What the Best Java 8 Certification Path

One of the high school students asked me how to get Java certification and what the best certification path should choose. I will base on my Java certification path and the current Oracle Java certification products to help you. When I took Java certification, Java was under Sun Microsystems Inc. There was no associate certification (OCA) in the old days.The OCA was added after Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems Inc. My Java certification path is Certified Java Programmer (OCP), then Certified Web Component Developer (OCE) and the last Certified Enterprise Architect (OCM).

If you take a look on Oracle All Certifications page, you will see many certifications products under Java (Java EE and Web Services, Java SE). In the following screen shot, I choose one certification from each certification group (OCA, OCP, OCE and OCM) based on my certification path.

Oracle University's Certification Map also defines the certification path: OCA -->OCP-->OCE-->OCM

For the novice or high school student, I don't think you should take Java Foundations Certified Junior Associate. Because Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer (OCAJP) is the entry level programmer certification which covers the Java foundations and basic technology on Java. If you really decide to take the Java certification, then take the certification on the latest Java version.

Here is the summary of each certification:

OCAJP 1Z0-808: This is entry level Java SE 8 Programmer certification.

Duration:	150 minutes
Number of Questions:	70
Passing Score:	65%
Validated Against:	This exam has been written for the Java SE 8 release.
Format:	Multiple Choice
Exam Price:	US$ 245

OCPJP 1Z0-809: This is advanced level Java SE programmer certification. It requires that you passed OCAJP prior to attend this exam.

Duration:	150 minutes
Number of Questions:	85
Passing Score:	65%
Validated Against:	This exam is validated against Java SE 8.
Format:	Multiple Choice
Exam Price:	US$ 245

The expert level Java EE developer certification (OCE) would require OCPJP as mandatory certification. Oracle offers the following OCE on different specific specific subjects:

OCEJWCD 1Z0-899: JSP and Servlets
OCEJWSD 1Z0-897: Web Services
OCEJSFD 1Z0-896: Java Server Faces JSF
OCEJPAD 1Z0-898: Java Persistence API
OCEEJBD 1Z0-895: Enterprise Java Beans EJB

Name	Duration (minutes)	Number of Questions	Passing Scores	Format	Exam Price
OCEJWCD 1Z0-899	140	57	64%	Multiple Choice	US$ 245
OCEJWSD 1Z0-897	90	55	65%	Multiple Choice	US$ 245
OCEJSFD 1Z0-896	150	87	70%	Multiple Choice	US$ 245
OCEJPAD 1Z0-898	135	64	61%	Multiple Choice	US$ 245
OCEEJBD 1Z0-895	110	60	73%	Multiple Choice	US$ 245

You could base on your interest and job description to choose any OCE exam. But since the JSF and EJB are handled well through frameworks (e.g. Spring), and solid knowledge on JSP, Servlets and Web Services will help you on the job market, I would suggest choose either OCEJWCD or OCEJWSD.

The master level Java EE Enterprise Architect (OCMJEA) doesn't require any prior's certification as the mandatory. It is different than the old version certification Sun Certified Enterprise Architect (SCEA) which was required at least one of expert level Java EE certification to attend the exam. But Oracle requires the candidate must complete one of Oracle Academy Java courses (the cost of one course is very expensive from US$1,774 self study to US$4,650 classroom training.) The rest of the exam components are the same: multiple choice exam(1Z0-807), project assignment(1Z0-865), and essay (1Z0-866). Personally, I like the old path way from OCP to OCE then OCM instead of mandatory course due to the cost. Total cost to pursuit OCM will be from US$2,509 self study to US$5,385 classroom training. If your company has the training budget to reimburse those expenses, I strongly suggest you to attend this exam. It's a good learning process and you should be able to handle any Java EE project after you passed this exam.

Stay tuned, I will go through the learning materials, mock exams and tips of each exam in the incoming posts.

Labels: IT Certificates, Oracle Certificates