The SCJP test (* F4-Programmer *)

The SCJP is the Sun Certified Java Programmer test, a test of your knowledge of Java, a computer language. I do not know if it helps your resume, but it does help you in the technical interview since it forces you to know all the little ins and outs of the language, all the trick questions they ask. It also forces you to learn the new parts of the language that you may not have used much.

I just took the test, the one for Java 6, so I want to write down some tips while the experience is still fresh in my mind:

1. Get a good night’s sleep.
2. Make the day of the test an otherwise easy day.
3. Go to the restroom just before you start.
4. Bring two forms of identification, at least one with a picture and both with your name signed.
5. Ask for pencil and paper if they do not offer it to you. You will need it.
6. Pace yourself: make sure you are doing about ten questions every half hour – or five questions every 15 minutes. If you know your stuff, it will be enough time to carefully think through each question.
7. There is a little check box at the top of each question. Use that to mark the questions you want to go back to. The test is designed so that you have some time at the end to go back and check answers you are not sure of.
8. Read the lines of code first, then the question: some questions are trick questions.
9. It is multiple choice, but work out the answer for yourself before you see their choices. Read all the choices, even the ones you sure are wrong. I caught some of my mistakes that way.
10. Do not second guess yourself: unless you discover a clear mistake, your first answer was probably the right one.
11. If you are running out of time, check “Does not compile” or A as your answer for all of the remaining questions. Your score is based only on the number of questions you get right, so you have nothing to lose by guessing.
12. Books to study: Buy Sun’s latest SCJP book and the Gosling book on Java. The SCJP book covers almost everything that will be on the test, while Gosling gives you the right way to think about the language – he designed it after all. Read the SCJP book cover to cover. Read the first 100 or so pages of Gosling and then any subject you have a hard time understanding.
13. Threading: a good, solid knowledge of threading will get you through. I overstudied threading – it turned out to be a waste of time.
14. Overriding methods: know this inside out, know it in your sleep, know it cold.
15. Java libraries: mainly Collections and I/O. No Swing. Nothing heavy.
16. Casting: there was almost nothing on casting numbers. It was mostly about boxing and which method runs for a given cast.