[ajug-members] Java Certification - Worth it?

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In my my 12 years of working with Java as my main career language, I have never taken a Java certification into account when interviewing a potential hire. I have also never known a company (other than a silly headhunter) to take this into account either. It really means nothing. No, I take that back... It proves you read a book and spent money on a test that you got a minimum of, what is it now, 61%?  61! Can you believe that? It's a joke and a silly revenue stream for Oracle.

Do what you will, this is just my opinion.  I recommend you get yourself a GitHub account, create your resume by writing code and having it available to potential companies.  

To learn Java just do the free thing, read the Java tutorial available on Oracle's site (http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/) to start with. Whatever you do, do not read that awful Dietel "Java. How to Program". That thing has to be the worst example of how to write OO code I have ever read. I use to evaluate training materials for a very large organization (250+ developers) and this was the bottom of the list.  Sadly, they use this in so many schools. Probably because it's one of the only textbook format java books out there.

I am a huge fan of O'Reilly's Safari bookshelf for reference too. I have the unlimited access, which can be pricey if you can't put up the funds.  But, even the limited one for a month or two can get you access to a ton of vetted info. 

Also learn by looking at the code of a popular API. Pick JUnit or something like that. It's well written and uses some nice patterns.  Or, just peruse GitHub, Apache or google code for some code to play with.

Anyway, rant/advice over.

Welcome aboard the Java train.

--Briggs



On Apr 6, 2012, at 5:38 PM, Rino <kaaskop at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have recently stumbled into the world of Java, decided I like it, and would like to learn more.
> In the last 10 years I have done some light programming, almost all of it in VB and some C#, and in the last 6 months in Java.
> 
> I am thinking about going for Java certification, mainly as a way for me to learn more about programming in Java.
> I'd be interested in opinions on whether certification is worth the effort, and what the value of certification is in the job market.
> 
> I work with Java right now in a QA position (Java + Selenium WebDriver), and would like to transition to a developer role in the future.  
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Rino
> 
> 
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