did answer and show it in the report view! Even worst, when you review D&D questions, if you have actually answered, your previous answers will be lost.
My opinion:
This certification does not mean a lot. I mean, I might know when a code compiles or not (but the compiler knew it before me) but concretely I have no idea about which java classes to use when implementing a particular application. I believe that the Java Developer Certification is more meaningful.
