should I take 8i or 9i exam?

[potato11]

I am new to oracle. I don't have much experience in database.

I am thinking which database exam i should take: SQL server, Oracle or Sybase. Would u please advice? Is the market value of OCP higher than that of SQL database/Sybase certificate?

If I take the OCP exam,
Question 1: should I take 8i or 9i? (8i requires 5 exam but 9i only requires 4 exam)
Question 2: Do empolyers prefer candidates having 8i or 9i exam?

Thank your very much

[ehaskins]

Potato,

First, Sybase certification is the absolute least valuable certification amongst RDBMS certs. Not to say that Sybase skills are useless...if you live in the NYC area you'll find plenty of Financial Services companies that run Sybase (but they also run Oracle and MS SQL Server too).

It kinda depends on your background in IT as well. But, without a doubt, the OCP cert is "the" most sought after RDBMS certification.

Since you have very little expereince, I would recommend starting with Oracle9i, as you will be able to obtain your OCA-level after the first 2 exams...and then OCP with just 2 more.

Everyone has their opinion as to what an employer would like to see (8i vs. 9i cert), but unless you already have considerable Oracle expereince, starting with 8i is not going to do much for you. Also, if you learn (and get certified) with 9i...you will know nearly everything you need for 8i as well. It wouldn't take too much to learn the differences that would enable you to successfully perform the basic or intermediate level DBA tasks that are most often performed.

Another thing...now that Oracle9i Release 2 is out, many more companies will be implementing "new" DB projects with 9i...so this could become an opportunity for someone with 9i over 8i cert!!

[TimHall]

Sybase - Don't go their. Their revenues are up due to their application server and portal technologies. Their DB market share is still declining.

Oracle - Strong market share and relatively good certification program.

SQL Server - Increasing it's market share but still well behind Oracle at the moment. If people continue to jum ship from UNIX to Windows it will take a bigger share of the pie. People have been badmouthing the Microsoft certifications recently so I'm not sure what employers think about them.

DB2 - Probably the closest to Oracle in terms of scalability and performance, some would say ahead of it. It's increased it's market share recently but is still not as big as Oracle.

In my opinion your choice should be between SQL Server and Oracle so pick the one you think your most likely to work with.

If you pick Oracle I would probably go for Oracle9i. By the time you get through the Track the number of Oracle9i installations will have increased.

Cheers

[Edited by TimHall on 06-13-2002 at 12:43 PM]

[stecal]

On the other hand, doing the 8i track gives you the 8i cert (obviously), but then all you need is one more test to get 9i. So, for the effort of studying/passing six exams, you have certification in two releases. It's like eye candy on a resume - it looks like you have more experience with Oracle. 8i will still be around for some time. Some big companies are still on 7.3.4. If you commit to 9i, you stay there, as there is no "downgrade" exam.

[potato11]

Really thank you very much for your advice. Your advices are very helpful and informative.

It seems that Oracle 8i or 9i are voted (few ppl vote for other database). Here is the summary -
8i:
Adv: some companies still use 8i
Disadv: need to take 6 exam in total if I want to get the 9i cert as well.

9i:
Adv: only requires 4 exams to get OCP
Disadv: not backward compatible, ie. can't get back the 8i cert.

Anymore advices? I still can't make the decision.


For 9i, I have a great problem. I DON'T have 9i installation CD (Enterprise Edition).
However, I have 8i CD to be installed in my home PC for practice. Does this will affect my exam a lot if can't practice at home?

[julian]

Originally posted by potato11


Adv: some companies still use 8i

Disadv: need to take 6 exam in total if I want to get the 9i cert as well.

Some companies still use 8i :-) I would restate it like: Many companies have not yet switched to 8i.

The 6 exams are not a disadv. At least I don't see it that way. You will learn much more about Oracle if you certify both 8i and 9i. Much broader knowledge is what you should go for, not just a logo you can add to you CV.

[Tarry]

Potato,
Julian is right!
Go for 8i and then upgrade to 9i. This will give you all the time to learn RDBMS. And Oracle is a better bet.

Cheers!!!