Beta Exam Opportunity!!

[Kathy Sierra]

Howdy all and welcome to the new EJB cert forum
We are opening up the beta test to others, in order to get a much larger pool of people doing the beta. Remember, if you pass the beta, you get a *real* certification. I've pasted in the message from the program manager of Java certification. Everything you need is in this note.
Good luck!
cheers,
Kathy
(and let's start talking about the exam! We completed development on the exam last week, so now it is being prepared for the beta. )
------------- Begin Forwarded Message -------------
FREE BETA!!! FREE BETA!!! FREE BETA!!!
Business Component Developer for J2EE
Free beta vouchers are valid only for the
first 400 candidates who take the exam.
If you want to participate, don't delay!
Beta starts June 6 and closes after the
first 400 exams are completed by you.

**************************************************************************
WHAT:
We are now beginning recruitment for ** Quality Review Beta Testers**
of the new Business Component Developer Certification exam:
Sun Certified Business Component Developer for J2EE Exam
****** YOU MUST BE A SUN CERTIFIED PROGRAMMER FOR THE JAVA 2 PLATFORM
(ANY EDITION) TO PARTICIPATE.
This new certification will test skills and knowledge in the following
areas:
o Client View of a Session Bean
o EJB Overview
o Session Bean Component Contract
o Session Bean Lifecycle
o Component Contract for Container-Managed Persistence (CMP)
o Client View of an Entity
o CMP Entity Bean Lifecycle
o Entity Beans
o EJB-QL
o Message-Driven Bean Component Contract
o Transactions
o Exceptions
o Enterprise Bean Environment
o Security Management

WHO:
If your specialty lies in building business components, then this is your
opportunity to:
o Shape the newest Sun Certification for Java Professionals
o Preview exam questions before they go live!
o Provide feedback on the quality, applicability, and correctness
of the questions
Qualified participants should be business component developers who are
responsible for:
- Analyzing, designing, developing, and testing EJB technology applications
- Deploying EJB technology applications
- Integrating EJB applications with legacy applications
Exam Type:
Multiple Choice and Drag and Drop questions

Learning Path:
Recommended courses:
SL351 - Advanced Business Component Development With Enterprise Java Beans
Technology
FJ310 - Developing J2EE Compliant Applications.
We also recommend that you be familiar with the EJB 2.0 Specification.
Please note that the goal of Sun certification is to test on a particular
job role that the certification supports. Thus, certification exams are based on
both recommended Sun instructor-led classes and six to twelve months of actual
job role experience. Sun does not claim that by taking courses you are
guaranteed to pass the certification examinations, however we do state that the
courses are an important component in certification preparation.
If you meet this description and want to personally influence the outcome
of Sun's Business Component Developer Exam, then please sign up as a Beta
Tester!
WHY:
The purpose of beta testing a certification exam is:
(1) To eliminate all bad, incorrect, or poorly phrased
questions from what will ultimately become the final - the
Go Live (!) -- version of the exam. This is done by
providing beta testers the opportunity to comment on as many
questions as they choose.
YOUR FEEDBACK IS WELCOME!
(2) To test the test against those most qualified.
YOU ARE TESTING THE TEST!
WHEN:
The beta will be offered at Prometric Testing Centers worldwide beginning:
JUNE 6 - JULY 7, 2003
HOW:
To register for the beta exam, please go to:
https://suned.sun.com/secure/j2ee.html
or
send an email to: [email protected]
Be sure to include the following information:
-- Full name
-- Email address
-- City / Country
-- Sun Organization (GSO, SS, PS, etc.)
-- Prometric Testing Id (required)
More details about the beta exam will be included when I send you the free
voucher number to take the exam.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Evelyn Cartagena
Java Certification Program Manager
EMAIL: [email protected]

[Bert Bates]

BCD Candidates -
This is going to be one heck of a new exam - wow! There are questions on this baby like you've never seen before! Oh sure, there will be multiple choice questions, but hold on to your hats when you see some of the other kinds of questions that'll be coming your way!

