Do I leave my present job for Java !

[vijay]

Dear friends,
I am an electronics engineer from India. Presently i am working in a multinational company,but unfortunately not in the I.T sector.
I earn Rs 10,000/- per month ( U.S $250/-) which is not bad according to indian standards.
I have sound logic and was good at assembly and c language during my college days. Presently I have started studying Java on my own. I am planning to appear for the SJPC shortly.I wish to leave my present job as it is not creative and there is lot of politics involved. Can Java make my life happier!
After getting a SJPC certificate will i get a Job inspite of the fact that I have no professional experience in Java Programming. I really do not wish to fake an experience which some of my friends have done to secure a job.
So can i Leave my job and devote full time day and night studying Java and keep my hopes alive!
Please guide me.
Thankyou.

[Betty Reynolds]

I don't mean to dash your hopes, but I wouldn't. Certification is not necessarily the ticket to a better job.
I read that Sun's position on certification is that since Java is a new language, certification will ensure that those that have it will have the skiils to work in Java.
However, in my part of the country (Chicago), recruiters generally are seeking candidates with 3 to 5 year experience, so I think the time has passed. Then again, recruiters don't always know what they are talking about.
Would anyone like to comment on the future value of certification?

[Tony Alicea]

I'd like to comment on the "5 years Java experience" posts. I don't think the inventors of Java are looking for work. They are all probably rich by now. That request just shows the ignorance of recruiters which are usually business majors if they finished college at all who wouldn't detect a technical genius if they interviewed one since all they know is how to read, in a piece of paper "5 years of Java experience".
I'm afraid to have a lot of difficulty finding work as a Java programmer if I have to go through ignorants like that first. It would take a good tech mgr to really appreciate my skills. After all, I have been programming for over 20 years... Oh! But not in Java, shucks!

[paul wheaton]

Employers are currently equating passing the SCJP exam as a year of Java experience. So, yes, the exam will give a big boost to your Java career.

[Nalini Mistry]

Which part of India are you in, Vijay? I have been following the appointments pages here in the Times (esp the Monday and Wednesday ones) as well as Midday. There are plenty of ads for java programmers, some from pretty good places. Of course the are the ones that ask for strange(in my opinion) skill sets, like 2 years experience in AdobePhotoshop/dreamweaver/ java/asp/perl/html/javascript/CGI scripting !!! (Does anybody know someone who has 2 yrs exp in all of these??!! Should be an interesting person to meet.:-) But there are the really sensible ones too. Since there arent many Java programmers in town, the good ones leave for australia/canada/usa anyways, i am sure you will find something. But makes sense to finish your exam find a job and then leave your current job, doesnt it??? Also having a site of your own where you display your java stuff would go a long way in convincing potential employers about your skills inspite of lack of experience.
Also the fact that you are an electronics engineer would help since most of them also mention B.E. as a requirement
[This message has been edited by Nalini Mistry (edited April 30, 2000).]