How I took the OCP Java 11 Developer Exam. Tips & tricks.
In this article, I set out to share my story about taking the OCP Java 11 Developer Exam.
Right at the beginning of March, there was this friend who told me about the discount that Oracle offered for the OCP Java 11 exam — for only 25$ (due to their 25th Java anniversary).
At first, I was convinced that I would not be able to pass it due to the lack of time for studying. Less than two months, I thought, isn’t nearly enough for taking such a tough exam.
Still, because of Covid-19 and the restrictions imposed, suddenly I had some more time on my hands. So, I decided to give it a shot. You can’t win if you don’t play, right?!
After all, 25$ is little money compared to its full price of 245$, which can be pretty expensive for some.
Now, for the most important part:
Study materials
There is plenty of study materials out there you can choose from, but the ones designed and written particularly for the exam are, in my opinion, the ones you should go for.
One of those is the work of Jeanne Boyarsky and Scott Selikoff — the OCP Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 11 Developer Complete Study Guide, being the only one I used. Don’t be confused by the fact that it was written for the outdated exams 1Z0–815 & 1Z0–816, the authors wrote the book before Oracle decided to make only one exam (1Z0–819).
However, the book covers 99% of the exam topics, which is more than reasonable, if you ask me. The other 1% topics that I encountered during the exam were about the FileChannel and doPrivileged APIs. Also, because subjects might change, I’d recommend checking out the official topics presented by Oracle every now and then.
Another thing I must mention is that the OCP Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 11 Developer Complete Study Guide book is suited for all levels of experience. So whether you’re a Java beginner or an experienced Java developer, go for it.
Also, study carefully each topic, (it happened for me to miss very easy questions and get really tough ones). After all, each question has the same score in the end.
Another thing worth noting is that at the end of each chapter, the book contains a summary review with a set of questions related to that chapter. I believe they are a fine way to test what you’ve learned to that point but oftentimes, that’s not enough.
That’s why after reading the book (or the bigger part) it’s important to take some mock exams that display similarities to the real exam. Let me introduce you to the subject.
Enthuware mock exams
These mock exams are specifically designed to mimic the real exam. There are 15+ mocks for the 1Z0–819 exam for only 10$. Yes, only 10 bucks :-)
Well, you have the choice to take mock exams (standard tests) or answer questions by topic. The downside is that the questions are the same. If you go first and answer questions by topic then you’ll probably encounter the same questions again in the standard tests … and that will not give you an accurate score.
A question is only valuable the first time you see it. That’s why I recommend you go directly with the standard tests. There are also 3 tests that have unique questions, you can do them at the end, they are like last-day exams.
Key point: you might probably screw up the first test, like most of us did (myself included with a score of 38% for the first test). Don’t get discouraged 😉, the exam is difficult and tricky and you can build further on that score.
Learning process
What would I do differently if I were to take the exam once again?
- Read a book specially designed for this particular exam (the one I have been talking about can serve as an example).
- Take notes with key information (e.g. APIs to remember, rules, etc). I used the kindle version of the book, which allowed me to take notes and make comments easily.
- Try using an IDE — the code samples you find in the book, especially those that you have a hard time understanding.
- Search for additional references, online articles, official oracle documentation, other books, etc. if there are things that need further clarification for you.
- Take tests, as many as you can. Use the Enthuware mocks. There is also this book, written by the same authors J. Boyarsky and S. Selikoff. Personally, I didn’t use it because I had no time to go through it. However, you can still check it out.
- After each test, check for topics that you scored low, go back to the book, and revise again the chapters related. Doing so might improve your score on the next test.
- Ask questions on Forums (like CodeRanch) when you need clarifications on a topic.
Of course, you can follow your own process and take some recommendations from here, it’s up to you. In the end, what matters most is to learn something during your journey and take the exam.
What about time?
Everyone has a different pace of learning, and there is no one fits all. How much time you spend learning for the exam depends on multiple factors:
- the degree of your experience;
- the frequency of writing Java code;
- the speed of reading and comprehension of new topics;
- your motivation;
- the score you wish to achieve (form the threshold of 68 to 90 or more, there is much work involved).
I needed around 80 hours of study, having 4–5 years of Java experience.
Tips for the exam:
- Time is important. If a question takes too long to read/answer, I recommend skipping it (you can go back to those in the end if you still have time).
- There are a number of questions that have a ‘main method’ — start with that when reading the code (that’s the starting point).
- Read with the mouse pointer and pay attention to missing words (like ‘else’ for an ‘if’). The format of some questions can be really messy, so it’s easy to miss something.
- Take a quick look at the answers before reading the code (it might help understand better the code and find the solution).
- Skipping is good. Too much is not. Don’t go skipping half of the questions in the beginning (like 10 from the first 20) — it’s easy to lose the track of time after that.
Another important skill that is a must-have for the exam is speed reading. This skill comes with a lot of practice, usually by taking mock exams.
Community help
There is a really nice community on CodeRanch where programmers ask questions related to this exam and share their experiences. If in doubt, ask for help.
That’s quite a lot, isn’t it? It requires a lot of work indeed, but in the end, the knowledge acquired pays off.
Good luck and take care!