[Al Newman]

Cowgirl, I am confused. I completed the survey earlier and sent it in, but haven't heard word one from Sun beyond an acknowledgement immediately after I sent the survey. No voucher, nothing.
It seems that Sun has forgotten some of us and thrown it open again. So I went and signed up again. But now it's a race to be one of the first 400 without (apparently) any thought given to those of us in the first batch.
Right now I'm feeling a little used, and wonder if that's right.

[Ben Butler]

Hi - I received acknowledgement of the registration for the beta.
does that automatically mean I will get a voucher?Are there only 400 vouchers... ?
many thanks, Ben Butler

[Kathy Sierra]

Howdy -- if you got an acknowledgement after returning the survey, then you will get a voucher. The emails are supposed to go out this week sometime, so I would expect that you'll hear from Sun very soon!
They decided to open it up again because they did not get enough responses from the survey. The third-party company that conducts the pscyhometric evaluations of the beta, and decides which questions should go in the exam (and how all the different versions should be built so that they are absolutely identical in difficulty levels), requires a LOT of data.
So, we needed more testers. Plus, for everyone who signs up for the beta, a fairly large number do not ever take the exam... so they're trying to be safe.
Everyone on the cert team has been working around the clock -- literally -- to get the exam out on time, so I do apologize that you haven't received your voucher information, but you will!
Believe me, you haven't been forgotten and it is your survey results that determined how the objectives were weighted. That's what we used when we developed the exam, to know how many questions from each objective needed to be built.
While it is true that some lucky folks will get to take the beta exam without having had to complete the survey, those of you who took the survey helped us create the exam in the first place, and everyone is very grateful for your help.
I'm just a contractor now, though, so don't shoot me
Anyway, our job on this forum for the next month is to help you get ready for the beta. So start asking some questions!
cheers,
-Kathy

[Kevin Cao]

Kathy,
Since you clarified that this is EJB cert, what is the best book or resource to prepare for this exam? EJB from O'Reilly? ED Roman?
Also, is there a posibility that SCEA will not inclde EJB in the near future, since EJB is a significant postion of it(at least part I)?
And did sun provide any tutorials or samples for EJB that like the petstore application, not the "Hello World" type of thing. You know, $2500 for SL351, not everybody can afford that.
At least, we know one thing for sure. We have an excellent bartender and it will be fun.
Kevin Cao

[John Lee]

Hi:
I received similar email:
================================================
Thank you for your interest in the Sun Certified Business Component
Developer
for the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition.
Your free electronic exam voucher will be sent to you on Monday, May
19, 2003
with all the beta details, instructions and objectives.
Free exam vouchers are given out on a first come, first serve basis and
are
valid ONLY for the FIRST 400 CANDIDATES WHO TAKE THE EXAM. If you want
to
participate, don't delay!
===============================================
but find it confusing. how many free vouchers are to be given out? looks like around 500 or so. but only the first 400 who actually book/take? the exam will valid.
if it means "first 400 who book the exam", then what if some of them not show up? if it means "first 400 who take the exam", then someone will either be rejected at the door before exam, or be told not among the first 400 after the exam. in the second case, if i pass, can i pay to get the cert?
by the way, i have not received my e-copy of free voucher yet.
[ May 19, 2003: Message edited by: Don Liu ]

[Kathy Sierra]

Originally posted by Kevin Cao:
Since you clarified that this is EJB cert, what is the best book or resource to prepare for this exam? EJB from O'Reilly? ED Roman?

After August, I'd say... hmmm... the study guide Bert and I are working on (for O'Reilly)
But that won't help you for the beta. I would recommend the O'Reilly EJB book as my first choice, although I like the Roman book as well. I like the coverage in the O'Reilly book, but the Roman book is a little slower and explains some things in a more friendly way. However, there's been some controversy over Ed Roman/ServerSide.com/Middleware company, so some people are avoiding the book as a kind of protest. I agree with their sentiments, but I still think the book has some value.
However, your best bet is the EJB 2.0 spec. And in fact, you can't do it without the spec.
EJB Specification download page
Be SURE you scroll down to get the 2.0 spec, not the new 2.1 draft. The exam is virtually entirely based on the spec, although the questions are asked in a way that requires practical knowledge of the implications of what's in the spec. (We'll talk more on that later, I'm sure).
Bert and I *will* post some mock exam questions prior to the beta! We only just came off the exam development last Friday night, so it will take us a few days to get some things together, but we'll get you SOMETHING.

