SCJP 1.2 TO OCPJP 8

[Vikrama Sanjeeva]

Hi,

I'm out of programming from last 6+ years and during all this time I was working as a Business / System Analyst, focusing more on business requirements and related documentation.

However, I'm now planning to move back to back-end programming.

The last version I used was JDK 4 with Struts 2.

I notice nowadays Java 8 with Springs are heavily used in the software development industry.

Therefore, I'm planning to upgrade my knowledge of Java 8 and Springs modules.

I've done some tutorials on Springs framework but I feel more confident on the subject by writing exams. Programming small code snippets and learning new concepts for the exam is what works well in my case.


Having said that, what is the recommended path if I want to go for Java 8 and Springs certification? I mean the books, mock exams, and the time required to prepare.

Any help would be highly appreciated.

Thanks.
Viki.

[Pete Letkeman]

For this path I suggest that you try directly for the Java OCA 808 exam and then the Java OCP 809 exam.
I suggest that you take a few moments and read some of the stories found here https://coderanch.com/wiki/659980/Ocajp-Wall-Fame.
By over over these stories you can see how others prepared and what material they used.
This could save you time, money and frustration.

[Vikrama Sanjeeva]

Pete Letkeman wrote:For this path I suggest that you try directly for the Java OCA 808 exam and then the Java OCP 809 exam.
I suggest that you take a few moments and read some of the stories found here https://coderanch.com/wiki/659980/Ocajp-Wall-Fame.
By over over these stories you can see how others prepared and what material they used.
This could save you time, money and frustration.

Hi Pete,

Thanks for your response.

Could you please share the rationale behind taking Java OCA 808 exam first and then the Java OCP 809 exam? Is it mandatory? And does my SCJP 2 certification is not acceptable to take OCP 809 exam?

Thanks,
Viki.

[Pete Letkeman]

You may be able to the the Java OCP 809 exam before you take the Java OCA 808 exam, however they will not issue you the Java OCP 809 certificate until after they issue you the Java OCA 808 certificate.
The Java OCA 808 exam is considered easier then the Java OCP 809 exam by many people who have taken both exams.

The 813 exam found here https://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=5001&get_params=p_exam_id:1Z0-813 does state

Upgrade to Java SE 8 OCP (Java SE 6 and all prior versions)

, so in theory you may be able to get your Java OCP certification with only one test.

However that is a rather large leap and along the way there have been many changes with Java such as:

Streams

Lambdas

NIO

Generics

Collections classes updates

Concurrency classes updates

and much more...

From what I've gathered the Java OCP 809 exam is a continuation and does not overlap too much with the Java OCA 808 exam.
So for example, you could be expected to know how to resolve a lambda expression in a when using NIO and streams, but there may not be any questions on lambdas themselves.

When I was preparing for the Java OCA 808 exam I used a study guide like many others.
There are a few study guides to go from prior version of Java directly to Java 8 OCP however I'm pretty sure that most of them only go back to Java 1.6 or Java 1.5.

If you choose to write the 813 exam and try for the Java OCP certification you still may want to go over some of the Java OCA 808 materials/guides.
It is more cost effective to purchase a couple of guides and write the exam one then to write the same exam more then once.

It may be less stressful to first get your Java OCA certification, because this will show you what areas you need to improve upon before trying for the Java OCP certification.
Doing it this way you get more experience with the exam and question format so you may be more relaxed when it comes to the Java OCP certification exam.

[Vikrama Sanjeeva]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for your response.

So you mean I've two options?

1) Either to go for OCA 808 and then OCP 809 or
2) Go for the upgrade exam 813

Both of the above paths will lend me to OCP for Java 8 Programmer?

[Pete Letkeman]

Yes, both options do lead to the same end result. I'm not entirely sure that you would be allowed to take the upgrade exam 813.
To know for sure you would need to contact those responsible for managing the Oracle Java certification which can be found here http://pearsonvue.com/oracle/
They have a toll free number, live web chat and email support. I suspect that the toll free number and the live web chat are only monitored during business hours.

[Vikrama Sanjeeva]

Thanks Pete for your responses.

I contacted OCP Support with my SCJP 1.2 transcript and they've given below response:

-------------------
Dear Viki

Thank you for writing back to us.

We see that you have earned the credential Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform on 5-JAN-2002 under testing id SP9865371.

