The Perks of Oracle Certificate. How Can CodeGym Help to Pass the Oracle Java Foundations?

Those who want to get the proven track of their experience and skyrocket their career should consider getting an Oracle Certification. Oracle Certified specialists would be able to demonstrate in-demand skills for most companies, boost project turnaround time, and improve overall job performance, increasing their earning potential and on-the-job confidence. What is an Oracle Certificate? What are its benefits? How do I get to prepare for the exam? These and many more questions we're going to cover ahead.

What is an Oracle Certificate

The Oracle Certificate of recognition is the certificate that confirms that you have all the essential skills and knowledge to work with Oracle products and technologies. In other words, Oracle certification is a benchmark of experience and expertise, which may help you to stand out in a crowd. There are six different levels of Oracle Certification credentials:

• Oracle Certified Junior Associate (OCJA). As the name suggests, it's a novice-level certification for those students who have taught foundational Java.
• Oracle Certified Associate (OCA). It's the next step that ensures you're already equipped with solid skills, providing a good foundation for working with Oracle products.
• Oracle Certified Professional (OCP). This credential shows that a candidate has acquired a high knowledge and skills and a command of a specific area of Oracle technology.
• Oracle Certified Master (OCM). This credential proves the highest level of demonstrated skills, knowledge, and abilities. Masters are typically able to solve the most complex problems.
• Oracle Certified Expert (OCE). It's the case when "the less is more" since experts are highly competent in rare, niche-oriented technologies.
• Oracle Certified Specialist (OCS). This certification is also built on specific products or skill sets to estimate your level of expertise in a particular area. Yet, it's the highest level you can get to certify your knowledge.

What are the main advantages of becoming "Oracle Certified"

In brief, the Oracle Certification will make you a better technologist in your eyes and the eyes of recruiters. While preparing for an Oracle Certification Exam, you'll advance your ability to think and perform, thus improving your job prospects and speeding up your career growth. Statistics show that 91% of candidates report that the Oracle Certification gave them more professional credibility with the people they interacted with on the job. 89% say that they become "more valuable to their employers after passing an exam." And for 84% of candidates, an Oracle Certification "Helped to retain acquired knowledge over a longer period." Numbers speak louder than words, so it should be mentioned that 33% of Oracle-Certified specialists have received a salary increase (24% of them received 21-50% increase, while 65% received the first benefit within 3-4 months right after passing an exam). Naturally, all this led to higher job satisfaction — 41% of candidates reported increased job satisfaction, and 33% expressed excitement toward their careers. Last but not least, programmers who earned Oracle Certification are more demanded in the IT industry. For example, 61% received a job promotion or even a new, more exciting job, whereas 67% of candidates reported greater confidence in their skills.

The Oracle exams that are now available

Today, we will focus on the "Java Foundations Junior Associate 1Z0-811" exam that you will be able to pass after completing the CodeGym course. Yet, first things first, so we would like to present you the list of other exams to help you understand that there is always some room for improvement.These certifications may become the next step in your professional growth after passing the 1Z0-811 exam and getting Java Foundations Junior Associate (actually, it's the first official Java certificate demonstrating your knowledge of the Java programming language and concepts). Also, the Java Certified Foundations Associate credential ensures that you can write and execute a Java program and work with the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and the Java Development Kit (JDK). What is excellent, the 1Z0-811 exam is Java-version independent, which means it will be valid regardless of new updates.

Topics Covered by 1Z0-811 Exam and How CodeGym helps.

Objectives are the essential domains of the Oracle 1Z0-811, so let's review all of them: Exam Topic 1: What Is Java? You should be able to describe Java's features and real-world applications. Exam Topic 2: Basic Java Elements You should be able to identify the conventions in a Java program, use Java reserved words, use single-line/multi-line comments, and import third-party Java packages to make them accessible in your code and show your knowledge of the Java.lang package. Exam Topic 3: Working with Java Operator You should be able to use basic arithmetic operators to manipulate data, the increment and decrement operators, relational operators, arithmetic assignment operators, and conditional operators, as well as describe their operator precedence. Exam Topic 4: Working with the Random and Math Classes You should be able to use the Random and Math classes. Exam Topic 5: Using Looping Statements You should be able to describe looping statements and use a for loop, a while loop, and a do-while loop. Also, you'll need to show your ability to compare and contrast these loops and develop code using break/continue statements. Exam Topic 6: Arrays and ArrayLists You should be able to use a one-dimensional array and create and maintain an ArrayList (traverse its elements by using iterators and loops). Therefore, the topic also includes comparing an array and an ArrayList. Exam Topic 7: Java Methods You should be able to describe and create methods, accessor, and mutator methods. Additionally, it would help if you got prepared for creating overloaded methods and describing static methods, and demonstrating their use within a program. Exam Topic 8: Java Basics You should be able to describe the Java Development Kit (JDK), the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), the components of object-oriented programming, the elements of a basic Java program, and compile and execute a Java program. Exam Topic 9: Working with Java Data Types You should be able to declare and initialize variables, cast a value from one data type to another (automatic and manual promotion), and initialize a String variable. Exam Topic 10: Working with the String Class You should be able to develop code using methods from the String class and format Strings using escape sequences. Exam Topic 11: Using Decision Statements You should be able to use the decision-making statement and switch statements. Also, you'll need to use == operator to find the difference between primitives and objects. Finally, proficiency in "compareTo" and equal methods are also required to check how you can compare two String objects. Exam Topic 12: Debugging and Exception Handling You should be able to identify syntax and logic errors, utilize exception handling, Handle standard exceptions thrown, and use to try and catch blocks. Exam Topic 13: Classes and Constructors You should be able to create a new class, including the primary method. Describe the relationship between an object and its members, use the private modifier, and reveal the difference between class/instance/local variables. In addition, you should show how you can develop the code that overloads constructors and the code that creates an object's default constructor and modifies the object's fields. Using constructors with and without parameters is a welcome feature at this final stage. Overall, the 1Z0-808 exam consists of 70 multiple-choice questions that should be completed in 2.5 hours. A passing score is 65%. The exam costs $150.

Preparation

If you're serious about getting an Oracle certificate (hence, ready for the next step in your education path or career), you should be serious about the CodeGym course. It covers almost all the topics of the 1Z0-811 exam. Besides basic understanding of Java, the course also helps advance mathematical, logical, and problem-solving skills needed for the exam. On top of that, CodeGym can give you understanding of how to write and execute Java programs through interactive projects and work with JDK and JRE. So, it doesn't matter whether you're learning from scratch or need an expedited course to recall the knowledge. CodeGym can fit the bill perfectly. That being said, we recommend you add some "extra" resources to fully prepare for the 1Z0-811 exam. For example, you can join a community to get in touch with other candidates through different online groups or forums and ask the silliest questions about the topics you may have difficulties with. Also, you can get a bit "stronger" by completing different practice tests. For example, you can go through sample tests like those prepared by Scott Selikoff and Jeanne Boyarsky. Their book "OCA/OCP Java SE 8 Programmer Practice Tests" includes 450 samples with explanations. Plus, you can benefit from visiting the website and taking the practice exams online.

Summing up

Hopefully, this article has inspired you to get an Oracle Certification and motivated you to study harder with no gaps. Every topic matters, especially when it comes to preparation for the 1Z0-811 exam (or, opportunity booster, salary booster, self-confidence booster… call it whatever you like). Remember the more effort you put into yourself, the better specialist you will become. The formula is simple — gain knowledge and practice with CodeGym, register and take the exam, and finally earn that significant credential!