SUN JAVA Certification / Training

The Dark One · 26-Aug-2004, 19:07

II’ve got my boss to agree to either pay for some JAVA training, I’ve no idea where to start tho. The SUN certification for JAVA Programmer and Developer seem like a logical step, but the courses for each (at £1500 each) seem a little OTT for what appears to be fairly basic development. Ideally I want to move towards J2EE as that’s most suitable for what I do, but don’t want to be asking for £20k’s worth of courses. Maybe also looking at IBM WebSphere training, but .. depends what options I can find

Has anybody been on any of the SUN approved courses or any other JAVA training programmes? Is the certification worth it? Is it possible to pass a reasonable number of exams from the study guides and real world knowledge or does it need attendance to the courses?

Any input much appriciated

TheFury · 27-Aug-2004, 08:59

http://saloon.javaranch.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi

Lots of info from people who have taken all the different Sun certifications. tbh most people just take the exams after prep'ing themselves.

Have a read through the Sun site again, certain exams have passes in other exams as pre-reqs.

Personally I was going to (and may still) do the architect exam. I won't take a course, instead relying on experience and the course book.

D.Celt · 27-Aug-2004, 12:23

Ask your bank about a career development loan. It'll cover the costs of your training & any interest is paid by the govt until your course finishes.

gimpchimp · 27-Aug-2004, 12:31

Do those CDLs apply to students?

The Dark One · 27-Aug-2004, 12:59

My employer is paying

I'm not going to fund myself

I don't want to waste £2k a shot on taught courses which do bugger all for me, would rather spend the money on books and time to study. Most courses are 5 days, we're not talking uni courses here

Munkee · 27-Aug-2004, 13:59

ive got the SUN programmer certification and you certainly dont need to go on a course for it

spend a week reading this book and you'll romp it

The Dark One · 27-Aug-2004, 15:40

Funny you mention that book munkee, its already on order after reading about it last night

Reckon that and a few months should see me through programmer and developer exams

Munkee · 27-Aug-2004, 16:31

imho you'd be better off doing the J2EE exams (business objects and web components i think??) than the developer though i suppose it depends what you want out of it

The Dark One · 27-Aug-2004, 17:06

Some seem to need the developer as a pre before you can sit the j2ee ones.

Munkee · 27-Aug-2004, 17:11

developer?

thought the programmer was the basic one then you could do pretty much any of them

http://suned.sun.com/US/certificatio...a_webj2ee.html

TheFury · 27-Aug-2004, 17:16

If you want to do the J2EE architect exam (SCEA) then you'd be looking at the following reading material (minimum):

Study Guides:
Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE Technology Study Guide - Cade & Roberts
Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE Study Guide - Allen & Bambara

Design Patterns:
Design Patterns - Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software - Gamma et al
Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture - Fowler
Pattern Oriented Software Architecture - Buschmann et al
Core J2EE Patterns - Crupi

UML:
Personally I find Applying UML and Patterns - Larman, to be quite good along with the UML specs and
Unified Modeling Language User Guide - Booch et al

J2EE Technology:
Mastering Enterprise JavaBeans - Roman
Enterprise JavaBeans - Monson-Haefel
Java Message Service - Monson-Haefel
Any old JSP & Servlet book.

tbh if your heading down a J2EE design / architecture career, I'd be reading those books anyway. Then, once you've been indoctrinated into the Sun way of working (ref: very expensive, only for use of truly mission critical and ultimately scalable solutions), read:

Bitter Java - Tate
Bitter EJB - Tate
Expert One-on-one J2EE Design and Development - Johnson

These will help show that not everything Sun preaches is gospel. tbh if I were being a pragmatic J2EE developer, I'd definately read the Johnson book before any of the others...

Also - the architect exam is significantly different to the others, being broken down into 3 parts. First is a multi-choice test (like the others), second is a project to be delivered (design & architecture) wth the final part being an essay based on your proposed software architecture.

The Dark One · 27-Aug-2004, 17:42

It'll probably be the web components path i take, maybe the business objects later. Currently the requirment is presentation layer work on websphere, so basic sun quals + ibm websphere maybe

26-Aug-2004, 19:07	#1
The Dark One meh Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 7,787	SUN JAVA Certification / Training II’ve got my boss to agree to either pay for some JAVA training, I’ve no idea where to start tho. The SUN certification for JAVA Programmer and Developer seem like a logical step, but the courses for each (at £1500 each) seem a little OTT for what appears to be fairly basic development. Ideally I want to move towards J2EE as that’s most suitable for what I do, but don’t want to be asking for £20k’s worth of courses. Maybe also looking at IBM WebSphere training, but .. depends what options I can find Has anybody been on any of the SUN approved courses or any other JAVA training programmes? Is the certification worth it? Is it possible to pass a reasonable number of exams from the study guides and real world knowledge or does it need attendance to the courses? Any input much appriciated

27-Aug-2004, 12:23	#3
D.Celt < witticism /> Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 1,928	Ask your bank about a career development loan. It'll cover the costs of your training & any interest is paid by the govt until your course finishes. __________________ Dinosaurs ate my jesus fish.

