Here is information taken from the official site.
The Sun Certified Programmer for Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 certification exam is for programmers experienced using the Java programming language. Achieving this certification provides clear evidence that a programmer understands the basic syntax and structure of the Java programming language and can create Java technology applications that run on server and desktop systems using Java SE 6.
Details
- Delivered at: Authorized Worldwide Prometric Testing Centers
- Prerequisites: None
- Other exams/assignments required for this certification: Other exams/assignments required for this certification: None
- Exam type: Exam type: Multiple choice and drag and drop
- Number of questions: 72
- Pass score: 65% (47 of 72 questions)
- Time limit: 210 minutes
On the second week of February, a friend and I scheduled to take the exam on February 15, 2008 at 9 a.m. at the Ateneo Professional Schools in Makati.
During the weeks before and after that, I wasn't able to review thoroughly because I was busy with my work and my social life.
The night before the exam, I just went straight to sleep. I was tired from work.
At around 3 a.m., I woke up and started reading "review" materials.
At 6:45 a.m., I set my cell phone's alarm clock to 7 a.m. and dozed off.
As expected of myself, I wasn't able to wake-up at the time I intended to; I woke-up at 8:15 a.m.
Knowing that the exam is only in 45 minutes, I quickly prepared and then rushed to get to the test center.
I arrived at the place at 9:15 a.m. and, thankfully, the exam proctor wasn't as pissed as my principal, adviser, or other officials way back in high school whenever I went late to school.
After the pre-exam procedures, I was escorted to the exam room where there was a computer waiting for an exam taker to log-in.
As soon as I saw the first question, I was like, "This is expected, a piece of code that I never thought I would ever encounter".
The monitor that they are using in the test center where I took the exam has its refresh rate calibrated to 60HZ. The annoying thing is that "no one" can change the calibration so I had to bear with the flickering screen while taking the exam. That made my eyes really worn-out because my eyes are inherently sensitive to flickering lights plus the fact that I didn't have a good sleep the night before.
I had 30 minutes to spare when I submitted my answers. I opted to submit earlier because I was hungry and I had to go to work. The funny thing is, right after submitting the exam, the score is printed in the control room where the exam proctors are seated. So several seconds from submitting the exam, the proctor will "take" you out of the exam room and give your results.
With my weary eyes, the exam proctor gave me the results of the exam. The only word I was looking for was pass or fail. Fortunately for me, it was a pass. I wouldn't want to repeat it.
The exam is technical, very technical and, as I was saying, it contains many questions that aren't really used in real life (as far as I have been coding) because complicated code is harder to read, to maintain and to debug. For me, keeping code simple, efficient and readable is the way to go.
Exam tips (that you will just be annoyed to read because they are very general):
- As with any other exam, reviewing is essential. Using any Java book will do. Also, if ever you will review, review within the bounds of the objectives.
- Practice a lot with any new code encountered.
