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Java

Posted by Alejandro Martinez
Alejandro Martinez
5,074 Points

Does the treehouse java track prepare a student for the ORACLE Java SE 7 Programmer certification exam?

Has anyone actually taken the oracle java se 7 exam and passed with help from the java track?

4 Answers

William Li
William Li
Courses Plus Student 26,868 Points

Treehouse's Java offering is very comprehensive now, they teach you various aspects of Java as a language, but their goal doesn't gear toward preparing student for the Oracle Certification exam. Do they help? Sure, because by taking these courses here, you're essentially improving your technical know-hows of the language and thereby making yourself a better Java coder; in the same way reading novel/playing crossword puzzle will improve your chance of passing the SAT exam.

But remember Oracle certification is an exam, and the best way to prepare yourself for such exam is by using the study materials (books/videos/training) created for the sole purpose of helping students to ace the exam. The Treehouse Java track can serve as fine supplement.

Alejandro Martinez
Alejandro Martinez
5,074 Points

ok right on. thanks for the reply. I will keep using treehouse as my learning point, and use other resources for specifics.

thanks again.

Matt Coston
Matt Coston
18,425 Points
Matt Coston
Matt Coston
18,425 Points

I have not completed the Java track, but I would guess no. Treehouse is a great jumping off point. I know the Ruby track did not prepare me for any sort of exam that might require a lot of experience in one language.

Alejandro Martinez
Alejandro Martinez
5,074 Points

Thanks for the reply. I actually was thinking the same.

Derek Markman
Derek Markman
16,291 Points
Derek Markman
Derek Markman
16,291 Points

I'm taking the Java Se7 OCA Test very soon and trust me you will need a lot more study material, I highly suggest enthuware and the OCA/OCP programmer 1 & 2 study guide by kathy Sierra and bert bates.

While the java course here at treehouse is a great starting off point to learning java, you will need to know and understand a lot more detail to pass the programmer 1 and 2 exam.

Also, Programmer 1 certifiication guide by mala gupta is very good.

There is also a lot of other great study material I've been using. That I'd be happy to share with you.

JT Keller
JT Keller
12,731 Points
JT Keller
JT Keller
12,731 Points

I just completed the Java OCA SE 7 Programmer I certification (1Z0-803) as I was lucky enough that my employer picked up the certification cost. I have a B.S. in Computer Science and I've been working as a Java Developer for about a year and I've also taken most of the Java classes here at Treehouse. Treehouse does an amazing job and will get you familiar and comfortable with Java and related frameworks, but these classes alone will NOT prepare you for the exam.

If you plan on taking the cert, I would recommend the book OCA/OCP Java SE 7 Programmer I & II Study Guide. I've provided a link to the book on Amazon for convenience sake.

For the OCA, you'll need to read the first 6 chapters and definitely make sure you work through the review questions as well as take the electronic practice exams that are provided. This will give you a good understanding of what type of questions to expect and the time crunch that you'll be under. There's 70 questions and you get 2 hours. That's ~1.7 min per question which isn't a lot. There were 6 people that I work with who recently took the test (2 have Masters degrees in Comp Sci) and I was the only one to pass. I'm saying this not to scare you, but to let you know that you need to take studying seriously. You CAN pass if you put in the effort. Good luck studying and happy coding! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.