scjp 1.4 expires in two years

[Aijaz Soomro]

dear 1.4 scjps i am also 1.4 certified i passed my scjp1.4 in sep 5 2002 with 85%, now my certificate is going to be expired on 5 sep 2004, so what should i do?

[Jessica Sant]

retake the test on September 4th, 2004?
Here's Sun's recertification policy:

How long is my certification title valid?
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. Despite the two-year validity date, Sun does not presently plan to revoke certification titles already held by a professional if the validity date of a specific certification has passed. The validity date serves as a flag for certificate holders to plan their professional growth, and for Sun to communicate with the holders about opportunities to recertify efficiently and cost effectively. Sun may maintain multiple versions of any certification 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.

[Mandar Puranik]

Hi Aijaz, Jessica !!!
I had once posted my thoughts on this here before, but I think I would do it again.
I think that the Certification shouldnt expire.
The reason is very logical. When we graduate and get a degree, its valid for whole of our life.
Its not that we have to again appear for it say after 10 years to keep it update.
When a person graduates as a Doctor he is a Doctor for all of his life. Of course its his responsibility to keep himself upgraded to the latest type of medicines etc. He doesnt need to appear for that exam again.
In the same way, I think, if somebody is a SCJP, he is that way for whole of his life. After that its his responsibility to keep himself upgraded, he should not need to take up the exam again.
Of course this is the way I think.
What do you guys have to say ?
Best Regards
Mandar

[Alton Hernandez]

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.

Translation:
This is how we make our living$$$

[Jessica Sant]

Equating a $150 SCPJ exam to a 4 year college degree or worse yet a Doctoral degree is ridiculous.
The Java programming language changes pretty regularly, and its very well known that a person doesn't need to have ANY programming knowledge in order to pass the exam -- just a good memory and understanding of Java. That being said. I think its an excellent policy to require people to renew their cert every 2 years.
.... and don't think its just Sun. Most any professional certification out there requires you to recertify on a regular basis (Microsoft, Cisco, and non-techy stuff too teachers, nurses etc)

[Andres Gonzalez]

hmm.. so Jessica, then after 2 years, will you consider yourself as a SJCP?, will you take it out of your resume because it expired? just curious
I need to pass first so I can't comment on this
cheers

[Rohit Ahuja]

Hello!!!,
Does money grow on trees?? 150$ Woof thats a big amount. And just in case u guys think it is a small amount then i suggest u shud see the lives people are living in Somalia.Every cent is money, i think Sun should atleast make the certification valid for 4 years.2 years is 2 short a duration.

[La Vish]

When we talk about Information Technology we tell people that it is growing so fast that what is relevent today may not be relevent tomorrow.
We tell them about the increasing speeds of the chip.
We tell them about ever increasing hard disk memory.
We tell them about version 1.4 and advise them to take 1.4 instead of 1.2 as it is outdated.
and so on and on....
Yet we want to hang on to our old SCJP certification for ever. Why? Because it is us and not them.

[Mandar Puranik]

Hi Jessica,
Its not that I am equating the certification to the doctoral or any other degree. I was just giving an example.
My point was that if a person gets a certificate, thats it. It shouldnt expire. May be there is a new exam. Like after 1.2, you can offer 1.4.
Now the choice should be left to the person whether he wants to go for 1.4 or may be the next one after that. But his 1.2 shouldnt expire.
(Same way as I have to take graduation exam once, Even if the subject and contents of the course changes over the years, I dont have to appear for it again).
And when I said this, I meant that for all the guys out there, not just Sun.
Warm Regards
Mandar

[Alton Hernandez]

I agree that 2 years is really a short period. Besides, how can they fix the number of years. Do they expect to make a big change in the language every two years?
If you were to compare 1.2 and 1.4, nothing much has really changed. In fact, a 1.2 certification reviewer book can also be a good reviewer for 1.4.

[Robbie kyodo]

Hey,
Look at Sun shares right now, of course they want you to retake every 2 years, SCJP is their $$$
but I feel employers will consider job experience as the main factor of employing people

[RJ Espinoza]

I don't think certification should expire within versions. If you pass 1.4 you should not have to recertify for 1.4.
When 1.5 is released you have the option of upgrading your certification to 1.5 by paying the fee for the new exam and passing it. But your 1.4 cert should not expire.

[Thomas Paul]

Originally posted by Jessica Sant:
.... and don't think its just Sun. Most any professional certification out there requires you to recertify on a regular basis (Microsoft, Cisco, and non-techy stuff too teachers, nurses etc)

I just checked the MS site and it appears that MS certifications do not expire. Cisco certifications do expire. It looks like IBM certifications don't expire by time but rather IBM expires them when they are no longer relevant and have been replaced by more recent technology.
My wife tells me that nursing certifications do not expire. Instead you must acquire a certain amount of continuing education credits (8 hours every two years) to retain your certification. There are a lot of ways to acquire CE credits. Writing a JCHQ approved article for publication is one way. You do have to pay a fee to renew your certification but there is no re-testing involved.