Tuesday, October 20, 2009

5 Reasons that make SCJP certification exam tough

You start to prepare for your SCJP certification exam with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm. You do research on the internet and after reading on various Java forums and registering into some of them (about 3 or4) you go out and buy that 1st book on SCJP certification exams. You are now really committed to study 2-3 hours every day and clear the exam in about 1-3 months time.

The next 2 days go by and you didn’t get those 2 hours to study. Then 1 full week goes by and now you are getting a little worried but you decide to give it more time over the weekend.......sounds familiar.

We asked many SCJP exam takers and realized that most of them sail this familiar boat. Here are five most common reasons why we slip in our preparation and tips to deal with them.

  1. You are not in reality of the preparation of your exam
    Most of the time preparation for this certification exam is approached in the conventional (old habituated style) style especially the way you did preparation back in school and college days. However the reality of this exam is that you are no longer in school or in college (some exceptions maybe there) you are in a full time job and you have to mange job responsibilities and also are going to study after a break of 3-4 years. Hence the preparation approach must be also different.

    The Fix: Plan Ahead
    Rather than beating yourself up for not studying the way you did earlier design a new approach as the circumstances are different now. Make a study plan keeping the reality of the current circumstance in mind.
  2. You only prepare theoretical aspects of the exam
    The SCJP exam now-a-days have coding questions. Small code snippets are given and either with compilation errors or code logic errors need to be answered.

    The Fix: Practice practice practice
    These days questions can be best answered if you have done hands on programming in Java and if not then you will need to practise many such questions that give you exposure of coding. Look for mock tests/sample practise tests that have you practise a lot of coding.
  3. Preparing Alone Preparing for the certification exam
    Preparing alone is a trap you will never be able to study alone as you have never done that in school/college etc you had your entire class friends preparing with you.

    The Fix: get a group of committed people to take the exam with you
    Get a friend/colleague or register in a Java forum to belong to a group of people and prepare along with them. Not only will it be fun but it’ll also give you the required competition and keep you on your toes.
  4. Nothing happens over night
    You might have heard of this great person (most likely your boss’s story of his certification process) in your office who passed the exam in 1 week or 1 month and now you are impatient as to how long it’ll take for you to be certified. You plan for 1 month and soon the plan goes to the dogs so now you are really impatient and in your mind you have made it a very tough exam that will take lots to pass.

    The Fix: Build brick by Brick
    Don't try to learn the entire language in a week/month, take your time. Keep the objective of learning and not just somehow passing the certification exam. Learn "why" something works a given way, not just that it works one way. This will surely see you long way in your journey as a Java professional.
  5. Am I ready?
    This is a tough one to answer. And exam will always be an exam meaning it’ll always give butterfly in your stomach and make you feel like throwing up the moment you think of taking the exam.

    The Fix: Don’t be guided by you feelings
    Here again I will point to the 1st point in this article keep in touch with the reality of your exam preparation. Let the scores in the practise tests/sample tests/mock tests guide you if you are ready for the exam. If you are scoring 85% + in the mock tests (and do take a variety of mock tests) do go take the exam.

    Author
    Sudeepa Basu
    Chief Marketing – Whizlabs.com
    http://www.whizlabs.com/scjp-certification/scjp-6.html

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Unlimited attempts to Whizlabs Mock Tests for 1 full year from

You asked for it and today I’m happy to say it’s come to you! Whizlabs mock tests now have unlimited attempts for 1 full year from the date of purchase! Starting on October 14 (Whizlabs Foundation Day – 14th October 2000). Isn’t’ that amazing! Having read many posts on Java community websites like Javaranch etc and all the emails to us, on removing the restriction on the attempts that was earlier maximum up to 3, we are clear that if this bothers you it has to go.

So now you may use it just as you feel like any number of times and go all out and approach the certification exam.

Thanks for your wonderful suggestions – keep them coming! My team and I are excited to innovate with you.

