Does Java Certifications like SCJP, OCJP or OCPJP helps in Job and Career?

First of all, Wish you very Happy New Year 2014 !!, May god brings success to you all. I receive lots of questions about usefulness of Java certifications like SCJP, now known as OCJP or OCPJP. Questions like, does doing Java Certification helps landing a job, or does certified Java developer earn more or gets better offers, are quite common to Java developers, especially freshers. In this post, I will try to answer few of these question based upon my own experience as experience Java programmer and a certified Java developer. Well, I did my first Java Certification, SCJP (Sun Certification for Java Programmers) a long back and then subsequent year I completed my SCWCD (Sun Certification for Web Component Developer). I did because that time, I was hungry to learn more about Java, I enjoy doing Java exercises and above all my company was reimbursing the cost of certification, of-course if you happened to score more than 95%. That time I was in start of my career and this sort of motivation, worked for me, but my biggest gain was my learning about subtle details of Java programming as part of my preparation I learned by passing those exams certainly helps me to understand language better. There was no way,  I would have known subtle details about finally block,  checked exceptions and multi-threading in very shot span of time. I realize that preparation is the key, that's the process which will benefit you most. When you prepare, you learned a lot by following concept, doing exercises and than analysing why certain options are correct and others are not. This technical knowledge gives you an edge over other candidate during written exams, telephonic interviews and even on faced to face Java interviews.



Now here are answers to some of the questions, which often appears in mind of Java programming aspiring to do certification?

Does Java Certification help you to land a Job?

Answer is YES, it certainly does, but to a limited extend. Remember, companies prefers engineers who has professional degrees in computer science. So if you are not an engineer but done bachelors on computer science or some other computer programming course, I highly recommend you to get certified, to have something on your resume, which distinguish yourself from other Job applicants. This answers imply that, Java certification immensely helps to freshers and programmers with one or two years of experience. As you gain more experience, Java Certification e.g. OCPJP loses it's value in overall job selection process. So, if you are thinking to get certified, do it early. Another benefit, and in my opinion, this is even more important, is that Java certification helps you to perform better in Java Interviews. I have personally interviewed a lot of Java candidates; at Junior level, most of the time, candidate with Java certification performs better than others. This is quite obvious, because they had learned a lot about language and it's feature during preparation. In short, Yes, Java certification helps you to get a job both directly, by providing a distinctive advantage and indirectly by preparing yourself for Java interviews.

Does Certification like OCJP, OCPJP, or others helps to get better offers, promotion and salary hike?

Yes, they do. In fact this is the most tried and tested way of getting to higher salary in quick time. I have seen this in my career that if you get certified while working in a company, of-course with a respected percentage, , you are more likely to get a better raise and promotion than your peers. Yes, this can't be just certification, but we are considering the fact that you are also performing well in your job as your peers. Since Java certified professional tends to perform better in Java interviews, they almost always has multiple offers to choose from, and this gives them confidence to demand better salary in next interview. Remember, more than anything it's confidence that help when asking for a salary which is above market standard, of-course that must be backed by your solid resume, and great interview as well. In short, Java certifications helps at both places.

Should I go for Oracle Java Certifications like OCAJP and OCPJP for Java SE 7?

Well, my default answer is always Yes for certifications, at least they helps you to learn a lot about Java language in very shot span of time. If you are experienced or senior Java developer, already having solid experience in a particular domain e.g. FIX based electronic trading of Front office Investment banking, than its just a personal choice. Java certifications helps immensely during start of career, and it is must for those who are not from very good institution and doesn't have a top class degree. For those IT professional, Java certifications can be a great tool to get a Job and progress further. So yes, if you are graduating from college and has just started your career as Java developer, it's a wise decision to get certified and learn subtle details of Java programming language. 



Another question, which I have kept receiving in my inbox is whether you need to pass OCAJP 7 before taking OCPJP 7 ( Java Certification for SE 7) or not, I have already answered them on that blog post. Do check if you have same doubt.

Resources and Study Material to Prepare for Java Certifications

Many of my readers requested to share study materials and resources to prepare for Java Certifications. I am planning to do it on another blog post, but here are some of the most essential resources you need to score good in SCJP



1) Buy one book which is updated with latest syllabus of OCA or OCPJP 7, depending upon which exam you are going to take. I have suggest Couple of good books to help with new Oracle Java Certification, on my earlier post 2 Books to Prepare Oracle Java SE 7 exams. It also included books for SCJP 6, but I suggest to go for latest exam, there is no point upgrading to a Java version for which even Oracle has stopped supporting. I expect a drastic change in Java certification after release of Java 8 because of introduction of lambda expression, Streams, Functional interfaces and many more language and API changes. So if you want to get certified soon for whatever reason, this is the right time. 



2) Buy an Exam Simulator like Whizlabs

There are lots of free and paid exam simulator available over internet, but I am big fan of Whizlabs simulators, because of there quality. They explain every question in depth, not only right options but also incorrect options. In my experience, there mock exams are also very close to real OCPJP 7 exam, in terms of patterns, types of questions, syllabus and difficulty level. If you can spend some money than that's worth buying. You will learn every bit of money spent.





That's all on this post about whether Java certifications (SCJP, OCJP, or OCPJP) helps in Job Interviews and career. Do let me know if you have any other question, I will be happy to answer them here, alternative you can also share your experience as certified Java developer and how it benefited your career. Take away is, Java certifications never do any harm, they always add value in your resume and in your knowledge, but at same time, you need to invest money and time on them. For freshers and junior Java developers, I highly recommend to do latest Java certification available i.e. OCAJP and OCPJP for Java SE 7.

Source:http://javarevisited.blogspot.com/2014/01/does-java-certifications-like-scjp-ocjp-ocpjp-helps-carrer-job-interviews.html