I recently took this exam and passed. I want to share my experience with prospective applicants.
I am currently on JobSeekers in Ireland, and decided to take the online course Java SE6 with FAS. This was paid for by FAS. The course is essentially a webinar and provides an overview of Java. BUT it is important to note that this online course independently will not provide you with enough material to pass the exam.
You need to buy this book or similar:
"Sun Certified Programmer for Java6 Study Guide" by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates. This book is essential reading.
At the end of each chapter run through two minute drills and then take the Self tests. Leading up to the exam keep running through the two minute drills and take mock exams found at:
SCJP mock tests
The best exam simulator is ExamLabs and its free too! Exams here are actually harder than the exam itself, but it is not about your score, its about learning why you failed a question.
You can find other peoples experiences taken this exam at:
http://www.coderanch.com/forums/f-24/java-programmer-SCJP
For example this is an individuals experience:
http://www.coderanch.com/t/511380/sr/certification/OCPJP-story
Overall i studied for two months before taking this exam.
When i decided to take the exam, FAS at first were not sure how to apply, they had no voucher codes for Oracle only Microsoft. In the end i received an Oracle voucher code to register and take the exam. The location where you take the exam is known as a Prometric centre. You can find the location of these centres in Ireland by going to http://www.prometric.com/Oracle/default.htm and following the steps provided. Essentially you do not have to take this exam at a FAS facilitator centre, you may find a closer Prometric centre to where you live.
Exam is three hours long with 60 questions. Pass mark is 58%.
There maybe some confusion after taking the exam what happens. You will receive your mark printed and stamped by the administrator. You will receive an email a day later from Sun MicroSystems creating an account for you in Sun Certification Database located at:http://www.certmanager.net/sun.
Follow the instructions provided and activate your account.
NOTE: Make sure and click new user link.
Then check your personal details so your certification is delivered out to the correct address.
And thats really it, best of luck if you take the exam.
Change to test center
Oracle has changed their supplier, they do not use prometric anymore. The new supplier is Pearson VUE.
