Fellow cowboys and cowgirls... I would like to ask all of you to help me so that we can move forward with the business of preparing folks for the exam -- either the beta, or the final. I understand your frustration with the beta process, but Kimberly and Bert and I (and even Evelyn) have NOTHING to do with this.
We have made your comments known at Sun, but we are much too low on the food chain to have any control over this.
However, given that Kimberly and I have seen the loss of many of our friends to layoffs, I have mixed feelings when I see Sun trying to save money.
This forum is obviously the most likely place on javaranch to express your feelings and complaints about the way the beta is being conducted, but you're talking to the wrong people! Kimberly and I do not represent Sun in any *official* way -- we're just here to help you pass!
And I would like to sincerely ask that you try to remember that the beta exam is a chance to get something for *free*. So it comes with certain restrictions, but we encourage anyone who has a problem with these restrictions to PLEASE wait for the final exam. In other words, do not go out of your way to try to study now if this will cause you serious problems if you do not get in to the beta.
If you happen to be one of the people for whom it is worth studying and trying to get into the beta, because you plan on taking the exam anyway, then this is a great opportunity for you and you have almost NOTHING to lose by trying.
Most of you who get a voucher *will* be able to take the exam!
Believe me, the
testing will not stop on the first day-- and it is almost impossible for me to believe that anyone in the first week or 10 days will not get in. Plus, those who took the survey should get their vouchers first, so
you should have first pick at the scheduling. This is NOT an ideal way to handle this, I agree. But that's what we're stuck with. And so far on this new forum, about 90% of the posts have been complaints, and that won't help us get anyone to pass the exam.
If you need to express these feelings, please do. We understand, and this is obviously the most likely place to do that. Just keep in mind that we do not represent Sun!! Kimberly does not work at the Sun Ed headquarters, and I am no longer employed at Sun. (Bert and I are just contractors now.)
And I would just really like to ask you all for your help in moving this forum towards something that will help those of us who are here, and especially those who are going to try to take the beta. You have VERY little time to prepare, so we should get to it!
For example, I would like to propose that we simply start going through the objectives, top to bottom, discussing what is *meant* by the objectives, and which areas of the spec you should be studying.
Please refer to the objectives I posted in the Exam Details topic.
So, if we all work together here, then at least some of you will pass this beta
and the rest of you will be prepared when the exam is finally released.
Thanks folks, for not beating up too much on Kimberly and Bert and I. If you help us get moving in a more positive direction, I promise that we will do everything we can to help you with this exam.
100 angry posts is more than one cowgirl can handle
without feeling depressed. Even the cows are starting to become sad, refusing to eat. What would the rule round-up game be like if the cows simply lie down and give up?
Anyway, if you want to pass this puppy, you better hurry up and start asking questions
Kimberly wrote some KILLER questions, and trust me on this -- you're a lot better off if she sticks around to help... I was one of the exam developers, and I'm not sure *I* could have answered all of her questions. And, well, MY questions aren't exactly a walk in the park either
Cheers to all of you,
Kathy
, the other 250 questions won't be. The most likely scenario will be that on the beta exam you'll get about 150 questions, and about 4 hours. (They divide the questions up into 2 sets - each beta participant will get 1 of the 2 sets.) So that means you'll get less time per question than on the real exam. Plus, some of the questions you get will be REALLY hard. So hard that they'll be thrown out of the real exam. Plus, it's harder to focus for 4 hours than to focus for 2 hours! Plus, the range of objectives is very broad!
