IBM free testing opportunity...

[Arvind Shukla]

Prime is working fine, till yesterday I could not work with. Today I appeared in Test 341, Advanced WAS 5.0 Admin by paying 10$ and cleared it by securing 82%. Now waiting for free voucher ...

[stara szkapa]

Do they have the same questions as on ICE?

[Howard Kushner]

Originally posted by Arvind Shukla:
Prime is working fine, till yesterday I could not work with. Today I appeared in Test 341, Advanced WAS 5.0 Admin by paying 10$ and cleared it by securing 82%. Now waiting for free voucher ...

Hello Arvind,
Congratulations! That is quite an accomplishment.
I would say that you really know your stuff!
Good luck on the real test. I suspect you'll do fine, since the sample test is so much like the actual exam. Please let us know how you do. I'll be checking back to see.
Best Regards,

[Nikhil Pendharkar]

I scored 88.79 for IBM 287 sample test via Prime ! Now eagerly waiting for my voucher .
Thanks a lot to Howard and all the Javaranchers for their valued inputs .
I think I am first one of the who has bought Howard's book . I arranged it to India via my friend in US , it really helped me in getting confidence to pass the sample Test.

[Gadzirai Moyo]

Originally posted by Vijay Rathore:
Just now I cleared IBM 287 and IBM 484.
[ December 01, 2003: Message edited by: Vijay Rathore ]

How were the tests,have they changed anything from the tests that were on ICE?
Thanks a lot,

[Prabu Swami]

Guys,
Anyone got the voucher?.

[Theodore Casser]

Originally posted by Prabu Swami:
Guys,
Anyone got the voucher?.

They (IBM's certification news site's maintainers) do warn that it might take up to five business days for the vouchers to arrive, so I'd just sit tight and be patient. That said, I'm holding onto my email from the PRIME site as proof I passed to pass back to IBM if they don't have my voucher for me by next Monday.

[Vijay S. Rathore]

As of now the Prime tests for IBM are same as ICE don't know about future.

[Theodore Casser]

My voucher just arrived.

[Sivasundaram Umapathy]

voucher arrived?electronic one?
I am still waiting for mine

[Theodore Casser]

Originally posted by Sivasundaram Umapathy:
voucher arrived?electronic one?
I am still waiting for mine

Ayup. Mine arrived from [e-mail] at 11:10 AM EST. I finished the 484 assessment yesterday at 3:35 PM, so that's not a bad turnaround.

[Vijay S. Rathore]

Received my vouchers...

[Prabu Swami]

I got mine

[David Wyatt]

I'm surprised no-one seems to be complaining about the US$10 per test charge for what used to be available for free. Combined with the complete lack of useful feedback from the existing tests, this action will almost certainly make people more likely to use the buy-the-test "study" sites that have been shamelessly promoted here.
What exactly is IBM out to do? If they wanted simply to cover their costs (whatever they were), they could have made other choices: perhaps a per-certification fee on registering; or an annual fee for individuals and/or companies. $10 a shot seems a bit much, given the service provided.
They may *hope* to make their own training courses more attractive, but I think that they're really just shooting themselves in the foot. It's the kind of tactic that I would expect from Micro$oft.

[stara szkapa]

Originally posted by David Wyatt:
What exactly is IBM out to do?

I think IBM is trying to ensure people who get vouchers, are going to show up for the exam. Also, they want prevent people from posting on internet solutions to the exams. Now it would be more difficult to verify that given set of answers is 100% correct.

[v giri]

What value these exams would be when the vouchers run out ? Despite the fact that ICE exams were very good, people were taking it only because they were free. Now these practice exams are going to directly compete with commercial exam simulators.
Best wishes
[ December 02, 2003: Message edited by: v giri ]

[gopalakrishnan palani]

Hi Guys, I cleared IBM 484 and IBM 287 on 12/01 and i got the free vouchers from IBM today.

