SCBCD preparation

[Barry Bassi]

Hi all JavaRanchers!

How much difficult is the SCBCD 1.3 preparation in comparison to SCWCD 1.4 ?
I haven't any EJB job experiences.

(Note: HFEJB is flying to me from Amazon..)

Thanx.

Regards,
Barry.

[Patrick Williams]

Hi Barry, The word "difficulty" is a bit subjective, but I'll give it a shot. I have been studying for the SCBCD so I'm not yet qualified as to which is harder. It seems to me that SCBCD has more complex concepts, but SCWCD has wider breadth of material that you have to know. Being on JavaRanch for a while, I have observed that people usually score higher on SCBCD than they do on SCWCD. Hope this helps.

[Ed Ward]

I have observed that people usually score higher on SCBCD than they do on SCWCD.

That would be great!
However, I wonder if it is a result of the material or that most people sit for the SCWCD first and then move immediatley (or shortly thereafter) to the SCBCD (As I am doing). I feel this avenue of pursuit allows the test taker a certain advantage in that they are already in "study mode" and have a good idea of what to expect on the exam.
i.e. Experience

[Patrick Williams]

The SCJP is required before you take either exam so I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that more people come into the SCWCD "cold" than they do with the SCBCD.

[Ed Ward]

The SCJP is required before you take either exam so I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that more people come into the SCWCD "cold" than they do with the SCBCD.

I am fully aware the SCJP is a requirement before attaining SCWCD or SCBCD status.
If one follows the SCJP immediatley with the SCWCD (or the SCBCD for that matter) I wouldn't expect them to be "cold" as you stated and was not implying that.
However, as most people tend to go SCJP -> SCWCD -> SCBCD, by the time they begin to study exclusively for the latter it seems to me that the study/exam process would have been well rehearsed. Which may, or may not, contribute to the higher SCBCD scores you suggested. Add that to any on the job experience attained since the previous certification and I can certainly see why SCBCD scores are generally higher than SCWCD scores which you suggested.

I notice from your response signature that you scored higher on the SCJP than on the SCWCD.

What do you attribute that to?

For me, I went the other way scoring higher on the SCWCD than the SCJP. It was 18 months between the exams so I chalked it up to on the job experience as I only actually studied about seven weeks before taking the SCWCD exam.

[Patrick Williams]

Ed, The guy simply asked a question and I was offering my observations (which are opinions and I stated that fact in my post). I didn't see you attempt to help him. The SCWCD requires that you study 3 specs. The SCBCD is one spec. It's a decisively a smaller set of information that you are required to study. I'm not sure what prompted your snide remarks towards me for trying to help someone, but you should try to adhere the spirit of this board and try to be helpful to people seeking help.

[Ed Ward]

Patrick,
What snide remarks?
By suggesting that more people score higher on one exam than the other, you opened the discussion to that topic. And after having read your response which stated such, I was genuinely interested in why that might be and began forming my own opinion. If you are or were unwilling to further the discusssion in that area, fine. However, I see nothing snide about my remarks.

Cheers!

[Bert Bates]

Hey Ed and Patrick -

Chill out dudes - let's be friendly, I'm really confused about what's making you guys cranky?

Bert

[Patrick Williams]

I'm sorry if I misinterpreted Ed's comments as snide. To summarize the main topic/question. I have observed that there are 3 specs for SCWCD and 1 for SCBCD. The study guides for SCBCD are thinner than SCWCD. In my opinion, the SCBCD topics are a little more complex, but there are fewer. These are factors that form my opinion (and other people's opinions may differ). Like e-mail and IM, sometimes you lose inflection over these mediums and for that I apologize. Good luck in your exam.

[Barry Bassi]

Hi Ed and Patrick!
Your "hot" discussion was very very useful for me!

In the past week-end, while cooking myself on the "Peter Pan" beach in Marina di Ravenna , I thought a lot about what exam to take. Although the sun could have burnt some of my neurons, I'm going to prepare both SCJD and SCBCD together because I haven't any experience in Java developing and now I'm looking for a Java-job.
In my region, employers appreciate very much real job experiences, but I think Java certifications will help me to look smart and more "self-upgradable".

Thank you very much and coming soon to SCBCD forum!


Regards,
Barry.