In a few weeks I will be taking the JAVA SE 8 Programmer I 1Z0-808 exam. This is a requirement that is in my contract with the company I work for. I like studying for the exam because I work mostly in web design, and this is a good counterpart to know programming a little better.

In this blog series, I want to share my resources, structure, and what I'm learning in each chapter to pass the exam to help guide anyone who wants to take the exam as well. The first post is to give you an overview of the study material I use.

Tools

I use the learning material provided by my company

• OCA Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide
• OCA/OCP JAVA SE 8 Programmer Practice Tests
• Java SE 8 Programmer I Certification (1Z0-808) Certification Path on Pluralsight

OCA Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide

The exam guide is pretty good. It was created by Jeanny Boyarsky and Scott Selikoff in 2015. It provides detailed information on each topic categorized into 6 topics, a summary at the end of each section, self-test questions, and detailed answers to each question.

The topics are categorized into

1. Java Building Blocks
2. Operators and Statements
3. Core Java APIs
4. Methods and Encapsulation
5. Class Design
6. Exceptions

Especially the questions at the end of each section help me a lot to see where I am right now in terms of my understanding. I go through each answer slowly and consider why it is right or wrong. The detailed answers have never let me down so far in explaining why an answer is right or wrong and making it clear to me where my thoughts have gone astray.

OCA/OCP JAVA SE 8 Programmer Practice Tests

The practice tests study material has many, many questions provided on each topic and has the topics divided into nine parts. It is also created by Jeanny Boyarsky and Scott Selikoff in 2017.

The topics are categorized into

1. Java Basics
2. Working with Java Data Types
3. Using Operators and Decision Constructs
4. Creating and Using Arrays
5. Using Loop Constructs
6. Working with Methods and Encapsulation
7. Working with Inheritance
8. Handling Exceptions
9. Working with Selected Classes from the Java API

The structure is the same as the sample question in the study guide, which I very much appreciate.

Certification Path on Pluralsight

I'm not a big fan of Pluralsight because I think most of the tutorials I'm interested in are outdated. However, I get free access through my company. And the good thing about the Certification Path is that Java 8 (and the certificate) is pretty old, so the videos on that topic are up2date for the exam since nothing changes anymore.

Most of the instructors are pretty good. The structure is similar to the Practice Tests learning material mentioned above.

The topics are categorized into

1. Java Basics
2. Working with Java Data Types
3. Using Operators, Decision, and Looping Constructs
4. Creating and Using Arrays
5. Working with Methods and Encapsulation
6. Working with Inheritance
7. Handling Exceptions
8. Working with Selected Classes from the Java API

Each video lasts between 1 and 2 hours, which is sufficient in my opinion. Each instructor also gives tips on how to pass the exam, what to pay special attention to, and what tricky questions to be prepared for.

With all these great resources I am pretty confident to pass the exam.

Thanks for your reading and time. I really appreciate it!