jeanne’s core spring 3 certification experiences
August 20th, 2010 by Jeanne BoyarskyToday I passed the Core Spring 3 certification exam with a score of 92%. This blog entry is similar to Jeanne’s SCEA part 1 experiences – a place to share all the information about the process. For SCEA, it was an place to weed through all the information out there and organize it a bit. For Spring, it is the opposite. There is an information shortage out there. Not much is written up and most of what is out there goes with the 2.5 version of the exam. As a result, this entry is much longer and has been split into a series of posts.
- Background information
- About the test (includes Scope of the test and Spring 2.5 vs 3.0 exam)
- What did I read and how were the resources I tried
- My study plan
- Skills guru mock exam
- What I would recommend as a study plan
Background information
I took the Core Spring class the week of July 20th. It comes with one free attempt at the test. Retakes are $150. Luckily, I didn’t need a retake. Based on what I had heard about the 2.5 test, it went deeper than the course and required a lot of studying. As a result, I decided to wait a month from taking the course before taking the test. Now that I know what the test is about, I know I could have taken it a week or two earlier. Or even earlier if the voucher arrived sooner.
Next page: About the test
Note to those who are thinking of asking for a copy of the class materials:
The Core Spring course material is copyrighted by Spring Source. I cannot share it with others. Please do not waste your time e-mailing me to request them.
Posted: 20 August, 2010 in Java Certification, Java/J2EE.
Tags: certification, spring
Comments
Pingback from jeanne’s SCEA/OCMJCA 5 part 2&3 experiences | Down Home Country Coding With Scott Selikoff and Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: November 18, 2010 at 4:39 pm
[...] word that I passed the SCEA/OCMJEA exam. I passed part 1 in July and then took a break for the Core Spring certification. Overall, the process is do part 2, take part 3 then e-mail part 2 and get grade in 4-6 weeks. (I [...]
Comment from Willy
Posted: November 29, 2010 at 5:41 am
was just wondering if you get a certificate like the Sun/Oracle exams?
Comment from Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: November 29, 2010 at 7:38 pm
At the exam center they give you a printed certificate. Just the kind that comes out of a printer; nothing fancy.
Comment from Sangeet
Posted: January 5, 2011 at 9:37 am
Hi,
Many thanks for sharing your experience which helped me to clear the Core Spring 3 Certification today with a score of 94%. No doubt that the spring courese material is enough to prepare but the way you have put things as a study plan etc. gives a comprehensive reference point to prepare for the exam.
Thanks again and will try to add some questions in blackbelt website.
Comment from Kingsly
Posted: January 18, 2011 at 4:32 pm
Mind telling us how much “Core Spring class the week of July 20th” class cost?
Comment from Kingsly
Posted: January 18, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Congratulations Jeanne. I am dreaming about it for a while. Mind telling us how much “Core Spring class the week of July 20th” class cost?
Comment from Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: January 18, 2011 at 8:04 pm
I don’t remember. Probably about two thousand. It depends on where you live though. If you register with springsource.com, they will tell you the price for your city.
Comment from Magnus
Posted: February 24, 2011 at 9:11 am
Thanks for your effort in providing information! I passed today with a score of 90
Comment from Jaime
Posted: March 23, 2011 at 6:13 am
Hi Jeanne, I’m writing from Spain, and I congratulate you on your
certification in spring.
I would ask you a favor, if you think that is possible.
Could you send me the course material “Spring Core”, labs, text, ppt?
anything to help me prepare for certification, with the material
course official.
Thank you very much
Comment from Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: March 23, 2011 at 9:09 pm
No. That material is copyright of SpringSource and we are not supposed to share it. You have to take the course to prepare for the certification anyway so you’ll get it then.
My study notes which are not owned by Spring Source since I wrote them are at:
http://www.javaranch.com/jeanne/Spring_3_Certification_Study_Notes.pdf
Comment from Ashish
Posted: April 19, 2011 at 2:11 am
Congratulations Jeanne !