Other Java SE 11 Articles and Resources you may like
How I took the OCP Java 11 Developer Exam. Tips & tricks.
In this article, I set out to share my story about taking the OCP Java 11 Developer Exam.
Right at the beginning of March, there was this friend who told me about the discount that Oracle offered for the OCP Java 11 exam — for only 25$ (due to their 25th Java anniversary).
At first, I was convinced that I would not be able to pass it due to the lack of time for studying. Less than two months, I thought, isn’t nearly enough for taking such a tough exam.
Still, because of Covid-19 and the restrictions imposed, suddenly I had some more time on my hands. So, I decided to give it a shot. You can’t win if you don’t play, right?!
After all, 25$ is little money compared to its full price of 245$, which can be pretty expensive for some.
Now, for the most important part:
Study materials
There is plenty of study materials out there you can choose from, but the ones designed and written particularly for the exam are, in my opinion, the ones you should go for.
One of those is the work of Jeanne Boyarsky and Scott Selikoff — the OCP Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 11 Developer Complete Study Guide, being the only one I used. Don’t be confused by the fact that it was written for the outdated exams 1Z0–815 & 1Z0–816, the authors wrote the book before Oracle decided to make only one exam (1Z0–819).
However, the book covers 99% of the exam topics, which is more than reasonable, if you ask me. The other 1% topics that I encountered during the exam were about the FileChannel and doPrivileged APIs. Also, because subjects might change, I’d recommend checking out the official topics presented by Oracle every now and then.
Another thing I must mention is that the OCP Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 11 Developer Complete Study Guide book is suited for all levels of experience. So whether you’re a Java beginner or an experienced Java developer, go for it.
Also, study carefully each topic, (it happened for me to miss very easy questions and get really tough ones). After all, each question has the same score in the end.
Another thing worth noting is that at the end of each chapter, the book contains a summary review with a set of questions related to that chapter. I believe they are a fine way to test what you’ve learned to that point but oftentimes, that’s not enough.
That’s why after reading the book (or the bigger part) it’s important to take some mock exams that display similarities to the real exam. Let me introduce you to the subject.
Enthuware mock exams
These mock exams are specifically designed to mimic the real exam. There are 15+ mocks for the 1Z0–819 exam for only 10$. Yes, only 10 bucks :-)
Well, you have the choice to take mock exams (standard tests) or answer questions by topic. The downside is that the questions are the same. If you go first and answer questions by topic then you’ll probably encounter the same questions again in the standard tests … and that will not give you an accurate score.
A question is only valuable the first time you see it. That’s why I recommend you go directly with the standard tests. There are also 3 tests that have unique questions, you can do them at the end, they are like last-day exams.
Key point: you might probably screw up the first test, like most of us did (myself included with a score of 38% for the first test). Don’t get discouraged 😉, the exam is difficult and tricky and you can build further on that score.
Learning process
What would I do differently if I were to take the exam once again?
- Read a book specially designed for this particular exam (the one I have been talking about can serve as an example).
- Take notes with key information (e.g. APIs to remember, rules, etc). I used the kindle version of the book, which allowed me to take notes and make comments easily.
- Try using an IDE — the code samples you find in the book, especially those that you have a hard time understanding.
- Search for additional references, online articles, official oracle documentation, other books, etc. if there are things that need further clarification for you.
- Take tests, as many as you can. Use the Enthuware mocks. There is also this book, written by the same authors J. Boyarsky and S. Selikoff. Personally, I didn’t use it because I had no time to go through it. However, you can still check it out.
- After each test, check for topics that you scored low, go back to the book, and revise again the chapters related. Doing so might improve your score on the next test.
- Ask questions on Forums (like CodeRanch) when you need clarifications on a topic.
Of course, you can follow your own process and take some recommendations from here, it’s up to you. In the end, what matters most is to learn something during your journey and take the exam.
What about time?
Everyone has a different pace of learning, and there is no one fits all. How much time you spend learning for the exam depends on multiple factors:
- the degree of your experience;
- the frequency of writing Java code;
- the speed of reading and comprehension of new topics;
- your motivation;
- the score you wish to achieve (form the threshold of 68 to 90 or more, there is much work involved).
I needed around 80 hours of study, having 4–5 years of Java experience.
Tips for the exam:
- Time is important. If a question takes too long to read/answer, I recommend skipping it (you can go back to those in the end if you still have time).
- There are a number of questions that have a ‘main method’ — start with that when reading the code (that’s the starting point).
- Read with the mouse pointer and pay attention to missing words (like ‘else’ for an ‘if’). The format of some questions can be really messy, so it’s easy to miss something.
- Take a quick look at the answers before reading the code (it might help understand better the code and find the solution).
- Skipping is good. Too much is not. Don’t go skipping half of the questions in the beginning (like 10 from the first 20) — it’s easy to lose the track of time after that.
Another important skill that is a must-have for the exam is speed reading. This skill comes with a lot of practice, usually by taking mock exams.
Community help
There is a really nice community on CodeRanch where programmers ask questions related to this exam and share their experiences. If in doubt, ask for help.
That’s quite a lot, isn’t it? It requires a lot of work indeed, but in the end, the knowledge acquired pays off.
Good luck and take care!
Other Java SE 11 Articles and Resources you may like
