Entry 46 - Passed the SCJP

I passed my SCJP certification today, yahoo!!!  Finally I can relax and not worry about not passing it.  I was actually not that confident that I could pass it eventhough I've been a Java developer for about 6 years now.  I was having a hard time memorizing all the intricacies of the language, as I mostly use an IDE that handles all these things for me.  The exam was for 3 hours but I finished it in about 1 and a-half hours.  I was thinking of reviewing the test items since I had a lot of time left but I decided not to.  I was thinking that if I did a rundown of the items, there were some items that I was not so sure and I may end up changing some of them when in fact they were already correct.  Well, I guess it was the correct move as I passed the exam, got 76% of the test questions right.  Not that high of a score but still far from the 58% passing grade.

Entry 45 - SCJP, Is It Worth It?

I've been reading around the internet on whether taking the SCJP is worth it?  Well for me it doesn't matter as I'm taking it as a company sponsored certification, so I don't have to pay for anything.  The question is, if I didn't have that sponsorship, would I take it, would it be worth it to take it?  From what I've read, people have mixed reactions to this question.  Some say that it isn't worth it, it's just a way for the vendor to earn money.  Other say that it's just a tool for landing a job.  Personally, I think it really is just a way of forcing yourself to learn the inner workings of Java.  To force yourself to learn the concepts behind Java.  For an experienced professional like me, I've been using Java for more than 6 years now, and from my reviews, there are still concepts that I thought I understood, but I really didn't.  Getting the certification is not really a gauge on whether you're a good developer or not.  It's just a way to see if you understand the concepts behind Java.  Additionally, I think the ideal person to take this is not really those that are new to Java but those who are experienced developers working on various Java projects already.

Entry 44 - Reviewing for the SCJP

In the company I'm currently working at, they are sponsoring certifications.  One of the certification they are offering is the Oracle Certified Java Programmer (1.6).  Since it's sponsored by the company, I decided to register for it, and I was lucky enough to be able to get one of the vouchers.  The voucher will be used as payment for the certification exam.  The voucher is only until the end of April, then it expires.  I decided not wait until the end of April so I registered for the exam on April 13.  I've been reviewing little by little for a couple of weeks now and I want to pick-up the pace of my reviews so I decided on the earlier exam date.  Hopefully I'll be able to successfully pass the certification exam, it'll be a lot of waste if I didn't.