I realized that I wrote lengthy posts on this topic as I was going through the classroom training, self-study kits, and exams. I felt it needed a summation. I’m starting the self-study kits for the SOA Analyst certification and my experience will be different this time since I’ll be listening to Thomas Erl’s audio tutor’s on the modules instead of the classroom lecturer.

My recommendations on the offerings by SOA School.com will differ depending on your needs. For someone, an executive or project manager, the classroom training would probably be sufficient. It highlights the salient points of what SOA is, how it fits into an enterprise, a common lexicon, and high level topics. They would probably only need to attend the lectures for modules 1, 2., and 3. The other 20 modules are specific to their respective certifications and delve deeper into agnostic and non-agnostic solution topics.

For someone directly involved with delivering a SOA solution or desiring to take the exams for certification, the classroom training isn’t sufficient to gain a solid understanding of the certification topics. The self-study kits main workbooks are identical to the ones used in the classroom lectures. It’s the exam tutor audio CD, preparation booklet,  and the supplemental audio tutor where the information required to pass the exams is available.

Unless you are a very seasoned SOA specialist who has used Thomas Erl’s books for learning, the exams can be a challenge and they require you know the information presented in the course materials. As with any area of technology, while there is usually a common language, there are also differences in different shops. The lexicon of SOA terminology composed by Thomas Erl is specific to passing the exams.

Overall, I rate the knowledge gained from taking the full program for certification an 8 out of 1-10. As I’ve stated, much of the material is delivered with a high level of vendor neutrality and technology agnostic. Also, no one solution can cover all scenarios, but Thomas Erl does a good job of providing a level of knowledge that can easily be leveraged in particular scenarios.

This was time and money well spent.