[SalesForce] How to study/prepare for the Salesforce ADVANCED Developer Certification

While the study guide is minimal, it is intended to be. And the topic list is essentially your list of what to learn in order to pass. Don't worry about the big topics, but look at the small ones, rate yourself on a scale of 1-3.

1. I know it
2. I kind of know it/I need a little bit of review
3. I have no clue/I want to build it to see if I understand it

Forget the 1's

Start learning the 2's

Work your way into the 3's

I would say that this advice could be followed for any of the certification exams.

As for the developer certification specifically, the Force.com Fundamentals is good. The Force.com workbook. And don't overlook the online help and training. When the exams are reviewed, the first point of reference for any question that needs to be modified/clarified is the help and training.

A few weeks before your exam, go through the current release training. Every question for every exam is reviewed every single release. If you began your prep in Winter 13, but your exam will be on Spring 13, you might be relying on old information.

Finally, I always caution people about practice exams. Because of the always changing nature of the platform (and by extension the certification exams), that person who wrote those practice questions a year ago, may have been spot-on correct then, but a year later they may be out of date. Unless the questions you are using list the release they were written for, don't rely on a successful practice exam to tell you you will pass our certification.

I teach our Developer curriculum (including DEV401). That's my job at SFDC right now. Those people who go on and get their Developer Certification after DEV401 invariably tell me that it was a huge benefit to take the course. Everyone who teaches it themselves has to be Developer certified, as well as go through our rigorous instructor certification process. So if that is an option for you. Yes. Take DEV401. You will not regret it.

I think it's important to note that despite the numbering of the certifications they aren't really a progression.
The administrator track goes ADM201 - ADM301
The developer track goes DEV401 - DEV501
Most developers that I know have not done the ADM exams. A typical first exam for a developer would be DEV401
I think it's great that your company are giving you the option of training. I would expect from your background that you will actually find the course too easy rather than too hard!

It sounds to me from the experience you have and the tasks you are currently undertaking that you could prepare for and sit the DEV401 without the class. If your company is offering to pay for the training though then go for it you may find something of interest on it.