WHY DO YOU NEED TO BE CERTIFIED

[ligang]

OCP is a milleage in your career I think .
I think there are maybe some people who are lack of DBA experience but they are OCP. But comparing with many other
DBA which don't have OCP certificated , OCP is much better
(It's not because I have certificated) .

So OCPs , don't lose your confidence and keep on studying !

[snow]

totally agree with dbmanager.

[maachan]

I think that a good interviewer will easily spot an OCP who studied to the exam just for the sake of passing. A good interviewer will ask situational questions and seek in depth answers that would take more knowledge than answering a multiple choice question. Therefore, it is my opinion for inexperienced DBA hopefulls that yes, OCP may get you more interviews than those without OCP, but once you step up to the plate, it would be very easy to see if you are ready to take the job. I think Tamil's example illustrated this very well.

As for me, I started in the DBA world fresh out of a 4 week crash course at a Tech School. Yes, they charged me an arm and a leg for what was less than minimal knowledge for my first job. However, the pay increase I got compared to my previous carrer in Teaching, it was worth it. My first employer gave me a chance because I did not pretend to know everything or much at all for that matter. I was very honest and showed enthusiasm to learn whatever they threw at me. They decided it was worth it for them to take me at a minimal pay, send me to training, and train me in how they want the job done, rather than hiring someone with some experience for a higher pay only to hear, "Well that's now how I did it at my last job." They wanted a fresh thinker.

So as with what everyone has basically said, it depends on the person, depends on the position the employer is looking to fill and it depends on the person conducting the interview.

The reason I went for OCP is to improve my skills and like Tamil said, it gave me a great oppurtunity to learn things that I was not actively doing at the position I was holding at the time. There are so many features with Oracle that there probably isn't one site, except Oracle, who uses every feature they offer to the fullest extent all the time. By learning features we weren't currently using, I was able to make recommendations for my company to start using new features that would help their operations, which were not considered before. It not only helped me advance in my DBA career, but it helped my company benefit too.

OCP is like icing on the cake. Cake without icing isn't bad, it may be excellent, but wouldn't everyone like a little icing anyway?

[sirhaggus]

I must say this particular thread is quite encouraging... I am young and was hired by a software company last year... since then I've worn several different hats... all of which I had to make myself... and now I've been tasked with learning Oracle... I have not yet examined STS options, mainly because my boss sent me to an Oracle Education Center... however... my concern is this... In OEC I did not learn any real life exspirience... we didn't even install Oracle... which puts me between a rock and a hard place... because yes I can pass OCP with no problem... but I don't want my boss to think that I have the knowledge to take on huge tasks just because I passed a few tests...

What can I do to gain that valuable real-life exspireince other than just playing around on a test database? I'd like a short turn around as possible...