Certifications

[Natik]

Would anyone know what would be the best line to pursue if I already have an oracle8 DBA certification knowing that it is difficult to obtain an entry level DBA position? Is certification in any of the unix, linux or sun solaris a good idea for someone with little to no exerience in the IT field and with the present slump in jobs?

[gee]

At a recent Oracle seminar I was talking with a person who heads up the Oracle team at a local consultanting company.

He indicated they have about 25 oracle DBAs and about 45 oracle developers on staff.

None though that cross both areas, which I though was interesting ... you may want to look at one of the developer certifications.

Gee,
OCP 8i DBA

[ngwh]

well..i presume u need to hv a reasonable working experience with Solaris and Oracle PLUS
some certs to go around to get a DECENT pay job at difficult times like now?

[dknight]

In my opinion, my experience as a developer and designer have been very useful as a DBA. Having 70 consultants without some hybrids seems very odd.

I can't imagine being a DBA without knowing the other side.

[ngwh]

say Dknight what's ur OCP score for 8i ??

[pando]

Hm I have never programmed and designed
If you look Oracle Support peeps very few of them even know how to program in pl/sql

[dknight]

I don't remember my scores exactly, but this is rough:

Strong on SQL/PLSQL
Strong on Architecture and Admin
Strong on Performance Tuning
Mediocre on Network
Very weak on Backup and Recovery

My scores reflect my experience and ability to practice. I know my configuration for network and b&r well, but have limited experience with the other options. My shop has no test environment, so it is difficult to practice new things. I have less than 2 years of experience with DBA duties.

How are your scores? How many years of DBA experience do you have?

[julian]

He indicated they have about 25 oracle DBAs and about 45 oracle developers on staff.

Not very smart recruitment policy in that company (or could be exactly the oposite and I have the absolutely wrong point of view).

Nowaday, most jobs sort of blend DBAing and programming. There was recently even an article in Certification Magazine.

Although I am the Senior DBA, I also do a lot of PL/SQL package programming, even Reports, etc.

[dknight]

What would you consider a good mix? Fewer or more DBAs?

[julian]

Originally posted by dknight
What would you consider a good mix? Fewer or more DBAs?

Probably fewer DBAs but it depends on the number of DBs, how complicated they are, the amount of development work done, etc. As a developer, I remember there was development work and development work :-)