Re-certification Required For All Sun Certifications

[JiaPei Jen]

In a nutshell:
- Those certified after Sept 1st will have their certifications valid
for 2 yrs only.
- Recertification thru a single exam only ($100)
- Original certificate still 'valid' in the sense that is shows that
you were certified at some point in time!
Details are at the Sun certification FAQ:
http://suned.sun.com/US/certification/faq/.

[Anthony Villanueva]

Does this mean JavaRanch will soon have a 1.4 Upgrade Exam forum for hapless folks like me?

[Thomas Paul]

No upgrade required.
From the Sun site:
Does this impact my programmer 1.2 exam?
No, previously certified programmers are still certified, however, we always recommend that professionals maintain currency in the technology. An upgrade exam (310-026) will be available in September 2002 for programmers to update from programmer 1.x to programmer 1.4.

[Barry Gaunt]

I think that Sun is going to shoot itself in the foot with this one. It seems to be a revenue generator for Sun Education Services...
Once I have my SCJP I want to move on to different things. I don't have to redo my Maths Degree just because somebody solved Fermat's Last Theorem.
Just imagine going for certification D when your certification A, B, C suddenly expire. Then you are told you can't go for D because your A,B,C's are not up to date. So you got to shell out time and money for your A,B,C upgrades, in the meantime certification D changes objectives...
Looks more like M$ software upgrade policy to me.
-Barry

[Barkat Mardhani]

Hi Barry:
I agree with you to same extent. On the flip side, the technology is changing rapidly and if we want the employers to value cerfication, the recertification would serve this cause. However, logistic of recertification should be worked out in that light. A viable suggestion could be:
a. recertification should only test in the new areas.
b. the charges should reflect the number and contents of new areas.
Thanks
Barkat

[Barkat Mardhani]

Hi Paul:
It seems from top post in this thread that anybody certified after sept 02 is good for two years...

[Thomas Paul]

From the site:

How long is my certification title "good"?
Unless otherwise stated, and beginning with all Sun Certification exams taken after September 1, 2002, certification offerings from Sun Services are valid for two (2) years from the date of certification. The certification date will appear on both a certificate and an identification card with the applicable certification title. The identification card will also include an expiration date, on which an IT professional's Sun certification status expires. Sun may maintain multiple versions of any certification exam or title to meet varying global demand for title versions and to offer IT professionals flexible certification options. Sun reserves the right to retire specific Sun certification exams or titles for any reason and at any time. Sun's recertification policy and program are subject to change without notice.

They probably couldn't do this to the people who took the exam earlier because the prior exam had no expiration date. Any change would open them to lawsuits, etc.

[Manish Hatwalne]

I agree with Barry Gaunt completely. I am glad I took my certification earlier. I am more happy with Sun's earlier policy which said, once you are certified you are certified for life for that particular version of product/technology.
If somebody is keen on taking test for newer version (such as SCJP 1.4), he can always do that.
- Manish

[Barry Gaunt]

Now I get it! Sun has dropped AWT and I/O from the SCJP for 1.4. They have dropped the pass mark to 51%. AWT is dropped because it not actual, but I/O?
They could have replaced AWT by the Swing analogues, and augmented I/O with New I/O, but they didn't. I have not taken $CJP yet, but I gue$$ it's not going to be $ooooooooo difficult. $o what doe$ $un get, it get$ more little fi$he$ on the hook. All cluching their 100$ bill$ in a couple of year$ time.
Ju$t my 2$...
-Barry

[Marcus Green]

I suspect that by the time Sun has paid its commission to Sylvan prometric, paid a few staff to deal with admin and a little advertising there is very little profit out of each $100.
However they must make shed loads on the courses they provide, and the online mocks which must involve very little overhead per sale.

[Barkat Mardhani]

Hi Marcus:
I did not follow what you said in the bold

However they must make shed loads on the courses they provide, and the online mocks which must involve very little overhead per sale.

[Thomas Paul]

shed loads = lots of money