SCJP preparation help needed

[Talha Raihan]

Hello eveybody. Am Raihan B.E computer science engineer from India. Am 2010 passout. I want to take scjp certification to improve my job readiness.. Am still fresher. My programming is notn that much good. I want your advice about scjp. First tell me is it good for me to take scjp? how much time will it take to prepare thoroughly for scjp if I give 2 hours daily for preparation? Which books I should read for improving my java programming ability?

[Venkata Raaman]

Talha Raihan wrote:Hello eveybody. Am Raihan B.E computer science engineer from India. Am 2010 passout. I want to take scjp certification to improve my job readiness.. Am still fresher. My programming is notn that much good. I want your advice about scjp. First tell me is it good for me to take scjp? how much time will it take to prepare thoroughly for scjp if I give 2 hours daily for preparation? Which books I should read for improving my java programming ability?

Hi Talha I am also almost on the same boat....I have got little programming experience in java, and also OOP concepts. I have started preparation.preparation time varies from person to person and depending upon their java prior knowledge/experience. If you just want to pass test, it wont take much time, but if you really want to learn yes takes time.

[Mohamed Sanaulla]

Hi Talha, Welcome to JavaRanch
You can visit the ScjpFaq for more information SCJP. If you are a beginner I would recommend to start with- Head First Java and spend some time coding in Java. You can take some time to get started with java and once you are kind of familiar you can take up SCJP books and start preparing for it. Though you could start directly preparing for SCJP, but I would suggest to spend some time to get hold of the Java Syntax and the Object Oriented Principles.

Getting an SCJP may not guarantee you a Job, but it will surely enrich your Java knowledge provided you study sincerely for the exam, understanding all the concepts in the syllabus for the exam. Once you have a good understanding of Java and with good knowledge of Core Computer science areas like Data Structures and Algorithms you should be in a position to get a good Job

All the best for your preparation.

[Talha Raihan]

thanks for valuable suggestions.

[Talha Raihan]

I have decided to study head first java for one month and then scjp book for 2 months. Am I on right track to success? My friend just cleared scjp and mnc hired him directly.

[Venkata Raaman]

Talha Raihan wrote:I have decided to study head first java for one month and then scjp book for 2 months. Am I on right track to success? My friend just cleared scjp and mnc hired him directly.

Certification definitely adds up. How much java or concepts you know? If you are total new I would suggest start with absolute JAVA 4th edition by Savitch. I felt that book was like spoon feeding. And KB's headfirst as well which is fun reading and very informative with basic concepts.

[Rahul Sudip Bose]

Talha Raihan wrote:I have decided to study head first java for one month and then scjp book for 2 months. Am I on right track to success? My friend just cleared scjp and mnc hired him directly.

A friend told me this :
In his company, only the guy who can answer the interview questions satisfactorily gets in. Whether he/she has a SCJP is not the main thing, but a recent SCJP is a plus. I guess if one has an SCJP, but the competitor (without SCJP) is smarter and has a better sense of "design" and/or experience in coding he will most likely get the job. IMHO, SCJP only prepares us for the syntax and few pitfalls. The real task comes after that - using that syntax to make useful programs for the company.

but, i would suggest you take the exam anyway, even i will. Good luck to you.

PS: Oh and here is my analogy i cooked up while typing this, (guess java made me multi-threaded) :
Many know English (etc) , but how many can have the artistic sense to write poetry/novel ?

[Sunny Bhandari]

When I take interviews, I don't pay much attention to whether the person has got certification or not.
Sometimes, people forget what they learnt in certification.

But my experience has been that if you have prepared from certification then some companies have written test which has direct questions copied from mock certification exams.


And yes I got one big offer from Scotland bank where interviewer was impressed with SCJP and SCWCD that I have...

Hope that helps...