Certification: Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I use my PHP 5 Certification voucher for the Zend Framework exam?
• How long do I have to take the exam after I purchase the voucher?
• Why should I take the Zend PHP Certification exam?
• Who wrote the exams?
• What are the exams like?
• What topics/subjects does the PHP 5 exam cover?
• Do I need to know anything particular (other than PHP) for the PHP 5 certification exam to pass?
• What other resources are available?
• How will I know if I passed?
• What should I take to the exam?

Q: Can I use my PHP 5 Certification voucher for the Zend Framework exam?

Each certification voucher is specific to the exam and cannot be used for another exam.

Q: How long do I have to take the exam after I purchase the voucher?

The certification voucher is valid for 1 year from the date of purchase.

Q: Why should I take the Zend PHP Certification exam?

Becoming PHP certified is a measure of your experience in the world of PHP. The goal of the Zend PHP Certification program is to allow PHP professionals to attain the "Zend Certified Engineer" designation. This is identical in concept to other well know certification programs such as "Microsoft's Certified Professionals (MCP)" and the "Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP)" programs. The Zend PHP Certification program aims at creating a measure of distinction that employers can use to evaluate prospective employees. Becoming a Zend Certified Engineer will not make you a better programmer, however, it will most likely improve the chances of your resume standing out from among other applicants vying for the same position.

Q: Who wrote the exams?

The Zend Certification exams encompasses curriculum specified the Zend PHP Education Advisory Board and the Zend Framework Education Advisory Board as essential to demonstrate expert proficiency in PHP or Zend Framework.

Each Board's members are among the most well known and respected in the PHP and Zend Framework Communities. It is important to note that the Board is completely neutral and was not influenced by Zend's business objectives. In fact, the only point Zend insisted upon was that exam exclude references or questions relating to Zend's products.

Q: What are the exams like?

The exam itself is very similar to most other IT exams offered these days. You will be required to go to a Pearson VUE Testing Center, which are available in over 3500 locations around the world. The exam is taken in an isolated room, using a specially configured computer. The exam is closed-book, so you won't be able to consult any reference material or use the Internet while taking it.

The PHP 5 exam is composed of a total of 70 questions, and the Zend Framework Exam is composed of 75 questions, which must be answered in 90 minutes.  Each question can be formulated in one of three ways: - As a multiple-choice question with only one right answer. - As a multiple-choice question with multiple correct answers. - As a free-form question for which the answer must be typed in.

Q: What topics/subjects does the PHP 5 exam cover?

The exam was designed to evaluate knowledge of PHP from a practical perspective. While there are a few theoretical items, the vast majority of the questions are based on the ability to evaluate and analyze a snippet of code. In the opinion of the PHP 5 Education Advisory Board, this better reflects a working understanding of PHP than simply knowing the manual by heart. For a complete list of topics, see: PHP 5 Certification

Q: Do I need to know anything particular (other than PHP) for the PHP 5 certification exam to pass?

Put simply, you need to know those technologies that a PHP developer uses in his/her day-to-day job, including databases and regular expressions. As far as the latter are concerned, the focus is on Perl regular expressions, while for databases the focus is on standard SQL, rather than any particular implementation. If you've learned databases exclusively by using MySQL, it is strongly urged you look into standard SQL, because MySQL diverges from it in some significant ways.

Why standard SQL? A PHP developer should know about proper database design so that he/she can work with more than one DBMS, and so that the developer who uses, say, Oracle or PostgreSQL is not at a disadvantage -- after all, this is a PHP exam, not a LAMP one.

Q: What other resources are available?

For the PHP 5 Exam: Zend, in collaboration with SAMS publishing, has published the Zend PHP 5 Certification Study Guide Book, to help you prepare for the exam. In addition Zend offers PHP 5 Mock Exams.  If you prefer to learn from a professional instructor in an online setting, try the Zend PHP 5 Certification Training. The Zend PHP 5 Certification Training includes one voucher for the Zend PHP Certification Exam - a $125 value.

For the Zend Framework Exam:  The official Zend Framework Certification Study Guide is included with your purchase of the Zend Framework  exam voucher at no additional charge. If you prefer to learn from a professional instructor in an online setting, try the Zend Framework Certification Training. The Zend Framework Certification Training includes one voucher for the Zend Framework Certification Exam - a $160 value.

Q: How will I know if I passed?

At the end of the exam you will receive a pass/fail grade. The numeric score is not released. Should you fail, Zend offers re-take discounts, please email us at certification@zend.com.

Q: What should I take to the exam?

On the day of the exam don't forget to take 2 forms of identification with you to the testing center--testing staff must verify your identity.