Also, is there a posibility that SCEA will not include EJB in the near future, since EJB is a significant postion of it(at least part I)?

Good question. I'm not the lead on that exam, and all my energy has been on the EJB exam, so I am only wildly speculating that *yes*, some of the more detailed EJB questions on that exam will come out. Again, just a guess.

And did sun provide any tutorials or samples for EJB that like the petstore application, not the "Hello World" type of thing. You know, $2500 for SL351, not everybody can afford that.

Not that I'm aware of, other than what's in the Pet Store. There are some tutorials on java.sun.com, but nothing *big*. You can learn and practice all the concepts needed for the exam, though, on smaller projects, using only the J2EE reference implementation (free). If you understand how to use all the pieces, and what they're for, we assume that scaling it up to larger projects will be do-able for the component developer. The exam is targeted at those who have been on the job for 6-12 months, but if you develop projects on your own, say, for your own web site -- that may be enough if you truly understand the spec.

At least, we know one thing for sure. We have an excellent bartender and it will be fun.

Why thank-you sir, the cowgirl is blushing
But in reality, I may *suck* as a bartender, since that's a new role for me But I'm going to do my best to help y'all get through this exam, and yes, we *must* have some fun here!
cheers,
Kathy

[Kathy Sierra]

Hi Don,
Yep, there is a little confusion about the numbers, and *I* am not 100% certain how it will work. I do know that if you DO take the beta, and pass, it doesn't matter what number you are, you are certified.
The only question is whether some people who are in the last group to actually TAKE the exam will be turned away from even taking it once 400 people have already taken the exam.
There *might* be a small possibility of that -- I'll look into it. The way to be safe, right now, is to schedule your exam for early in the beta. If you take your exam within the first two weeks, you should be fine.
I'll get the real answer as soon as possible! You aren't the only one with that question. If you received a confirmation, you *will* be getting a voucher, SOON. And I would suggest that you schedule your exam as early as you can.
I'll see if I can get you an answer tomorrow!
cheers,
Kathy

[Karthik Guru]

Originally posted by Alfred Neumann:
Cowgirl, I am confused. I completed the survey earlier and sent it in, but haven't heard word one from Sun beyond an acknowledgement immediately after I sent the survey. No voucher, nothing.
It seems that Sun has forgotten some of us and thrown it open again. So I went and signed up again. But now it's a race to be one of the first 400 without (apparently) any thought given to those of us in the first batch.Right now I'm feeling a little used, and wonder if that's right.

for me it's even worse! I remeber having spent considerable time filling up the survey and sent it back to them. Did'nt even get an acknowledgement!.

[Manish Hatwalne]

Kathy,
Does *only first 400* include the ppl who took the survey earier as well? I think first 400 might get over in first 2 days itself, considering that the exam is available across the globe.
Do you know if they'd be allowing all those who took survey to take beta anytime during the beta schedule as they had done for SCJP 1.4? I don't think I can complete my study by 1st week of June (Don't use EJB at work! ) and I am sure that if it's only first 400, it will get over before June 2nd week.
Could you please let us know?
- Manish

[Ashik Uzzaman]

I am waiting for the voucher. I am yet about one thing. Whether only 400 exam will be taken as valid appearances or whether first 400 persons who pass the exam will be certified?

[manasa teja]

----------------
After August, I'd say... hmmm... the study guide Bert and I are working on (for O'Reilly)
But that won't help you for the beta. I would recommend the O'Reilly EJB book as my first choice, although I like the Roman book as well. I like the coverage in the O'Reilly book, but the Roman book is a little slower and explains some things in a more friendly way. However, there's been some controversy over Ed Roman/ServerSide.com/Middleware company, so some people are avoiding the book as a kind of protest. I agree with their sentiments, but I still think the book has some value.
---------------
Looking forward for yur book..
O'reilly's book ( Richard Haefel) is even recommended for IBMs 483 J2EE connectivity exam. We can actually clear SCBCD and ibm 483 if you prepare for one.

