Jim Cramer

Glad to help. Tell me a bit about how you created your stateless session bean, as well as how you started the test server and invoked the UTC.

There is actually an excellent study guide for the IBM Test 285 by Gary Craig and Peter Jakab, published by IBM Press entitled An Introduction to Web Application Development with IBM WebSphere Studio. You may have heard of those authors before. Both been involved with IBM certifications for some time. http://www.mc-store.com/5213.html

Check the topic "Study Guide for IBM 287" started by Kevin Bradley. If you have additional questions, please post them, and I will attempt to monitor all current test 287 related topics. Good luck!

It depends on how much money you are willing to spend. Some books are free and some will cost you. I found the 287 test to be quite challenging but not impossible. Presuming you are considering the self-study approach, you can choose approach A or approach B. Or you might even consider some combination, if you are so inclined. Good luck!

The best place to start is www.jcert.org and follow the links. If you are interested primarily in IBM certifications, start at www.ibm.com/certify and select either a certification from the topmost drop-down list, or a particular test by number from the drop-down list beneath it. Good luck!

The ICE tool Examination Score Report breaks it down for you section by section. Each of us is different in our strengths and weaknesses. I was scoring in the 80's on ICE before I sat for the test 287. You must determine for yourself which areas you will need to work on. I prepare extensively for an exam before I risk the money.

Amazingly close.

I've passed all four IBM tests for jCert CED: 155, 486, 484 and 287.
If you're seriously considering the self-study approach B for the 287 exam, you will need to read more than just the three redbooks. Even with Monson-Haefel and Ed Roman's books (both very good), you will not have covered it all. You better know your J2EE specs, as well as some patterns and best practices. The WSDD is a help as well as the InfoCenter. Be sure to check out the ICE (certify.torolab.ibm.com) site for sample questions. Good luck!