I started studying in September, spent over 30 hours doing practice exams until I was consistently getting over 90% scores, then took the test. I was quite surprised at how the test seemed harder than the practice exams I purcahsed from Sun. I had 3 different 70 question exams to practice over an over. It's possible that I started memorizing answers after doing each one several times but I can't possibly remember the answer to all 210 questions. My final score was lower than what I had hoped for, but I'm still happy that I passed it. This opens me up to several certification paths.

So what's the plan for 2007? Lets start in Dec 2006.

Dec 2006 Read as much of my Java Connector Architecture book necessary to write a JCA resource adapter for a system at work. JCA resource adapters are the standard way to integrate with an enterprise information system in J2EE. I have the interface written, but it is not wrapped in the standard JCA way. This may spill into January
Jan 2007 Start reading my book on object oriented analysis and design, and the unified process. This book will teach me formal procedures for requirements analysis and documentation, and the entire planning phase of a new system. No more spending a few hours or days partially planning then diving into the code.
Mid-late Feb 2007 Read my J2ME book for developing mobile applications (cell phones and PDAs). This is more of a fun thing, but it's possible I'll be using this knowledge at work in 2007. I don't expect to master it, just touch on it so when I come back to it a second time I have some clue on what to do. I'll be using NetBeans' mobility pack.
Mid-late March 2007 Read a rather short book on the Sun Certified Java Developer exam and aim to start the SCJD certification process by May.
May 2007 An updated version of the Sun Certified Enterprise Architect exam will be out, or at least a book on the new version. Once I'm done with SCJD, get this book and start studying. I will likely be ready for the exam by the end of August. This exam overlaps other books I've read and put into practice already such as EJB 3.0, and the OOA/D/UML book.
Sep 2007 Buy myself a Sun Ultra 20 workstation with Solaris 10 (UNIX). Read through the Sun Certified Solaris Administrator book. This time I don't really need the certification, but it's one of few books out there for Solaris 10. From my SCJP experience, the study guides are much more thorough than the usual books. (800 pages vs maybe 400-600 pages). If I'm capable enough, I'll take the exam before Christmas. Taking this exam is not a priority.

It's an agressive plan. These are the goals I've set for myself to become the Java guru I want to be. If I accomplish everything I set out to do then I will have had 2 full years of full time enterprise java experience, will have several certificates from Sun, and Solaris experience. This will pave the way for an awesome 2008. In 2008 I can focus all of my efforts on programming projects at home -- the things I've been wanting to write for years.