Sudeepa Basu
CMO Whizlabs.com Team
14th October 2009

This product enhancement was inspired by your idea

Friday, July 24, 2009

Best Practices for SUN SCJP Certification Exam Preparation

Preparing for any Sun SCJP Certification is about STUDYING and PRACTICING (practicing code snippets). The two together gives sure shot success in the exam.

For Studying
There are some excellent books for SCJP 5 and SCJP 6 Certification, to get start. In addition to books, explore numerous other resources on the Web.

To begin with:

  • Make yourself familiar with Sun's exam process, objectives, registration etc. See Sun's SCJP page for details.
  • Enrol to a SCJP forum to post questions, and reinforce your own understanding by answering other people's questions.
  • Take as many mock exams as possible. Use these to determine where additional study is needed, and as a guide to when you are ready.

Practice, Practice, and Practice

After you've prepared with appropriate books, browsed through the specifications, read tutorials, articles, and notes, all that's left to do is practice both sample exam questions and codes. Choose programming exercises that help you focus on the exam objectives, and don't avoid the stuff you're afraid of. Better to make mistakes on your own time than in the exam itself.

Discussion forums

Another important piece in the SCJP certification preparation game is to belong to a study-group by enrolling in an online discussion forum. Several broad-based Java forums maintain threads about certification issues, and some are devoted solely to certification. In a forum, you can quiz your peers about their study techniques, learn about some of the lesser-known certification resources, get support when you're stressed about the upcoming exam, and find out how others have fared in the effort to get certified.

Resources

  • Khalid Mughal and Rolf Rasmussen's A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification is a great reference for structured learning format.
  • SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Exam 310-065 by Katherine Sierra, Bert Bates
  • Head First Servlets and JSP: Passing the Sun Certified Web Component Developer Exam by Bryan Basham, Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates
  • Java Concurrency in Practice by Brian Goetz
  • Discussion forum – Java Ranch, Java Beats, Whizlabs Ask n Answer

Do you have any tips you want to share?

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Run Mock Exams Online or Offline on Browser

Whizlabs, one of the oldest Java Certification Exam Preparation company since the year 2000, provides mock tests for Java certification exam preparation. http://www.whizlabs.com/
Recently, about a month ago we launched a new platform of delivering tests to the users. Whizlabs mock test can now be accessed on any Browser (Internet Explorer 6, 7 & 8, Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome) online or offline.

  • This shift is enormous for the user as now the user can
    Access the tests from anywhere no more tied to the machine (which was not the case in the downloadable version)
  • The reports in the test shows comparison with other fellow test takes (shows Ranks, Percentile score)
  • The tests can be taken Online or Offline on the browser, amazing isn’t it.
  • Any content bugs reported can be taken care by the Whizlabs Team immediately
    and many more such conveniences of online.

Overall the whole interactivity of the exam tool offers a complete package that no book can match.

  • Emulating a practice environment
  • Study notes
  • Real exam Tips and Tricks
  • Discussion group to discuss question or exam related doubts

And that’s not all, every week something new is being introduced to enhance user experience. Like this week we are doing away with trial user registrations. So the trial users will no longer have to give any email/phone or any information for that matter to use the trial product.

Sounds good right what do you say? Do share your comments.

http://www.whizlabs.com/scjp-certification/scjp.html

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

A Novice!

Hey Champs!

This is my first time blogging! Seems Cool! I had been hearing about blogging for many years now and it became practically impossible to stay away, so I surrendered and started.

We are very excited at Whizlabs these days with new found energy, insights and potential. In last 8 years we have never been so focussed to know the people who come on our site, what are they searching for, and amazingly I am finding that each keyword typed says a lot about the person searching, and so much looks possible now that we have started caring about what people really want. We are planning to revamp our Website, Product, Communication etc..etc...even this blogging is part of it...to get connected with our visitors and listen to them....may be say things...So cool times ahead!

Don't forget to encourage me! and that means let me know what Whizlabs can do better...

Cheers!
Purvesh

Thursday, August 04, 2005

CCA Certification New Structure gone Live!

