Hi Spriha Kar,
First of all, a warm welcome to CodeRanch!
Spriha Kar wrote:I want to understand the difference between Oracle Certified Associate and Professional. Can i give the certification for Associate, and then after few months give the certification for Professional.
Since
Java 7, Oracle has split the certification in 2 parts: the OCA one is the entry-level exam and covers java and OO basics. The OCP is the more advanced exam and covers a lot of advanced topics (generics, threads, concurrency,
jdbc, file i/o, nio2.0,...). So you need to pass 2 exams to become OCPJP certified. Before Java 7 you only needed to take just 1 exam (OCPJP6) to become OCPJP certified, but this exam (of course) covers both java and OO basics and the more advanced topics (generics, threads, file i/o,...). So it's harder to pass for the OCPJP6 than it would be for the OCAJP7 or OCAJP8.
If you want to become an
Oracle Certified Professional, Java Programmer, you can currently choose between 3 paths: OCPJP6 or OCAJP7+OCPJP7 or OCAJP8+OCPJP8 (there are no prerequisites for either of these exams). For the first one, you only have to pass one exam (as mentioned earlier); for both other paths you need to pass two exams (an entry-level and an advanced level). In
this thread you'll find an overview of all possible paths (OCPJP6, OCAJP7+OCPJP7 or OCAJP8+OCPJP8) you could take to become an OCPJP certified Java programmer. And
this thread also contains some valuable information about which OCA version to choose. So I would advice to read these threads and if you still have questions or doubts, just hit the reply button and let us know!
But if you don't have any specific reasons,
you should just go with OCAJP8 (and OCPJP8).
And as Scott has mentioned as well: although it makes more sense to take the OCA first and then the OCP, it's not a requirement. You can take both exams in random order. Please note you can't
combine different version certifications.
In the
OcajpFaq (besides other very useful information) and
this thread you'll find an overview of all available resources (study guides, mock exams,...) to thorougly prepare yourself for the certification exam. And on the
OcajpWallOfFame you'll find plenty of (links to) experiences from other ranchers (including resources they have used). So it can be useful to determine which resources are useful (and which are not).
Hope it helps!
Kind regards,
Roel
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