Hello there. In this lesson, we try to answer the FAQs. I hope it's helpful. Let's start. You might be anxious when you start your exam preparation or even think about getting certified. This section can help calm your nerves by answering frequently asked questions on exam preparation and on writing the exam. This section answers frequently asked questions on how to prepare for the exam, including the best approach, study material preparation duration, how to test self readiness and more. Oracle can change the exam details for a certification even after the certification is made live. The changes can be to the exam objectives, pricing, exam duration, exam questions, and other parts. In the past, Oracle has made similar changes to certification exams. Such changes may not be major but it's always advisable to check Oracle's website for the latest exam information when you start your exam preparation. Generally, candidates sees a combination of resources such as books, online study materials, articles on the exam, free and paid mock exams and training to prepare for the exam.

Different combinations work best for different people and there is no one perfect formula to prepare. Depending on whether training or self study works best for you, you can select the method that is most appropriate for you. Combine it with a lot of code practice and mock exams. You can be sure about your exam readiness by consistently getting a good score in the mock exams. Generally, a score of 80% and above in approximately seven mock exams and of course, the more the better attempted consecutively will assure you of a similar score in the real exam. Ideally, you should attempt at least 10 mock exams before you attempt the real exam. The more the better. It's important to understand that there's a difference between the practical knowledge of having worked with Java and the knowledge required to pass this certification exam. The authors of the Java certification exams employ multiple tricks to test your knowledge. Hence you need a structured preparation and approach to succeed in the certification exam. The preparation time frame mainly depends on your experience with Java and the amount of time that you can spend to prepare yourself.

On average, you'll require approximately 150 hours of study over two or three months to prepare for this exam. Again, the number of study hours required depends on individual learning curves and backgrounds. It's important to be consistent with your exam preparation. You cannot study for a month and then restart after say a gap of a month or more. A few of the questions that you write in any Oracle exam may be marked unscored. Oracle's policy states that while writing an exam, you won't be informed whether a question will be scored. You may be surprised to learn that as many as 10 questions out of the 70 questions in the OCA Java EE 7 application developer exam, may be unscored. Even if you answer a few questions incorrectly, you stand a chance of scoring 100%. Oracle regularly updates its question bank for all its certification exams. These unscored questions may be used for research and to evaluate new questions that can be added to an exam. If you're quite comfortable with the Java language features, then yes, you can start your exam preparation with the mock exams. This will also help you to understand the types of questions to expect in the real certification exam.

But if you have little or no experience working with Java or you're not quite comfortable with the language features of Java, I don't advise you to start with the mock exams. The exam authors often use a lot of tricks to evaluate a candidate in the real certification exam. Starting your exam preparation with mock exams will only leave you confused about the Java concepts. Yes, you should, for the simple reason that employers bother about the certification of employees. Organizations prefer a certified Java developer over a non-certified Java developer with similar IT skills and experience. The certification can also get you a higher paycheck than uncertified peers with comparable skills. You can write this exam at an Oracle testing center or Pearson VUE Authorized Testing center. To sit for the exam, you must register for the exam and purchase an exam voucher. The following options are available. Register for the exam and pay Pearson VUE directly. Purchase an exam voucher from Oracle and register at Pearson VUE to take the exam. Register at an Oracle testing center. Look for the nearest testing centers in your area. Register yourself and schedule an exam, date and time.

Most of the popular computer training institutes also have a testing center on their premises. You can locate a Pearson VUE testing site at www.pearsonvue.com/oracle, which contains detailed information on local testing centers and scheduling or rescheduling an exam. At the time of registration, you'll need to provide the following details along with your name, address and contact numbers. Exam title and number OCA Java EE 7 application developer, 1z0-900. Any discount code that should be applied during registration. Oracle testing ID/Candidate ID. If you have written any other oracle/son certification exam. Your OPN company ID. If your employer is in the Oracle partner network you can find out the company ID, and use any available discounts on the exam fee. Each exam coupon is printed with an expiry date. Be aware of any discounted coupons that come with an assurance that they can be used past the expiration date. You can't refer to any books or notes while writing this exam. You're not allowed to carry any blank paper for rough work or even your mobile phone inside the testing cubicle. By marking a question, you can manage your time efficiently. Don't spend a lot of time on a single question. You can mark a difficult question to defer answering it while writing your exam.

The exam gives you an option to review answers to the marked questions at the end of the exam. Also navigating from one question to another using the back and next buttons is usually time consuming. If you're unsure of an answer, mark it and review it at the end. No, the exam centers no longer provide sheets of paper for the rough work that you may need to do while taking the exam. The testing center will provide you with either erasable or nonerasable boards. If you are provided with a nonerasable board, you may request another one if you need it. Oracle is quite particular about certification candidates distributing or circulating the memorized questions in any form. If oracle finds out that this is happening, it may cancel a candidate certification; bar that candidate forever from writing any Oracle certification, inform the employer, or take legal action. If you complete the exam before the total exam time has elapsed, revise your answers and click the 'Submit' or 'Finish' button.

The screen will display your score within 10 seconds of clicking the 'Submit' button. If you have not clicked the 'Submit' button and you use up all the exam time, the exam engine will no longer allow you to modify any of the exam answers and will present the screen with the 'Submit' button. Yes, you will, when you click the 'Submit' button, the screen will show your total score. It will also show what you scored on each objective. The testing center will also give you hard copies of your certification score. The certificate itself will arrive via post within 6-8 weeks. It's not the end of the world. Don't worry if you fail. You can retake the exam after 14 days, and the world will not know it's a retake. However, you cannot retake a past exam to improve your score. Also you cannot retake a beta exam. So, that's it. Hope to see you again. Have a nice day.