If you are interested, just go ahead and take the exam! You will feel a lot better.
As far as doing developer's job, if after getting certified, you think you can handle more responsibilities, seek them or change jobs. Is it a good idea to do developer's job as an architect? I don't know how you define "developer's job" but if it means writing code then my answer is yes. I believe one can't be an effective architect without staying close to the code - especially given how rapidly technologies change and new frameworks come out. At the same time, it is reasonable to expect some kind of personal of professional gain out of the certification. Remember, certification itself is just a piece of paper (or a resume keyword). Opportunities might not come to you automatically just because you are certified, you may have to seek opportunities and use your certification to your advantage.
Finally, it's important to remember that getting certified does NOT make you an architect (it does force you to learn new things though). Having this certification naturally increases your customer's expectations of you. If you work hard and get certified but can't deliver the solutions, you quickly hurt yourself (and the perceived value of the certification within the community).
If you want to
test your readiness for SCEA, a simple way is to pick up an SCEA book and design the solution of the case study described at the end of the book without looking at the solution. Once you are done, compare your solution with the one given in the book. If you are close, you are ready; all you need is little bit of studying.
Hope this helps...
C
