I just obtained my first ever I.T. certificate – Oracle Certified Associate in Java Standard Edition 5/6 (OCA Java SE 5/6) which was known as SCJA (Sun Certified Java Associate) before Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems. Here is my score report:

I believe 88% is quite average as it was an entry level associate certificate. Nevertheless, I am still pretty satisfied that I passed with mere self study. Spending few more days on it could have get me a better score but I wanted to get it done before the new trimester starts. I do aware there are software tools that let you simply practice bunch of questions so that one could probably pass the test without much real knowledge in Java but I don’t see the point of learning how to pass an examination instead of earning actual knowledge and skills. A test is supposed to be a way of self assessment.

Note that OCA Java SE 5/6 is not a prerequisite for OCP Java SE 5/6 (Oracle Certified Professional in Java, formerly known as SCJP, Sun Certified Java Programmer). Should I try OCP Java? Probably not so soon, better focus on my final year project.

New to Professional Certification?

Although I am just a newbie but I believe sharing my experience could help those who are new as me and are interested to take their first professional certification (although strictly speaking, this is certified associate). What you learned from your Java course in university should prepare you enough for the Java SE (once called J2SE) part, provided you also know your Java and object oriented concepts plus your UML (Unified Modeling Language) besides writing codes. Just make some revision and study a little on Java EE (J2EE) and Java ME (J2ME). Since the questions about Java EE and Java ME do not involve codes, you only need to know their structure from a pretty abstract and high level view. Always look at the objectives of the certification and make revision accordingly.

Once you think you are ready, schedule a test at a test center to take the exam. It is a typical computer-based test and the questions are either multiple choices or drag and drop to match. You can skip questions that you wish to answer later and type down some notes on the question to remind yourself what should you check when you come back. Note that you’re not allowed to bring anything in when taking the test and you can print the result report as shown above which contain simple analytic of your ability. The test was not difficult, if one can pass college Java course with a decent grade, passing this test should not be much of a trouble with some additional study.

These information is correct at the time of writing or at least when I took the test. It might be updated or changed from time to time so check for the latest information official website. Interested? I think it’s a pretty good start for Java greenhorns.

A Little Update:

You will receive an official certificate from Oracle in a few weeks, provided you passed the test of course. The picture below is the certificate I received. I’ve heard candidates received card besides a certificate when it was still Sun Microsystems, guess I am a little too late.