[Al Newman]

Several questions raise their heads, Cowgirl.

Howdy -- if you got an acknowledgement after returning the survey, then you will get a voucher. The emails are supposed to go out this week sometime, so I would expect that you'll hear from Sun very soon!
They decided to open it up again because they did not get enough responses from the survey. The third-party company that conducts the pscyhometric evaluations of the beta, and decides which questions should go in the exam (and how all the different versions should be built so that they are absolutely identical in difficulty levels), requires a LOT of data.
So, we needed more testers.

No problem, though it seems to me that if you want lots of testers you ae going about it in a curious way. Sun is offering the beta version of the test free, but not guaranteeing that people who commit to taking the test will actually get to take the test! Only the first 400 will, and presumably everyone will have to wait until sometime in August and then pay to take the test.
From my POV this makes the test more of a risk than it appeared when you first circulated the survey. Preparation for any test takes a significant chunk of time, particularly if one prepares seriously as I usually do.
People might rush in half-prepared and take the SCBCD in the first week to make sure they get in. That would not be a satisfactory result for Sun, I think, because that is not the way people normally behave in certification testing. It might well lead you to dumb the final test down too much as a result of a rash of bad results from the beta.
We could prepare seriously and show up for the test in late June or early July prepared to pass, only to learn that all the betas are gone and we'll have to wait until August to take the exam. Which will require a significant refresher at that time to be test-ready again.
There are alternative paths available, either to prepare for the Weblogic Server test or the IBM 486 exam. One could prepare for one of the others instead of the SCBCD and wait for the final test to be available, which deprives you of testers for the beta test. We could prepare for another test and squeeze out an afternoon to take the SCBCD on the side.
If Sun wishes to get the best testing results I think you should consider guaranteeing a beta testing slot for the SCBCD beta test to those who sign up provided that the test is completed by July 7th. This will encourage the testers will take the test seriously and prepare seriously.
As it is I have to wonder whether it makes sense to commit major study time to a test which Sun may pull back at any time? When those same hours could be devoted to preparing for an exam which will be there when I'm ready for it.

While it is true that some lucky folks will get to take the beta exam without having had to complete the survey, those of you who took the survey helped us create the exam in the first place, and everyone is very grateful for your help.

I'm not particularly concerned whether Sun gives an exam to someone who didn't complete the survey, only with a guarantee that I'll get something out of my own efforts. Which this plan does not guarantee.

Plus, for everyone who signs up for the beta, a fairly large number do not ever take the exam... so they're trying to be safe.

If this is true I would think it in Sun's best interest to encourage more people to take the test rather than imposing a hard limit on the number who can take the beta test.

[Kathy Sierra]

You all make very valid points! I'll try to get this resolved asap. I am part of exam development, and not involved in any sort of management / business decisions, but I can certainly make a lot of noise over there
(and I will)
Stay tuned... I should have some news later today.
cheers,
Kathy

[Evelyn Cartagena-Meyer]

Hi All!
In reference to the BCD cert, I am starting to send out the free vouchers to the candidates who filled out the BCD Blueprint survey for this new exam a month ago (they have first priority). This is a manual process and I am the only person doing this, so please be patient as you will be receiving a voucher.
Also, after I finish with that group, I will send vouchers on a first come first basis to candidates who are requesting a voucher thru the [email protected] alias. The response has been overwhelming so please be patient.
I am sending out free vouchers, the voucher is valid only for this beta. If you sign up early and take the beta exam and pass, you will receive your Certification.
Please sign up and take the exam as soon as you can, don't delay. I will only need 400 beta testers to take this exam. When I reach 400 testers I will send out an email notifying you that the beta is over. At that point anyone who has not taken the exam will not be allowed to do so. This has always been the beta process.
Once 400 candidates have actually taken the exam, even those holding vouchers and appointments will not be able to take the exam. We send more vouchers than are needed because many people sign up to take the exam but do not show up and we are required to pay for that. The key is to sign up and take the exam as early as possible, in order to ensure that you will be beta tester.
You can contact me at [email protected] with any questions.
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Evelyn
Reminder: This exam has a pre-requisite. In order to receive a voucher you MUST have already passed the Sun Certified Programmer (any version), no exceptions to this.

