• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
programming forums Java Mobile Certification Databases Caching Books Engineering Micro Controllers OS Languages Paradigms IDEs Build Tools Frameworks Application Servers Open Source This Site Careers Other Pie Elite all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
Marshals:
  • Campbell Ritchie
  • Tim Cooke
  • paul wheaton
  • Jeanne Boyarsky
  • Ron McLeod
Sheriffs:
  • Paul Clapham
  • Liutauras Vilda
  • Devaka Cooray
Saloon Keepers:
  • Tim Holloway
  • Roland Mueller
Bartenders:

OCAJP passed 95%

 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 46
5
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi guys
On Thursday afternoon I passed the 1Z0-803 with a 95% score.

It was a tricky road at times
so I thought I'd share a few things here about how I got there in the end.

In the middle of my preparation, when I first started attempting timed exam questions,
I wondered if I could ever pass the test at all. Time per question was of such great concern to me.
Then I posted here and took this advice: Use just a text-editor with javac
I reckon it's the only way to go for this particular exam
It WAS a little tricky at first but accuracy and speed shot up after a week.
For sure it reduces code figuring-out time and makes compilation error spotting quicker.

I had almost no previous Object Oriented Programming experience
(I had read Java for Dummies a couple of years ago and wrote some little programs )

Here's what I used to prepare over the last 6 months:
  • Mala Gupta
  • Esteban Herrera Java Practice Questions OCA
  • JavaRanch
  • Whizlabs
  • Enthuware
  • Notepad & javac


  • Mala Gupta's book - through in detail once
    and then thru all the chapter summaries again
    and all the sample questions too

    I felt I had been thorough in my approach with Gupta book
    And as a result I felt somewhat confident.
    But when I tried a timed mini exam (I think the Enthuware trial)
    I nearly had a seizure!

    JavaRanch
    A saviour when stuck!
    This was when I posted on here, started using notepad/javac etc... and things got much better
    I would say that if you're a newbie like I was, finishing whatever prep book/course you use for the exam is just about half way.
    It's absolutely okay to struggle with mock exam questions at first.
    In order not to 'burn' many Enthuware questions/exams unneccessarily while improving
    I looked around for other sources of questions.

    Esteban Herrera's Java OCA Practice questions I found good for this.
    They are really tricky, good-for-learning questions.
    Perhaps not quite as tuned in to exactly what's on the current Oracle test as say Enthuware but great for training
    I went through the 100 or so questions and then after reading the explanations
    I used notepad/javac to code out variations on most of them

    Enthuware
    My first full mock came in at 71%
    I was quite relieved - not just with the pass score but the fact that I could now manage 70 Q's in 120 mins at all!
    After that I went through all Enthuware's mock exams (with some Whizlabs ones inserted between)
    Enthuware explanations complete pretty much all your required knowledge for the test
    and also a very active question forum is accessible from each solution

    (Whizlabs helped too but they are not as close to the exam content as Enthuware
    and there isn't a forum or anywhere near as good a set of explanations)

    Any queries I still had I posted here and got great help every time. Thanks guys

    The Enthuware Last Day Test is a must
    It's so good to have fresh in your mind when you go in

    Here's the mocks:

    Enthuware
    Trial Test - Unfinished/Fail

    Test 1 - 71%
    Test 2 - 79%
    Test 3 - 90%
    Test 4 - 80%
    Test 5 - 86%
    Test 6 - 90%

    Last Day Test - 87%

    WhizLabs
    Diagnostic - 97%
    Mock Test 1 - 92%
    Mock Test 2 - 90%
    Mock Test 3 - 82%
    Final Test - 98%

    Oracle exam - 95%

    A huge thank you to JavaRanch
    And Enthuware: thank you for your really well implemented software
    And thanks to all the previous students who posted their experiences here.
    You all really helped me get through it
    Good Luck future Exam-takers!
    Ciao!
     
    Ranch Hand
    Posts: 10198
    3
    Mac PPC Eclipse IDE Ubuntu
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator
    That was a very detailed report. Congratulations!
     
    Sheriff
    Posts: 11604
    178
    Hibernate jQuery Eclipse IDE Spring MySQL Database AngularJS Tomcat Server Chrome Java
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator
    Congratulations, champion with such a great achievement!

    Don't forget to add your name to the OcajpWallOfFame.

    Daniel Clinton wrote:It was a tricky road at times
    so I thought I'd share a few things here about how I got there in the end.


    Thanks for sharing your experience in such great detail. Many other ranchers will definitely benefit from reading your's. Have a cow!

    Kind regards,
    Roel
     
    MyExamCloud Software Support
    Posts: 757
    3
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator
    Congratulation Daniel, and thanks for sharing your experience, it's definitely helpful for the exam aspirants!
     
    Ranch Hand
    Posts: 472
    10
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator
    good job.
     
    Legend has it that if you rub the right tiny ad, a genie comes out.
    Smokeless wood heat with a rocket mass heater
    https://woodheat.net
    reply
      Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
    • New Topic