I am studying for the Sun Certified Java Programmer examination, and I wondered: what have you used to study for this exam? How much experience in the real world do you need before you're ready for this exam? And will this certification actually help in terms of marketability?
Thank you.
Try to align your choice of certifications and exams with your future plans. Having lots of certificates just to pimp up a curriculum vitae isn't just worth it and bites back from time to time.
For a few points in that direction, try to read Jeff Atwoods Do Certifications Matter? and decide if you're on the right track for your future.
Often such exams also offer matching learning documents and so on, be sure to get your hands on those and know and understand(!) their contend even if someone wakes you in the middle of the night and asks you a question.
I liked www.javablackbelt.com as a study exam site.
It gives you exams that you can take for various subjects that are of a relatively decent level.
As for the certification I did learn from taking the exams, I am still with the employer I was with before I took the exam so I can't say if it helped with getting jobs etc.
In my opinion, as long as you have a basic understanding of the Java language (enough to read and write fairly simple code) then you have enough "real world experience" to start preparing for the exam.
Regarding how you should prepare for the exam, check out the following FAQ.
It's hard to say exactly how much the SCJP will help your marketability, but it certainly can't do it any harm. The real benefit to your marketability will probably not be the certificate itself, but the knowledge you've learned while preparing for the exam.
Currently I also want to get the SCJP and a good friend told me about this book. from McGrawHill.
It's totally focused to pass this exam and it has small test in the end of each chapter with similar questions you can find.
I don't know if it is a good idea or if it will open you new career oportunities. We are in the same boat, we will see!
It helps you to cover the basics of the language, to name a few:
And having someone "certifying" you know that is an advantage alredy.
You need "some" real life experience but that won't be an obstacle to pass the examination.
As per marketability goes, it will be an additional point over those who don't have it, but won't substitute other experience.
For instance is most likely somebody with 5 yrs. of experience have more chances that you if your experience is 1 yr.
But if both have the same experience this could be the diferentiator.
I use this book yrs ago.
Java Ranch have a forum dedicated to this certification.
Good luck.
I used Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Study Guide which is written by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates. These two helped write the questions for the Exam and take great time and effort it pointing out what you REALLY need to know for the exam. If you take the time to read the book and use the CD in the back, you should be OK.
I work for a VERY large Insurance Company and they won't hire somebody that isn't certified. Their decision behind this is that everybody coming in certified at the minimum has a decent understanding of the language and the API and can spend more time focusing on learning the business as compared to the language.
I personally don't think you need any real world experience to take and pass the exam. On a day to day basis, I maybe use 5% of the API where the test covers a lot more obviously. A perfect example of this is threading. I rarely have a use for it. Most of my day to day work includes talking to a database and performing CRUD like functionality.
As a Sr. Level deveoper, if two equal people came in to our company but one had the cert and one did not and I was asked who we should hire, I'd pick the one with the Certification.
The test is intense and takes dedication, make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. If it'll make you feel better to know that you're certified, then go for it.
What have you used to study for this exam?
I used the Whizlabs exam simulator, and the book SCJP Study Guide by Katherine Sierra, and found both immensely useful. See also this closely related question: SCJP exam - your best tips for passing. (Edit, after reading that question more carefully: it is not that closely related after all :-)
How much experience in the real world do you need before you're ready for this exam?
I would say the more real world experience you have, the more you will be able to get out of studying for the exam. But you can study and pass the exam even without any such experience (it will just take more work, of course).
Assuming one had just started working as a junior Java developer, I'd personally recommend taking the SCJP perhaps after 6 to 12 months. (Although occasional practice with an exam simulator will be good for you even right after starting; you'll get an idea about how hard or tricky the questions can be, and how well you need to learn the foundations.)
And will this certification actually help in terms of marketability?
This has already been debated to great lengths elsewhere, see e.g. these questions:
Personally, in retrospective, I think taking the SCJP was first and foremost a helpful learning experience, but passing it (with a good score) obviously doesn't hurt the CV either.