9/18/2002 -- On Monday, IBM announced two new certifications and free exams to go along with them.

The first, IBM Certified Associate Developer -- IBM WebSphere Studio Family of Products, is designed for "a junior or apprentice developer, who provides application development services related to design, implementation, debugging, and deployment of J2EE Web applications and Java applications... This junior developer is expected to apply object-oriented analysis and design techniques, make proper use of one of the IBM WebSphere Studio family of products, and exhibit an ability to use the Java language."

To attain this certification, candidates must pass one exam -- IBM WebSphere Studio Family of Products (#345) -- which will go live Sept. 30. IBM is offering the exam for free to the first 50 candidates who pass an online pre-assessment exam.

IBM states that although the new title is not a prerequisite for any of the company's other certifications, it is hoped that those who pass will go on to pursue IBM's related Solution Developer certifications.

More information about this new certification and applying for the free exam can be found here.

The company is also continuing to expand its suite of WebSphere certifications with a new title, IBM Certified Application Developer -- IBM WebSphere Portal for Multiplatforms, V4.1, Implementation.

This new certification also requires passing one exam: IBM WebSphere Portal for Multiplatforms, V4.1, Implementation (#344). According to IBM, passing this exam will also count toward the company's IBM Certified for e-business Solution Technologist designation.

This exam will be offered for free to the first 100 candidates who pass the pre-qualification exam.

For more information on this new title, click here. -B.N.