Introduction
T
his guide was written from my own experience with the Sun Certifcation for Sun Certified Java Programmer. Although Java is currently owned by Oracle and a lot was changed since version 1.4, this manual can help you with any IT Certifcation. I’ve tried to make it general purpose.
Below are the steps I took and they also will apply to your situation, weather it’s Microsoft, Red Hat or anything else. My score was 86 %. And you can achieve the same.
Steps
- Start with getting a good understanding of the Exam objectives. These are essential for your success.
- Buy a good book which covers all subjects of your Certifcation.
- Take a few days to study the material thoroughly. I did it chapter by chapter. At the end of each chapter, answer all practice questions.
- After you’re done with the book try to get your hands on a good and recent Exam Simulator. They can be obtained from several sources,
- Start with doing your first exam. Go on until your time is up and review all your answers. For each wrong answer make sure you understand what was wrong.
- Repeat with different exams. You should see your score gradually increase.
- Once you are well above the required score (use a safety margin of 20% you are ready for the real thing.
- Now is the time to contact your nearest test center and make an appointment.
- in the meantime keep practicing your exams as described under 5 and 6 and keep a record of your scores. You will notice you become better and better each day.
- At the day of the exam, make sure you are present at least 1 hour before the test starts.
After the test
Congratulations with your Certifcate, you can now start applying for jobs. If you don’t have a job immediately, try to get a temporary contract or join an Open Source project. Which is always good for your CV.