Kindly note as you have already passed the exam Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform hence you need to pass only one upgrade exam 1Z0- 813 to earn the credential Oracle Certified Professional, Java SE 8 Programmer

Kindly visit for more details at : https://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=654&get_params=p_id:357&p_org_id=1001&lang=US#tabs-2-1

We appreciate your understanding in this

Sincerely,

OCP Team
----------------------

From their response, it's clear I can go directly to exam 1Z0- 813. However, after discussing with you (as my gap is much) I'm planning to for OCA 808 and then OCP 809 exams. This might be the long route and expensive as well (as I've to pay two separate exams) but I think it will help me to slowly digest the new concepts in Java and also will help me to regain my confidence.

Having said that, I think (after my research here on forums), I need below two resources to start preparing for OCA 808:

a) OCA: Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide: Exam 1Z0-808 1st Edition
b) Ethuware tests

I just need your review on above to ensure I'm on the right path. This will help me to start my preparation.

Thanks,
Viki

[Pete Letkeman]

I would agree that a study guide is very helpful for preparing for the certification exams. There are three or more out there that people have used.
You can see what study guides people have used by reading their stories which can be found here https://coderanch.com/wiki/659980/Ocajp-Wall-Fame.
Not everyone has used the same study guide and some people have used more then one study guide like me https://coderanch.com/t/685043/certification/passed.
In my story I briefly review three different study guides.

I'm not convinced that you should judge a study guide by the phrase "1st Edition".
A second edition of a study guide may be more up to date with corrections and may be more closely aligned with the exam.
On the other hand a first edition which was first published this year may be more closely aligned with the exam.

Many people have found using Enthuware to be very helpful when preparing for the exams.
If you follow the recommended test progression path then you get:

seven to nine different exams

over 500 unique exam like questions

quick feedback on the areas that you need to learn more about

questions which are as hard or harder then the exam questions

exam like experiences

I would recommend that you do not take the same Enthuware test more then once.
Also only progress to the next test if you get at least 65% on current test.
If you get less then 65% then you should spend more time studying the material.

All the above aside, when preparing for the exam you should write many small programs to help cement concepts.
A 20-50 line program can really help you understand things. Plus do not use an IDE when writing these programs.
IDEs are great for writing production code, but they tend to hide things that you would need to know for the exam and you do not get to use an IDE on the exam.

[Vikrama Sanjeeva]

Hi Pete,

Thank you for your detailed response. It's really helpful.

1) Could you please provide the Amazon link for the 2nd edition of the book?

2) My plan is to write first OCA, then OCP and finally Spring certification. What do you reckon for this path? Which spring certification is popular and accepted in the industry? I might be asking too much here, but I want to ensure that I know where I'm going, and it is the right direction.

Thanks.
Viki

[Pete Letkeman]

If you would like a link to Jeanne's book then you can find one here https://coderanch.com/wiki/660334/Bio-Jeanne-Boyarsky on Jeanne's profile page.
I do not know if there is a second edition of any of her books.

I do recommend OCA then OCP and then I'm not too sure.
If you take a look at the wall of fame pages

https://coderanch.com/wiki/659980/Ocajp-Wall-Fame

https://coderanch.com/wiki/659976/Ocpjp-Wall-Fame

You can see what others planned on doing.
I say planned because things can change, my plans changed shortly after completing my OCA exam.

More and more companies are experimenting with microservices, devops, Docker and Cloud Foundry.
These can all work together in unison, but they can also work fine by themselves.

If you are going down the path of certification then I suggest that you take it one certification at a time and evaluate your options after you get each certification.
There is also some debate as to the value of some certifications by some companies. Being certified does not automatically mean that you can get a job due to that certification.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Pete Letkeman wrote:. . . . I do not know if there is a second edition of any of her books. . . .

When new versions of Java® and of the exams come out quickly, it would be better to write a new book for the new version rather than a second edition of the old book.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

There was a second printing of the OCA book that fixes some of the errata. It's the same link; Amazon just ships the second printing as the first printing was presumably sold out a long time ago. (And I only know there was a second printing because I'm the author; it isn't obvious).

As Pete says, certs come out too quickly for there to be a second edition of a book. You can see this from Kathy & Bert and Mala Gupta's book. Both have written similar books for Java 7 but *this* book still says "first edition.

Be aware that cert books have more errata than the average tech book. See why in this blog post. So you want to make sure the book you use has the errata posted online. The header of this forum has links to known errata lists for the books in this space.