java certification?

[Doug]

I was thinking about getting my Java certification. The first
certification, Sun Certified Programmer seems easy enough. The second
one Sun Certified Developer seems like it would be a little more
difficult, but still doable.

My question is, for $400 total, is it really worth it? I have never
seen a job description that said "You must be a Sun Certified Developer."

My personal opinion is that the prices are totally rediculous. What do
you think? What does my $400 get me, besides a couple of certificates
to hang on the wall?

-d

 

[Bob]

I was thinking about getting my Java certification. The first
certification, Sun Certified Programmer seems easy enough. The second
one Sun Certified Developer seems like it would be a little more
difficult, but still doable.

My question is, for $400 total, is it really worth it? I have never
seen a job description that said "You must be a Sun Certified Developer."

My personal opinion is that the prices are totally rediculous. What do
you think? What does my $400 get me, besides a couple of certificates
to hang on the wall?

I have the SCJP, but I took it for my own benefit, rather than as a
requirement.

I do very occassionally see jobs listed (I'm searching hard) that will
state a preference or requirement for Sun Certification, but mostly they
just want years of commercial experience in every technology under the
sun (no pun intended).

I'm glad I did work to get the SCJP because it made me realise how crap
a Java programmer university had made me. A good book on the Programmer
exam will clear up a lot of the misunderstanding and ignorance that
hobby programmers (most students) have about Java.

What it won't do is provide a real test of quality coding ability, and
that's why I'd like to eventually take the Developer assignment.

But, purely from an employment point of view, all the bastards want is
commercial experience, and if you don't got it, they're not likely very
interested in what you've got on paper.

 

[Marcus Green]

As Bob says, what employers truly value is commercial experience.
However it is hard to objectively evaluate commercial experience and
certification is a narrow but fairly objective metric. If an employer
has two approximately similar candidates, certification can be the tie
breaker. I am entirely biased on this as I run a web site aimed at
people studying for the Certified Java programmer exam at

http://www.jchq.net

Marcus