Hey Daniel,
Interestingly knowing a design patterns well does not establish one as an architect.Knowing EJB3.0 or hibernate well also does not establish somebody as an architect.He may at best be called someone uptodated.Architecting is more than knowing design patterns and EJB3.0.I feel that it is the way to think things properly.For example common architectures,DP, Legacy connectivity, Messaging,i18n,UML is something that will always be around with some variation.
We do certification to get ourselves recognised in the job market, getting some dollars/Rupees more per hour.Of all the standard architect level certification SCEA still has value, since it touches the basic tenets of architecting.Pls remember technology is a part of architecture not the whole of it.
The other ones to compare are of-course from IBM and Microsoft, which are also very good.But you cannot conclude that since only SCEA has EJB1.1 it is backdated . It would be a misconception of the basic principles of architecting.
I do agree new things needs to be brought in like ESBs and AOPs and stuffs like that, but this is also fine.
To take the exam or not is your own personal decision, but pls do not be biased with technology, see how much of architecting you can learn by doing a certification.
