January 30 2001, on a rather hot day, I walked out of a prometric center in Kochi, India, trying to digest a triumph that I had dreamt of for a reasonable period of time. My heart had pumped fast, when the score-sheet slowly rolled its way through the printer, exposing to me, for the first time, the taste of success in a vendor certification exam. It required a rather good effort from my friend to calm me down from a state of ecstasy that I was in on that day; I was still in college then. In retrospection, I’m convinced that what happened on 30th Jan 2001 was one defining moment in my career that finally ushered me to my dream company. I’m lucky!
Now if you want to hear the story of a more lucky SCP , you might want to get in touch with Ms Swathi Reddy Potu, employee of Cognizant Technology Solutions, Chennai, who turned out to be the most wanted for being the 500, 000th Sun Certified Professional, receiving special recognitions for being so. It happened at a NIIT Test Center in Chennai. The ‘small gift’ that this candidate would receive from Sun includes:
[*] A Conference Pass to the 2008 JavaOne conference, which is held from May 6 to May 9, 2008.
[*] A pass to Java University, which is held on May 5, 2008.
[*] $1000 US prize money.
[*] Return Airfare.
So one more milestone is hit and none would get another chance to be the 500,000th SCP. But one thing I assure you, every time you succeed in a certification test, there is some element of fortune, big or small, awaiting you somewhere in this planet. So don’t hesitate; just go for it.
Let me leave you with an interesting video (~20 minutes) of an interview with the first java programmer, and hear him underscore the importance of Java certification. Look who makes a guest appearance in this video. Enjoy!