Hi,
Took the SCBCD 1.3 Exam Today. Cleared it with 85% (60/70)
Wanted to share the exam experience and my preparation details. Spending at the rate of about 2 hours per day on an average for 1.5 months, after a false start(*), I decided to take the exam when I started scoring @ 90%+ in the mock tests. The preparation materials I used (and in that order):
1.Head First
EJB 2.Whizlabs SCBCD Simulator
3.ejbCertificate.com Tests
4.EJB 2.0 Specification (Used for reference only)
5.Javaranch
The exam was very much similar to the ejbCertificate.com Final
Test and the Head First Master Exam. The areas where I faltered was the CMP Entity Bean Lifecycle & Contract and EJB-QL(!).
My advice is that you write down the methods in EJBObject, EJBLocalObject, EJBHome and EJBLocalHome, the lifecycle diagrams of various types of beans, methods that run with �unspecified transaction context� on a sheet of paper once you enter the examination hall and know clearly the distinction between the responsibilities of various EJB roles. This should easily give you 15-20% of the marks on the exam, if not more.
For an indication of how the mock tests model the real exam, I am posting my scores on the various mock exams:
Whizlabs Diagnostic 49/70
Whizlabs Test 1 57/70
Whizlabs Test 2 49/70
Whizlabs Test 3 54/80
Whizlabs Final Test 59/70
Head First Master Exam 61/70
ejbCertificate.com Difficult Test 19/20
ejbCertificate.com Final Test 66/70
In spite of not being able to take one side in the never-ending battle of certified-immortal-geeks v/s mortal-non-certified-m*rons, the next in line for me is the
SCEA 5 certification�
* Hmmm� about the false start, I started with SCBCD 5.0 in mind. But with all my experience being on EJB 1.1 and EJB 2.0(with about 1 year on Session Beans and Message-Driven Beans) and my (dis)likeness for the books available in the market for EJB 3.0, I decided to revert to SCBCD 1.3. This was after spending about 1 month on the preparation. Bert/Kathy � Head First EJB Rocks, Special Thanks for your book. I know there are n number of threads on this subject, but I *really* (a big really) think we all need a Head First EJB 3.0. Not only for the sake of certification but also to understand this technology the Head First Way!