27-Aug-2004, 12:31	#4
gimpchimp free bandwidth? Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Posts: 6,820	Do those CDLs apply to students? __________________ gimpchimp breachlan \| myth weavers

27-Aug-2004, 13:59	#6
Munkee poster of the month Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,548	ive got the SUN programmer certification and you certainly dont need to go on a course for it spend a week reading this book and you'll romp it __________________ www.munkeehaus.com ut2k4 beginners guide - www.munkeehaus.com/ut2k4/guide.htm munkeehaus@yahoo.co.uk

27-Aug-2004, 16:31	#8
Munkee poster of the month Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,548	imho you'd be better off doing the J2EE exams (business objects and web components i think??) than the developer though i suppose it depends what you want out of it __________________ www.munkeehaus.com ut2k4 beginners guide - www.munkeehaus.com/ut2k4/guide.htm munkeehaus@yahoo.co.uk

27-Aug-2004, 08:59	#2
TheFury flame fodder Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 15	http://saloon.javaranch.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi Lots of info from people who have taken all the different Sun certifications. tbh most people just take the exams after prep'ing themselves. Have a read through the Sun site again, certain exams have passes in other exams as pre-reqs. Personally I was going to (and may still) do the architect exam. I won't take a course, instead relying on experience and the course book.

27-Aug-2004, 12:59	#5
The Dark One meh Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 7,787	My employer is paying I'm not going to fund myself I don't want to waste £2k a shot on taught courses which do bugger all for me, would rather spend the money on books and time to study. Most courses are 5 days, we're not talking uni courses here

27-Aug-2004, 15:40	#7
The Dark One meh Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 7,787	Funny you mention that book munkee, its already on order after reading about it last night Reckon that and a few months should see me through programmer and developer exams

27-Aug-2004, 17:06	#9
The Dark One meh Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 7,787	Some seem to need the developer as a pre before you can sit the j2ee ones.

27-Aug-2004, 17:11	#10
Munkee poster of the month Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,548	developer? thought the programmer was the basic one then you could do pretty much any of them http://suned.sun.com/US/certificatio...a_webj2ee.html __________________ www.munkeehaus.com ut2k4 beginners guide - www.munkeehaus.com/ut2k4/guide.htm munkeehaus@yahoo.co.uk

27-Aug-2004, 17:16	#11
TheFury flame fodder Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 15	If you want to do the J2EE architect exam (SCEA) then you'd be looking at the following reading material (minimum): Study Guides: Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE Technology Study Guide - Cade & Roberts Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE Study Guide - Allen & Bambara Design Patterns: Design Patterns - Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software - Gamma et al Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture - Fowler Pattern Oriented Software Architecture - Buschmann et al Core J2EE Patterns - Crupi UML: Personally I find Applying UML and Patterns - Larman, to be quite good along with the UML specs and Unified Modeling Language User Guide - Booch et al J2EE Technology: Mastering Enterprise JavaBeans - Roman Enterprise JavaBeans - Monson-Haefel Java Message Service - Monson-Haefel Any old JSP & Servlet book. tbh if your heading down a J2EE design / architecture career, I'd be reading those books anyway. Then, once you've been indoctrinated into the Sun way of working (ref: very expensive, only for use of truly mission critical and ultimately scalable solutions), read: Bitter Java - Tate Bitter EJB - Tate Expert One-on-one J2EE Design and Development - Johnson These will help show that not everything Sun preaches is gospel. tbh if I were being a pragmatic J2EE developer, I'd definately read the Johnson book before any of the others... Also - the architect exam is significantly different to the others, being broken down into 3 parts. First is a multi-choice test (like the others), second is a project to be delivered (design & architecture) wth the final part being an essay based on your proposed software architecture.

27-Aug-2004, 17:42	#12
The Dark One meh Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 7,787	It'll probably be the web components path i take, maybe the business objects later. Currently the requirment is presentation layer work on websphere, so basic sun quals + ibm websphere maybe