Java Coding Apprentice
Certification

Candidates are expected to possess a general understanding of coding in Java and have approximately 100 hours of hands-on experience or instruction in Java development.

This elevated level of preparation is required due to the industry-standard nature of the exam and the fact that it serves as a benchmark for the candidate’s readiness to enter the job market. The certification is also utilized by recruiters as a factor in determining job placement for job seekers.

To validate the results, the Knowledge Pillars Java Coding Apprentice Certification Exam utilizes a task-based format and takes place in a real Java coding environment. The exam is offered both at testing centers and remotely through a remote proctoring system, providing flexibility and convenience for the candidate.

Skills Measured:

Unit 1 – Introduction to Java

Unit 2 – Variables and Data Types

Unit 3 – Operators and Expressions

Unit 4 – Control Structures

Unit 5 – Arrays

Unit 6 – Methods

Unit 7 – Object-Oriented Programming

Unit 8 – Exception Handling

• Unit 1 – Introduction to Java
  • • Overview of Java programming language
    • Setting up the development environment
    • Basic syntax and structure of a Java program
• Unit 2 – Variables and Data Types
  • • Understanding data types in Java
    • Declaring and initializing variables
    • Type conversion and casting
• Unit 3 – Operators and Expressions
  • • Arithmetic operators
    • Comparison operators
    • Logical operators
    • Conditional operator
    • Bitwise operator
• Unit 4 – Control Structures
  • • if-else statement
    • switch statement
    • while and do-while loops
    • for loop
• Unit 5 – Arrays
  • • Creating and using arrays
    • Multi-dimensional arrays
    • Array lists
• Unit 6 – Methods
  • • Defining and calling methods
    • Return type and parameters
    • Overloading methods
• Unit 7 – Object-Oriented Programming
  • • Introduction to OOP concepts
    • Classes and objects
    • Encapsulation
    • Inheritance
    • Polymorphism
• Unit 8 – Exception Handling
  • • Understanding exceptions
    • try-catch-finally blocks
    • Throw and throws keywords
    • Custom exceptions

A critical part of the exam development process is the beta exam. By taking the exam in its beta format, candidates provide us with useful information to evaluate the technical accuracy, relevance, and psychometric characteristics of the questions before we score examinees.

Get 80% off the CCA beta exam. If you take the beta exam, Knowledge Pillars will send a 25% discount voucher to the same email that you use to register for exams AFTER the beta exam has been scored. You can apply that voucher to your next Knowledge Pillars exam registration. 

Note Participation in the beta is on a first come, first served basis. Due to popular demand, we recommend that you register as soon as the beta registration period begins. 

Candidates located in China, India, Pakistan, or Turkey are not eligible to participate in beta exams for security reasons.

Preparing for a beta exam

You will have access to the Exam Details page that lists the skills that will be assessed on the exam. Knowledge Pillars does not currently offer training materials for its exams.

People interested in beta exams usually have access to other resources, are experienced with the technology, or work with the beta product. We recommend that you consult peers, community resources, and early-adopter articles for support if you need additional preparation materials.

Beta exam scoring and results

When you complete a beta exam, you do not receive a score immediately because the scoring model for the exam is not yet finalized.

You usually receive your exam score within 2-3 weeks after the exam becomes available worldwide—this can be up to 16 weeks after you take the exam, depending on when in the beta period you took the exam. This time frame reflects the comprehensive process used to evaluate the beta exam results, including statistically analyzing the data to evaluate the performance of each question and reading and evaluating all comments provided during the beta exam. The rescore process starts on the day that exams go live, and final scores are released approximately 10 days later.

Note Participation in beta exams is voluntary, and Knowledge Pillars makes no promises or guarantees regarding the beta exam process, availability of your scores, or the timing of your results. Generally online proctored exam results are presented within 72 hours.

Passing the beta exam

Passing a beta exam in your certification exam counts toward your transcript. You do not need to retake the exam in its final version and you will receive a digital badge as confirmation of your passing score. Make sure that you take another exam within a year so you can take advantage of the 25% discount you earned for taking the beta exam through our beta exam discount program.

If you do not pass the beta exam, you cannot retake the beta exam. If you are interested in earning a certification that requires successful completion of that exam, you must wait to retake the exam at regular cost when it’s live, or you can apply the 25% discount that you received for taking the beta exam through our beta exam discount program.