Dear Friends,

Citrix Systems has made its new 2 Track, product-specific structure for CCA (Citrix Certified Administrator) live. Click here for further details.

Cheers,
Whizlabs

Saturday, July 16, 2005

MCP Certification to undergo major overhaul

Dear Friends,

Are you an MCP or planning to be? If yes, this news is for you.

As in the recent past, Microsoft is continuously making significant changes it its certification programs. The latest and the biggest change is about MCP program taking new structure in the month of Sep.

Will it impact your currect status? Will it improve the MCP credetial? Will it also impact MCSE/MCSA? To find answers to these questions, check out the latest story at CertCities.com?

Happy MCP'ing!
Whizlabs

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Another set of Useful BLogs Directory

Here is another list of directories:

Blog Directory

Cheers,
Whizlabs

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Popular Blog Directories

Dear Bloggers,

If you are enthusiastic about blogging and want your blog to be popular, do submit your blog to the below listed blog directories:

Popdex Citations

Blog Search Engine -Search Engine and Directory of blogs. Looking for blogs? Find them on BlogSearchEngine.com



Blogarama

Blogkits.com

Happy Blogging :)
Whizlabs

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Blogging Success @ MarketingProfs

Dear Friends,

I am new to blogging and just now I got to read this very interesting and useful article on blogging. If you plan to be part of growing blogosphere, do read this.

Any comments and suggestions about my blog would be great appreciated.

Cheers,
Whizlabs

Monday, July 11, 2005

2005 Certification Salary Survey

Guyz,

Check out and participate in the 2005 Certification Salary Survey at about.com.

Cheers,
Whizlabs

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

MCSE 2003 Simulation Exams Delayed

Hi,

MSoft has delayed the launch of MCSE 70-293, 70-294 simulation exams to August or early September. This has happened in order to ensure smoother roll-out for the test providers.

Best wishes,
Whizlabs

Monday, June 27, 2005

Employee Certification Preparation Program

Dear All,

I am glad to announce the launch of Employee Certification Preparation site at Whizlabs. Through this site, we aim to support and guide organizations, worldwide in their employee certification programs.

So, if you represent your organization and are intrested in ensuring the IT certification success of your employees, do visit us. Our Certification Library lists the currently available certification programs.

Best wishes,
Whizlabs

Thursday, June 23, 2005

RFID Certification

Dear All,

CompTIA is seeking RFID professionals for their upcoming Industry Standard RFID certification. If you are already in this space or are planning to enter into this space, it may be a good opportunity.

Best wishes,
Whizlabs

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

WebSphere 6.0 Application Developer Certification

Dear All,

IBM has announced the release of WebSphere 6.0 Certifiation.

Best wishes,
Whizlabs

SCJP 5.0 Tiger Exam Simulator

Hi Friends,

The SCJP exam is the first in the series of Java Certification exams offered by Sun Microsystems. Infact, for many it is the first step to becoming established as a proficient Java developer. The SCJP 5.0 certification is for programmers interested in demonstrating proficiency in the fundamentals of the Java programming language using the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) technology.

Are you aiming to take SCJP 5.0 certification exam?

Sun certification exams have always been respected in the IT industry, however the new improved SCJP 5.0 exam is going to be valued even higher than ever before, since it offers a more accurate reflection of a candidate's skill level, knowledge, and understanding.

I am glad to say that Whizlabs has launched the World's first SCJP 5.0 Certification Exam Simulator.

Best wishes,
Whizlabs

Monday, June 20, 2005

XML Certification Success Series

Dear Friends,

Check out my XML certification success series, I (along with Hari) authored for IBM dW:

  1. XML Certification Success, Part 1
  2. XML Certification Success, Part 2
  3. XML Certification Success, Part 3 : Under development
Best wishes,
Whizlabs

Sunday, June 19, 2005

SCJP 5.0 Tiger Primer

Hi,

Are you interested in finding everything about SCJP 5.0 Tiger exam? If yes, then check out SCJP 5.0 certification primer.

Cheers,
Whizlabs