[Nicholas Cheung]

How long do I need to wait for receiving the vouchers?
I have taken 2 tests yesterday Dec 2, 2003 3:30AM (GMT +0:00) and 4:20AM (GMT +0:00). If I cannot receive the vouchers, does this mean the 2000 quota is already full?
Thanks for advice.
Nick

[Theodore Casser]

Originally posted by David Wyatt:
I'm surprised no-one seems to be complaining about the US$10 per test charge for what used to be available for free. Combined with the complete lack of useful feedback from the existing tests, this action will almost certainly make people more likely to use the buy-the-test "study" sites that have been shamelessly promoted here.

Actually, I included my complaint in my feedback regarding the test. I don't see why I should have to pay for the assessment exam - it does, as you pointed out - encourage folks to use braindumps if you're paying for it either way.

What exactly is IBM out to do? If they wanted simply to cover their costs (whatever they were), they could have made other choices: perhaps a per-certification fee on registering; or an annual fee for individuals and/or companies. $10 a shot seems a bit much, given the service provided.

This is where I wish there were official IBM reps here now and again who could tell us what the behind-the-scenes logic is. I'm wondering if this fee isn't to cover some licensing matter and if they couldn't do something different to cover the costs, say memberships or whathaveyou.
As for it being M$-like... well, they could, at least, then let the certifications just be versioned and always valid...

[Nikhil Pendharkar]

Received my voucher for 287 !

[Rufus BugleWeed]

I think $10 ought to cover 3 tries at the assesment exam.

[Nicholas Cheung]

I have just received the voucher for 287. But I still do not receive my vocuher on 484
And more strange, I took 484 before 287.

[Sivasundaram Umapathy]

Same here.I got for 141 but haven't got for 484 although i took 484 earlier.

[harjika harjika]

Yahoo !!! I got free vouchers for Exam 141, 484, 483, 486, 287. Passed all the exams yesterday and received the voucher today

[Forrest Xu]

I got free vouchers for Exam 141, 484, 286, 287.

[Luigi Smith]

I'm assuming you're SOL if you already paid for one of the exams, but clear the practice exam, true? (i.e., I can't get a refund?)

[Nicholas Cheung]

Hi all,
I received my free vouchers on 287, 484 and 486.
Thanks for helping.

[Howard Kushner]

It is so good to see all you folks getting the vouchers! I know that you have worked hard to master those objectives. Congratulations one and all!
And I wish you the best of luck when you sit for the real thing. In my experience the actual tests are remarkably similar to the pre-assessment/sample test questions that you have seen.
Regards,

[Sivasundaram Umapathy]

I recd. the vouchers for 141,484 & 486.
How do we know whether the free vouchers are still there,so that i can persuade my friends to write the prime tests? :roll:

[Prabu Swami]

no way ..

[Dave Cronin]

The vouchers are still coming through. I received one for exam 486, 24 hours after passing the sample test. Maybe there will be vouchers for a while yet.
I don't think the sample tests are overpriced though, it would still help to ensure that you don't pay for the real test before you're ready - that could save a lot of money.
Thanks too for starting this topic.

[Ceppad Reso]

I just passed the 484's sample test from Prime. No where mention that a voucher is coming to me, Not in the email either. Is this the same thing for those who already got their voucher? Or it means the 2000 vouchers are run over?
BTW, is it 2000 vouchers per test or ...?

[Axel Janssen]

Originally posted by Ceppad Reso:
Or it means the 2000 vouchers are run over?

No you'll get notice from IBM or not during next 5 business days. We don't know.
I've passed voucher-tests for 486, 484 and 287.
I guess there still should be some vouchers for you and me
Axel

[David Wyatt]

My original point was that the ICE site has been around for quite some time, and the tests have *always* been free. The stated intent of the tests was to provide feedback on progress for those who choose to study on their own (i.e. don't take the IBM/other training courses). If it were possible to figure out the exam by taking the sample tests multiple times (and I don't think it is), then the $10 fee wouldn't stop a company/group trying to supply certification "training" courses. In the long run, the ones it hurts are individual programmers like myself who probably take the tests 3 or 4 times, until the results are consistently in the 80's or higher. You might also have noticed that IBM hasn't shut down the ICE site, they just "sold" some of the most popular tests to PRIME. And also don't forget that IBM has offered free exam vouchers at the end of the calendar year for some time now. It helps them generate revenue, and boosts the number of certifications for their products. Again, I'd be willing to pay (reluctantly) for this previously free product, but I think that $10 a shot goes completely against what the original stated purpose of the ICE site.