[Al Newman]

"He who pays the piper calls the tune"
Thanks Evelyn. I'll be taking the exam - early. Even though the results may not be optimum either for myself or the one paying the bill, there is positive value in taking the exam.
If for no other reason than practice for another exam....
They way you are doing this, there are going to be people arriving at the test center only to discover they are crap out of luck....
[ May 20, 2003: Message edited by: Alfred Neumann ]

[Kathy Sierra]

Howdy -- OK, so you saw Evelyn's message, and the way I understand it is that if you are still holding an appointment / voucher *after* the 400 exams have been taken, you will get an email announcing that the beta is over. That tells you that you should not go to the testing center for your appointment.
So... I guess the bottom line is that you should schedule your exam as early as possible! It *is* true that you could probably use that little bit of extra time to prepare, but if you want to be sure you get a slot, I wouldn't wait.
The good news is, if you pass the exam (and we'll do our best here to work on that ) you get a full certification, for FREE. So, it *is* an opportunity to do this for free, but the downside is that the circumstances are first-come, first-served, so you are not guaranteed a slot.
But someone mentioned the commitment in time required to study, well, if you are planning to take the exam anyway, then the commitment is going to be worth it whether you get into the beta or not. It might mean you have to study a lot more intensely, though, then you would otherwise.
Anyway, I am hoping that everyone who sincerely wants to take this can get in.
One thing I REALLY want to stress is: Evelyn has been checking some of the people request vouchers, and they are NOT SCJP-certified. Please please please do not request a voucher if you aren't certified. You might still get one, because they aren't checking everyone in advance, but even if you DO get a voucher, you won't be allowed to get your certification. But in the meantime, you've taken a voucher from somebody else who IS qualified for the exam, and that means they might not get the opportunity.
So please keep that in mind for the sake of everyone else trying to get in. And for those who aren't in the beta, the full certification will be in August, and it will be a little easier, and MUCH shorter than the beta
When you take the beta, you are testing a LOT more questions than will appear in the final exam.
(Your scores are adjusted to reflect the final results of the beta test, which is why you won't know if you passed for several agonizing weeks )
cheers and thanks for hanging in there with us!
-Kathy

[Al Newman]

Howdy -- OK, so you saw Evelyn's message, and the way I understand it is that if you are still holding an appointment / voucher *after* the 400 exams have been taken, you will get an email announcing that the beta is over. That tells you that you should not go to the testing center for your appointment.

A week after the cut-off?
[ May 20, 2003: Message edited by: Alfred Neumann ]

[Manish Hatwalne]

I wholeheartedly agree with Alfred's comments posted earlier. I think when survey was announced there was no mention that it would allow only *first* 400 ppl to take the exam, they said everybody participating in the survey would get a voucher. (Which indeed they are giving, it's only that you won't be able to find out if it's good enough for the exam till you actually visit your prometric.)
Besides, if they want more data (and more sensible data from ppl who are not rushing for their exam), why impose limit of 400? One way out is to give only 1000 vouchers or so and allow *ALL* of them to take exam anytime during the beta period, and if all take the exam they can randomly select only 400 tests for *their internal data analysis*. Maybe, this can be reconsidered...
Perhaps giving out only X number of vouchers would have made more sense!
At least all the ppl who took the survey should be allowed to take the exam anytime during the beta period. (Apparently not many of them. That's why Sun announced this registration voucher scheme, right?) They are the ones feeling let down...
Just my thoughts....
- Manish

[Ashik Uzzaman]

Well, I understood the point now. First 400 people, who appeared the exam, will be evaluated for pass or fail and the lucky guys from them who pass will zget SCBCD certificate.
Am I clear in this point? :roll:

