SCJP Certification
For a few weeks, while I've been finishing my calculus class, I've been looking at my java books wishing I had something to show for all that I have learned. I have 2 reference books, and two of the Head First books. I believe the best way to show knowledge of java is through the Sun Certification programs. I have been thinking about how much I want to get the SCJP Certification. There are two reasons I want to get the cert. First, it will be my only professional certification. Second, if I ever decide to get a different job it will be for programming.
Before I write what I'm doing to prepare for the cert I have to say that I have already studied for the exam less than a year ago and decided not to take it. I bought the study guide by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates, wrote a ton of note cards, and even got passing scores on some of the practice quizzes. I was well on my way to getting the cert, but my life was getting to stressful and the goal of being certified seemed impossible. There are a few things causing this stress. I was getting out of the Navy and in the process of finding a job, taking two college classes, and worrying constantly about my future (This may have something to do with my recent return from Afghanistan). Now that I have a good job that I like, I feel less stress and I am ready to get the certification.
What am I doing to study? Yesterday I started my studying. I own a Sun Learning CD-ROM with 5 courses covering a lot of the java programming language. There are practice exercises and a lot of information that will help. The Getting Started section is done so far.
I'm also re-reading the SCJP book. I like to read things from start to finish but I've already been through this book a few times. I plan on going through it once, skimming through the sections I know and reading the ones I don't. After that I'm going to take as many practice tests as I can.
The test questions for this certification are complicated. They incorporate many concepts into one question that you almost have to be a human compiler to get them right. In fact a majority of the questions have "Does not compile" or something similar as an answer. It's really important to learn how to read a question (check for compile errors, runtime exceptions) and come up with the right answer. Practice makes perfect! And I know I need to take as many tests as I can.