Trainers certifications

CompTIA CTT+

Whilst most NIIT'ians would remember CompTIA as a company best known for its A+ and N+ certifications offered to its Hardware and networking students the CTT + is a relatively unknown certification in INDIA.

Training students ids becoming more and more important with the growth of technologies and the newer techniques used for teaching.

NIIT itself has been a pioneer in introducing new training techniques and methods to Indian consumers, and at the same time having standards that keep faculties upto date with the technologies they teach.

Many faculties across India have now begun certifying themselves as Certified Instructors for products. Mostly Microsoft Certified Instructors. This ensures that the students are getting the best in the industry from the best.

However a certification that would definitely boost an aspiring faculties resume or add great strength to a current faculty is the CompTIA CTT +.

Relatively unheard of in India, this certification is a must for many large companies if an individual wishes to become a certifies instructor for their products. e.g. A required certification for becoming an Adobe Certified Instructor.

Visit their site

http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed/ctt.aspx

My trip to SCJP

SCJP(Sun Certified Java Programmer) is a foundation exam for those who are interested in showing their proficiency in java.

SCJP as of now has 2 versions of certification i.e.

• Sun Certified Programmer for the Java Platform, Standard Edition 5.0 (CX-310-055)
• Sun Certified Programmer for the Java Platform, Standard Edition 6.0 (CX-310-065)

There are as such no prerequisites for the exam.The exam is a Multiple choice and drag and drop type exam.The exam has some 60 questions out of which for clearing the exam you need to get 35 questions correct which get you a 58.33% .Time limitfor the exam is some 180 minutes.

Talking about SCJP, I cleared SCJP5.0 in June 2008 and the experience for the exam was mind -blowing. I took almost a year to prepare for the exam.

I started my studies from the recommended book for SCJP5.0 i.e.

Sun Certified Programmer For Java 5 Scjp (310-055) By Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates

I took some 2 readings of this book, and also went through all the exercise questions given at the end of each chapter.

The two minute drill given at the end of each chapter helped me to do my last minute revisions.

Talking about the question format:

• Question format is multiple choice, including some drag-and-drop questions.
• The number of correct answers is given in case of multiple choice questions with multiple answers.
• There are hardly any questions with true/false answers.
• There are a lot of questions with three (or sometimes two) correct answers.
• Question with radio button answers means that only one answer is correct.
• Questions vary from very easy to very difficult, but mostly difficult.
• No credit is given for partially correct answers in case of questions with multiple answers.
• No Negative markings are there.

The objectives for the exams include:
1. Declarations and Access Control
2.Flow Control
3.API Contents
4.Concurrency
5.OO Concepts
6.Collections / Generics
7.Fundamentals

Talking about some Do's and Dont's for the exam:

• In the Drag and Drop type questions, the answer gets reset if you try to review it. So, always complete and double check your answer before moving away from a Drag and Drop question.
• It would be helpful to solve Drag and Drop questions on a sheet of paper before actually attempting them in the test.
• The revised exam has more performance-based questions than knowledge-based questions requiring memorization of API details. So spend more time on hands-on practice, especially of commonly used methods, and avoid trying to memorize each and every API detail simply by reading.
• Read the choices properly; don't get confused between 'import' statements and 'import static' statements.
• Remember that immutable string objects are returned by the String class. String Builder and String Buffer both return mutable strings; the only difference between them is that String Buffer is thread-safe, while the other is not.
• Be clear about the classes implementing the Collection types like List, Set, and Map. Be aware of which of these types support sorting, which allow duplicates, which give the best performance, and so on.
• When you see the usage of var-args in a method, ensure that the ellipsis is appearing as the last argument to the method.
• Remember that the super type of generic Collection objects is Collection and not Collection.
• Remember that since the wildcard (?) stands for an unknown type, you cannot add to generic types using wildcards.
• Know the distinction between Comparable and Comparator and the methods defined by these interfaces.

Finally talking about some important references:

A Site that gives you a very good forum wherein you can ask any of your queries about java.
http://www.javaranch.com

A Site that answers all the frequently asked questions about SCJP

http://faq.javaranch.com/java/ScjpFaq

A Tutorial on java

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/

A site providing you with good number of mock tests on java

http://www.javabeat.net/javabeat/scjp5/

A site that would help you to test your knowledge on java as well as allows you to even provide some good questions on java

http://www.javablackbelt.com

Finally if you require the Kathy Sierra ebook write me to koshaa.d@gmail.com

Certified Business Analysis Professional

Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) is for professionals who analyze business processes and are responsible for defining business requirements throughout the development cycle. Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) designation is an awarded from the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) made to experienced Business Analysts who have verified their expertise in their field. This is done by detailing hands-on work experience in business analysis through the CBAP® application process, and passing the IIBA® CBAP® examination.

The mission of IIBA is to develop and maintain standards for the practice of business analysis and certification of its practitioners. Certified Business Analysis Professionals are experts in identifying the business needs of an organization in order to find out the best solutions, a role that is more and more seen as a vital element of any successful project. More and more companies are acknowledging the CBAP® designation and the value and expertise that these professionals bring to their organizations.

Before applying for CBAP, a Business Analyst must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Work Experience Requirement
Approx five (5) years (i.e., 7500 hours) of business analysis work experience in the last ten years engaged in tasks specifically related to the knowledge areas as defined within the BABOK®. The ten (10) year timeframe is based on the application date.

Knowledge Areas Requirement
Demonstrated experience and expertise (i.e., a minimum of 900 hours (i.e., 6 months) of business analysis work experience occupied in tasks specifically related to the knowledge areas as defined within the BABOK in at least four of the six knowledge areas.

Education Requirement
The minimum education requirement is high school or equivalent.

Professional Development Requirement
21 hours of professional development in the last four years. The professional development content must be directly related to business analysis or its essential competencies and must be completed by the application date.

Reference Requirement
Two references from a career manager, client (internal or external) or Certified Business Analysis Professional are required. These references must indicate that you are a suitable candidate for the CBAP® certification.

After your application is approved, you are eligible to write the CBAP exam at any time within 1 year from the date of application approval. The final step in the certification process is to write and pass a comprehensive examination.