[Mark Fletcher]

I agree with Ashik,
Might not be the best situation, but we just have to make do. At least the preparation you make now, will count towards the exams release in August.
If you feel you can sit and pass the beta *now*, you should have no problems passing in August. It might cost $100 to sit, yes, but it will be money well spent.
Cheers,
Mark

[Manish Hatwalne]

There is one more interesting aspect to this -
I believe electronic vouchers are already being sent to candidates, and it will be done over a period of few days. So even if you want to book your exam on 6th June itself, the slots for 6th June might get booked by the time you receive your voucher!!!
- Manish

[Al Newman]

I doubt that all the available exam slots will be booked that early, but I suppose it all depends upon how many vouchers Sun is going to give out in total.
Cowgirl, could you give us a ballpark figure on that? It might help some of us to decide whether it's a decent bet to try the beta or just to wait for the real thing.
This is disappointing, but then Sun has a reputation for going it's own way and the heck with whatever anyone else thinks. I've seen it before, but it's never happened to me before!

[vasu maj]

What Sun is doing is highly unacceptable. Can't it do any better than this... Does it not have the experience of conducting a beta exam? What is this nonsense of sending the vouchers and then saying that they are not valid? They should give vouchers to a predetermined number of people. All of them should be able to make it to the test. Period.
Vasu
[ May 21, 2003: Message edited by: vasu maj ]

[Al Newman]

What Sun is doing is highly unacceptable. Can't it do any better than this...

Sun can do as it wishes, the question is how you or I choose to react to their actions.
Right now I think I'll prepare primarily for a related exam for Websphere or Weblogic and just take the beta as practice.
If Sun wishes people to treat this more seriously they may want to rethink and give potential test-takers a little more of a committment. Unlikely, I think....

[Gus Mus]

I registered also for the new version of SCEA but they delayed it until uncertain time. And no information until now.
Now it seems like we won't get the free voucher for SCBCD, even we get it, then it's already very close to 6th of June. And have to fight to get into 400 candidates.
I think IBM is much better in this way, they said they would give free voucher and they did.

[Manish Hatwalne]

One good idea would be to ask ppl to pay some amount for the beta voucher, and if you take beta (anytime during beta duration) that amount can be refunded. But if you choose not to show up for the beta, you loose your money. That way people will be more careful! Maybe this idea can be used for next beta... and if Sun really likes this idea, maybe they can send me a free beta voucher for the next exam
Actually, I won't blame Sun. They did conduct this SCJP 1.4 beta quite well... I took it myself w/o worrying about the first *X* testers, when I thought I was ready for it.
- Manish

[Kathy Sierra]

Manish, I think that is an EXCELLENT idea!! Again, it is not up to me, but I am going to pass this on to Evelyn and Steve as an idea for the future.
cheers,
Kathy

[Evelyn Cartagena-Meyer]

All,
I started sending out free vouchers. I will be sending MUCH MORE than the exact count of people that I need for the beta "400".
Unfortunately, in past betas candidates sign up and commit for the beta exam, then they do not show up and it is not fair for those who really want to take it.
As you know the exam vouchers are $150.
Again please be patient, we are tryng to send them out as fast as we can.
Thank you for your understanding.
Evelyn

[stara szkapa]

Originally posted by Manish Hatwalne:
[QB]One good idea would be to ask ppl to pay some amount for the beta voucher,
I have better idea. Let�s pay ppl to take beta exam. This way they will show up for sure.

[Jamie Shi]

Thanks, Evelyn Cartagen. I got the free voucher today. I had a SCBCD survey one month ago.
Thanks again.
Jamie
SCJP2 1.4
SCWCD

[shailesh sonavadekar]

regarding manish's idea regarding 150 $ for beta , i guess people working in US will not having any problem paying up that , but I guess beta is for people all around the world. 7500 rs. will difficult proposition for taking beta in subcontinent. i guess purpose of beta is also not that & then there will be any hardly any difference between regular and beta exam.
I guess to curb the misuse of beta vouchers , there should be some other way.