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

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

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?

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