[Dave Cronin]

I think the point about the PRIME tests is that IBM is a commercial company. They have to pay for the development of practice tests somehow. They are perfectly entitled to charge whatever they like for them - but if the price is too high then no-one will buy them. Previously the practice tests were subsidised by the certification exam fees, but presumably IBM decided this was not economic. In order to pass any certification, training costs, whether in courses, time or books, are much higher than $10. I would consider $10 to be a trivial expense, especially compared to the benefits the certification can bring to your career.
Continually retaking the IBM practice test may not be a good idea anyway, because then the familiarity means the scores do not reflect what you will get in the real exam. Much better I think to make sure you know the subject area first, which is the whole point of a cert in the first place.
In the meantime of course, it is worth taking advantage of the free cert offer. It could be going for a while yet, considering the 2000 passes on PRIME means they have to raise $20000 before closing the offer.

[Theodore Casser]

Beyond the fact that it helps IBM raise cash from the certification program, it also has two additional advantages:
* They make money off folks who normally only participate in their certification program when there's free offers. Yes, IBM partners do get free exams - IBM reimburses you for any exam you pass (You Pass, We Pay) to a certain limit - but there's a lot of us who kind of hang out waiting for IBM to offer a program. This means they get more cash from those of us who haven't been paying at all.
* They ensure that there's a higher percentage of folks who use their vouchers. It's one thing to get a voucher if it's totally free and then decide you don't /really/ want to take the test... but if you're paying even a token sum for it, chances are you'll take the test (or, if you're not sure you'll take the test, you won't get the voucher and leave one for someone who really will...)
No, it's not the greatest, but still. $10 is not all that much cash - it's two days stopping at Starbucks for me...

[Marc Peabody]

I passed the 486 on the evening of December 1st. I am STILL waiting for my voucher. In the meantime I'm emailing them about it asking, "What's goin' on?"
I did receive a notice that I passed the exam minutes after but that was it.
My official Ending Time: 12/2/2003 1:08:09 AM (GMT+0:00) (cst)
Has anyone received a voucher and taken the test later than I?
Update! 12/15/2003
I tried reaching IBM various ways and was finally successful (after a week of various attempts) by emailing [e-mail]
This was a portion of the response I received within an hour:
**************
I apologize, but yes you're right and for some reason, I missed your name
when I pulled my daily voucher reports.
You will receive your voucher shortly.
**************
Minutes later I received my voucher.
So if anyone has a similar problem, the above email will be a good source.
Good luck to all!
[ December 15, 2003: Message edited by: Marc Peabody ]

[Dave Cronin]

They must have forgotten you - I passed the 486 practice test on Dec 4 and got a voucher sent on Dec 5.

[Axel Janssen]

I've passed 484, 486 and 287 prep tests on weekend and received vouchers between 15:00 and 16:30 GMT on monday (following business day). So there were still vouchers for those tests last weekend.
I am planing to take 486 at start of january. 484 at midth of february and 287 at end of march. Have passed 158 18 month ago. My work is more focussed on tomcat/open source stuff and this month kind of trouble shooter for a very problematic lotus domino project. Don't get rid of that crap. Becoming fat from all that crackers I eat in endless meetings with administration and management guys.
Good luck for anybody and lets have some good discussions. Nice to see some old fads from IBM certification movement like Theodore and Vijay
Howard, please don't go away. I am going boost your book sales on german market by posting a very positive amazon review when finished with it. I really like it.
regards Axel
[ December 12, 2003: Message edited by: Axel Janssen ]

[Howard Kushner]

Originally posted by Axel Janssen:

Howard, please don't go away. I am going boost your book sales on german market by posting a very positive amazon review when finished with it. I really like it.
regards Axel

Thanks for the kind words. Hey, I'm not going anywhere! I'll keep coming back like a bad dream.
[ December 12, 2003: Message edited by: Howard Kushner ]