July 2010
Wednesday 14th, July 2010
Resources for passing your Websphere Portal Admin/Developer Certifications07/14/2010 08:11 AM Websphere Portal
I do a lot of work with many IBM technologies. You would not know this from reading my blog since it is focused on XPages....but I'm branching out today.
I recently passed my Websphere Portal 6.1 Administration and Deployment certification (LOT-955) with a score of 97, and passed my Websphere Portal 6.1 Application Development (LOT-959) with a score of 100.
Now, the high scores are not exactly a reflection of my portal skills, but more a reflection of my study skills. These products are very deep and you could study for months without uncovering all there is to know about them. Having the correct resources can help you by isolating the topics that the tests focus on most.
Of course no amount of studying can take the place of hands on skills. If you want to learn Portal, Portlet Factory, or Rational Application Developer (RAD) and do not have access to the software, you can download trial versions of these products from IBM. Or even join their beta programs to learn the latest versions.
Some folks do not believe in the merits of certifications, but I do...not for the reasons most might think, i.e. increased job opportunities. For me, studying for my certification forces me to study topics of a product that I might not have learned in my normal day-to-day work. This increases the depth of my skills. Then of course comes the "Ah Ha" moment when one day you solve a problem, or suggest a solution, with some knowledge you only learned because of studying for your certification. That makes it worth it to me.
Here's a list of resources that helped me:
Websphere Portal 6.1 Administration and Deployment certification (LOT-955)
- Websphere Portal 6.1 info center
- Wiki - Step by step cluster guide
- Websphere Portal 6.1 955 sample questions (many of these questions were almost identical to the ones on the test!)
- Wiki - WebSphere Portal V6.1 Configured with Multiple LDAP's and Multiple Realm's
Websphere Portal 6.1 Application Development (LOT-959)
- IBM - Websphere Portal Training resources (There are numerous links on this page)
- Lot 959 FreeExamKing sample questions (again, these sample questions were very similar to what I saw on the test)
- IBM's Virtual Innovation Center courseware (this requires a partnerworld login..but it's excellent!)
I also used certFx sample tests. They cost around $90, and you usually can find a promotion code for a discount. However, the above links to the online sample questions were very similar. One advantage of buying a certfx test is that they guarantee you will pass the test, and will reimburse for the testing fee if you do not pass. That's $200 dollars now. (I think it went up recently)
My study approach is to read the material, then take a sample test. If I do not know the answer to a sample test question I go to the info center or google and research it. Then I take the sample test over again (a couple of times) before my scheduled test date, this way it's all fresh.
Good luck on your tests!
-John
Technorati: Websphere Portal Websphere Portlet Factory
(0)
I recently passed my Websphere Portal 6.1 Administration and Deployment certification (LOT-955) with a score of 97, and passed my Websphere Portal 6.1 Application Development (LOT-959) with a score of 100.
Now, the high scores are not exactly a reflection of my portal skills, but more a reflection of my study skills. These products are very deep and you could study for months without uncovering all there is to know about them. Having the correct resources can help you by isolating the topics that the tests focus on most.
Of course no amount of studying can take the place of hands on skills. If you want to learn Portal, Portlet Factory, or Rational Application Developer (RAD) and do not have access to the software, you can download trial versions of these products from IBM. Or even join their beta programs to learn the latest versions.
Some folks do not believe in the merits of certifications, but I do...not for the reasons most might think, i.e. increased job opportunities. For me, studying for my certification forces me to study topics of a product that I might not have learned in my normal day-to-day work. This increases the depth of my skills. Then of course comes the "Ah Ha" moment when one day you solve a problem, or suggest a solution, with some knowledge you only learned because of studying for your certification. That makes it worth it to me.
Here's a list of resources that helped me:
Websphere Portal 6.1 Administration and Deployment certification (LOT-955)
- Websphere Portal 6.1 info center
- Wiki - Step by step cluster guide
- Websphere Portal 6.1 955 sample questions (many of these questions were almost identical to the ones on the test!)
- Wiki - WebSphere Portal V6.1 Configured with Multiple LDAP's and Multiple Realm's
Websphere Portal 6.1 Application Development (LOT-959)
- IBM - Websphere Portal Training resources (There are numerous links on this page)
- Lot 959 FreeExamKing sample questions (again, these sample questions were very similar to what I saw on the test)
- IBM's Virtual Innovation Center courseware (this requires a partnerworld login..but it's excellent!)
I also used certFx sample tests. They cost around $90, and you usually can find a promotion code for a discount. However, the above links to the online sample questions were very similar. One advantage of buying a certfx test is that they guarantee you will pass the test, and will reimburse for the testing fee if you do not pass. That's $200 dollars now. (I think it went up recently)
My study approach is to read the material, then take a sample test. If I do not know the answer to a sample test question I go to the info center or google and research it. Then I take the sample test over again (a couple of times) before my scheduled test date, this way it's all fresh.
Good luck on your tests!
-John
Technorati: Websphere Portal Websphere Portlet Factory
(0)
