OCP or OCA?

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11-05-2007, 06:51 AM
Daanish

OCP or OCA?

Hello all

I've started a DBA course in Oracle, which was originally intended to get me an Oracle Certified Professional certificate (I'm sure there's a more succinct way of saying that but I can't figure it out, please advise if you know...esp for my resume!). I may have to leave early though, in which case I'm going to ask the institution if they could just give me an Oracle Certified Associate certificate instead. I wanted to ask if there's a big difference between the two? Naturally the OCP is more comprehensive and therefore better but I have time and money constraints and so want to know if at this point the more comprehensive certificate justifies the extra cost or not. So if anyone could advise it would be much appreciated.

Another alternative is that I self-study for the OCA (you can't for the OCP but for OCA you can). For the OCA the self-study CD is $650. Is the CD enough to teach you what you need to know for the exam? How does the OCA compare to the OCP? And how many hours of study does it entail?

I'd appreciate any input.

Peace,
Daanish
11-05-2007, 09:28 AM
PAVB

huh?
OCA and OCP include different training and different examinations, they are not interchangeable.
You cannot get OCP certification without having OCA first.
You have to check education.oracle.com
11-05-2007, 03:28 PM
scoobydoo

OCP is completed your OCA, only OCA is not enough I think and in particular for DBA.

OCP is recognize for a job, I don't know for OCA.

see you
11-10-2007, 08:24 PM
linux-oracle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daanish

Another alternative is that I self-study for the OCA (you can't for the OCP but for OCA you can). For the OCA the self-study CD is $650. Is the CD enough to teach you what you need to know for the exam? How does the OCA compare to the OCP? And how many hours of study does it entail?

Daanish

Daanish -

I have recently completed my OCA in 10g DBA. Here's how I went about it: Bought a much cheaper Self study CD from Ebay (~ 20 dollars), and the Sybex study guide series for OCA and OCP ( ~ 90 dollars ). Bought a dual core PC with 2GB of RAM and downloaded Oracle 10g Enterprise edition, VMware Server, and Oracle Linux (all free for home testing use only). Worked through the CBT in three months, then the study guide for three months, then bought the Oracle Approved testing software and drilled on test questions for three months, then took the exam.

In my opinion, just taking a course is not going to work for you unless you have a photographic memory. That is where the PC loaded with an Oracle database comes in handy: You can get hands on experience working through the examples in the study guide and the test questions.

I am now studying for the OCP. Yes, I had to take one hands on course from Oracle (big buck$). Once again, if you rely only on that course for your preparation, you will probably fail the exam, unless you have a very sharp memory and lots of work experience as a DBA. My advice would be to excel in the OCA exam, get a job in the field (if you don't have one already), then prepare for the OCP when you have more time/money.