OCMJEA Part 1: Highs & Lows

When I started the Java journey, the path was clear to me: That the end goal of it all is that architect badge.

And finally I jumped in to get that badge...

But, some backstory first.

I remember the first IT certification I ever took. It was back in Japan around 9+ years ago. We were only 3 in the room and Application server training classmates are kind of more experienced than I am. But I'm not using that as an excuse for me to fail the certification test after the training. It was sad because my two classmates got their free ipod shuffle as a prize and I got none. It was waay difficult for me then to pass that type of exam, my nose was bleeding for all those concepts that I had to review over and over. The instructor was very understanding that he allowed me to go back to take the test again. I passed the second time around, and I got my free shuffle! I wore it with me all the time in the office, like a trophy. I was sure proud.

And then there was SCJP... then SCWCD...

My roles changed, I switched countries, jobs... Oracle bought Sun. SCEA was renamed to OCMJEA, added some more requirements. But my goals never changed.

I've always achieved my technical aspirations when I'm out of my home country. I don't know, I think it has something to do with making myself occupied all the time, to avoid feeling "lonely". It's that sort of thing. But now it's different. I don't really need to avoid being lonely, I'm constantly happy. So how the hell would I find inspiration to study for the big thing? Easy... grab a study buddy.

And it's no one else but my lovely boyfriend! We decided to study for OCMJEA together.

Oracle Certified Master, or OCMJEA, comprises of four stages: Written Exam, Assignment, Essay and the Mandatory Training (the newest requirement).

I had this study plan in mind already even before the mandatory training came about. I didn't follow Oracle's recommended study plan, which is training first before exams.

I have a life, chores and day job to deal with so dedicating some time to studying is really tough. It's a good thing that my boyfriend was also with me in this process, quality time wasn't an issue anymore. Our quality time was spent mostly on studying.

We followed two books:

• Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for Java EE Study Guide by Mark Cade, Humphrey Sheil. I read it twice, I don't have the same processing capability of my boyfriend.
• Oracle Certified Master, Java EE Enterprise Architect Practice Guide by Amritendu De.

Having 11+ years of experience in software development actually helped us grasp the Architectural concepts laid out in the book. We recalled all the technologies we used in our projects, how the code was designed and implemented, what are the flaws of the design, What are the frameworks we used and why we used the framework. We also recalled the solution design documents that we authored and encountered in our regular daily lives. What we discovered is that we knew how to use design patterns in our codes but we didn't actually know what's the general term used for them.

In that regard I decided that flashcards would be useful.. to help me remember and not confuse Abstract Factory from Factory. On our way to and from the office, I often throw out questions to papi from my flashcards. It helped a lot.

I thought that Stage 1 was the hardest of them all, coz I'd always felt that I was slow on memorizing and understanding things. The study buddy system helped me somehow on the remembering of concepts, all because we're talking about them even on normal conversations. We talk about scalability and the other -ies during dinner. We went San Marcos shopping while gossiping about Design Patterns...

Finally around a month before the exam, we decided to try on each of the chapters of the Practice exams book. Review all the wrongs and try another exam again. It's an ongoing process until we get a perfect or pretty good score on each of the chapters.

It was a good feeling passing that exam that both of us worked so hard for. Now that we passed the part 1, it's time to get ready for part 2!