Dear Architects,
I took the SCEA5 part 1 exam and managed to pass with a score of 44/64 (68%). Though not a great score yet I would like to thank the community here whose valuable insights made me prepare quickly as I was pressed against time. I had brought the voucher at a discounted price and the expiry date was approaching , but being crunched against time I had v little time to prepare. With this post I would like to convey some of the areas I felt could be helpful for architects who are planning to take the exam but do not have much time to prepare.
* Please do not attempt to take the exam with 3 weeks preparation if you are not have much hands on experience with
java technologies. This is because most of the questions are based on experience not from study materials.
** That said here are few measures that could help you as a crash course - typically 3 week preparation, with the assumption that you have atleast 6-8 years of reasonable experience with Java technologies
[1]
Understanding the exam : Most of the posts here actually would help you understand what kind of questions are asked. Take out 1 day to navigate some of the posts in this forum, which will give you a brief idea about the exam.
[2]
What to study : Soild understanding of Design
Patterns,
EJB 3.0 (as well as backward compatibility with Ejb 2.1) ,
JSF, JMS, JCA,JAX-WS their strengths and weakness and applicable areas is sufficient to cross you little above the halfway mark (32+) . Remember as mentioned so many times no APIs are asked, but what kind of APIs exist will make you solve some of the tricky questions
[3]
The leftovers : Being strong in [2] above should easily fetch you around 31-33 marks. To ensure a complete passing focus on Java Security and all JEE areas where securtity can be applied.
[4]
Common sense from working experience : Common Architectures and Applicability of JEE architectures are based directly on your experience. Apply what you would have done on your projects that will ensure you some marks.
[5]
At the prometric centre Since passing is the major criteria here, focus to attempt EVERY question and spare atleast 30-40 mins after the 64th question for review. This review could prove crucial , espicially if you did some corrections the last moment and found that the score is 37, dot pass. One mistake and few worthy dollars goes in waste. So make sure to spend ALL the alloted time and sound review.
Finally [6]
SCEA 5 materials : The exam demands understanding than remembering study materials so the entire focus for study should be to gain quick insights into the technology. Books and eBooks that focus on all the important concepts should be of help.
Design Patterns : MZ notes are awesome, take that to be some kind of Bible for DP
EJB3.0 : Mastering EJB3.0 (focus also on backward compatibility)
JAX-WS: SOA using Java Web Services
Security : JEE Tutorial
All the best.
Thanks and Regards
Partha