Good Score achieved.
I am following your study notes to prepare for Core Spring Certifications.
If you have any other material , please send to me.
Looking forward to your co’operations.
Comment from Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: April 20, 2011 at 12:55 pm
I shared all the materials I am allowed to on the blog.
Comment from M
Posted: May 10, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Hi Jeanne, First of all, thanks a lot for providing quite good information on spring v3.0 certification exam. I followed your study notes and did clear the exam successfully with a decent score.
Thank you.
Pingback from oracle certification – linking existing pearson/prometric accounts | Down Home Country Coding With Scott Selikoff and Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: May 16, 2011 at 8:32 pm
[...] to migrate their history from Prometric. I have an existing PearsonVUE account from my Spring Certification. The steps were straightforward enough and *almost* matched the [...]
Comment from Kalirajan
Posted: September 30, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Hi Jeannne,
Thanks a lot for such an useful information in this blog and also for authoring the Core Spring 3.0 Certiication Mock in blackbeltfactory.
I have completed my exam today and I cleared it.
From the day one, I have been following up only your blog and I cannot stop thanking for providing such valuable information for Spring.
Thanks once again.
Note: I would like to contribute to the Certification Mock in Blackbelt factory. Hoping to start it soon.
Thanks,
Kali
Comment from CatLady
Posted: October 10, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Hi Jeanne,
I’m scheduled to take the Certification test this Wednesday, 10/12/11. I tried to take the Certification Mock in Blackbelt factory, but wasn’t allowed because I don’t have enough points. I just registered today. Is there a way I can pay for the Mock test? I took all the Skill Guru tests, but hear that yours is the best. Thank you in advance!
Comment from Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: October 10, 2011 at 11:00 pm
No. The manual says there is no way to buy points http://knowledgeblackbelt.com/#CoursePage/12648799/EN. BlackBeltFactory isn’t really designed for someone to come in and take a random course.
Note that while the exam I seeded will help you learn more about Spring, it is much harder than the cert exam. You’ll do just find on the real cert and can take the black belt one later for knowledge.
Comment from CatLady
Posted: October 10, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Hi Jeanne,
Thanks for your reply and encouraging words. I’ll keep you posted.
Comment from Sameer
Posted: October 12, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Hi Jeanne,
First of all thanks a lot to share valuable
information regarding the Spring 3.0 cert exam. Because of this i could able to pass this desirable cert today. Your notes help me a lot during my study for this cert.
Thanks
Sameer
India.
Comment from Sameer
Posted: October 12, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Hi Jeanne,
Please, could you clear my doubts regarding how to get the spring certification’s soft/hard copy from springsource/vmware ?.
This ‘ll really help me.
My doubts are as follows
1. Did you get your soft copy of the certificate ?
2. How many days it will take for the soft copy ?
3. Will there be any hard copy sent ?
Thanks in advance.
Sameer
India.
Comment from Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: October 12, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Sameer,
I got a printout off a certificate/statement I passed at the testing center. I don’t remember receiving anything else whether soft or hard copy. It wasn’t important to me so I didn’t follow up with springsource to see if I was supposed to.
Comment from Dan
Posted: December 7, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Hi Jeanne, I came across this site just now: http://www.springcertification.com, which has some useful resources regarding the Core Spring exam and preparing to study for it. Your visitors may also find this site useful in their studies.
There is a survey on there as well where you can register your vote to make the exam open for all to keep the whole process more democratic. Come on and make it open for all!
Regards
Dan
Comment from Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: April 21, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Update: BlackBeltFactory exams can now be paid for rather than having to collect contribution points.

Pingback from | Down Home Country Coding With Scott Selikoff and Jeanne Boyarsky
Posted: August 28, 2010 at 7:55 pm
[...] regular readers of this blog know, I took a break from the SCEA while taking the Core Spring certification. (To read about part 1 see Jeanne’s SCEA part 1 experiences.) Now I’m ready to buy [...]