Hi,

I have had verbal and written confirmation from Oracle University in the UK that the requirement does NOT apply to 8i.

Personally, I will not be taking the 9i upgrade until Oracle review the rediculous idea that one course will provide "real world" experience.

I'm using the following study material

* Sybex Certification kit supplemented with Oracle press books as the Sybex B&R and Net Admin sections are a little sparse.

* Oracle 8.1.6 on Win XP and Linux in addition to 7.3.4 at work.

* Couchman OCP Exam Guide

* Various web sites, notably this one!

Generally, I prefer Sybex as the style is a little easier to read.

I would have suggested Exam Cram as a reasonable supplement but their publisher went bust a couple weeks ago and it seems difficult to get copies.

Good Luck, but remember this doesn't gurantee you a job unless you got some experience to back it up.