is someone?

I passed 4 exams without STS

8i: Net Admin
8i: A & A
8i: Perf Tun
8i: SQL/PLSQL

YOu know when you are ready I reckon... practice exams from the books, Sybex and Couchmen.

Mind you, my best two results have been from exams in which I've had the STS.

Cheers,

I've never used STS for any exam. If you've revised all the work properly you'll pass. If you haven't you'll fail. It's really quite simple:

- Read a section of notes.
- Within 2 days, preferable the next day, review that section again.
- Within a week review the section again.

Each review should be quicker than the last. On the third time through the notes you'll end up reciting alot of the text. This technique works because it encourages the knowledge to move from short term to long term memory.

Initially you have to be rigid about your approach because you are in a state of "concious competence". Over time you'll start to automatically review data without referring back to the texts. At this point you are in a state of "unconcious competence" and you'll start to believe you have a photographic memory.

Get into the habit of learning properly and you'll find exams easier and you'll actually remember the information for years rather than weeks.

As far as specific OCP preparation goes, make sure you do any examples against a real server. This will make sure you know your stuff and you've not misunderstood any concepts.

Cheers

Thanks for the tip!

Then, I would like to ask, if u have failed one of the exam,
what is the most suitable time to study again? immediately after the failed exam or 2 weeks before the day to retake?

thx

KOBE.

I would suggest you start as soon as you can. Remember, reviews are very quick so you don't have to become a slave to it.

You must ask yourself why you failed:

Lack of knowledge: Assume you know nothing and start revising from the begining and follow the method I suggested.

Unable to apply knowledge: If you feel your knowledge was acceptable but you were unable to cross-reference it or apply it to the questions then only review the material the keep it fresh, but spend your time practicing the examples for real. This ecourages you to remember how the knowledge fits together as part of the DBA job, rather than a string of facts.

Exam technique: If you feel you failed because you were nervous or your exam technique was bad then consider buying STS and sit mock exams. Try to structure them like real exams with the same timescales and restrictions. This extra familiarity will reduce nerves in the real exam. Don't start taking mock exams until you feel you know all the work. The main thing is to be honest with yourself. It's no point blaming exam nerves if the nerves were induced by the fact you did not revise properly etc.

It's like anything in life, you have to put in the effort. It's easy to convince yourself you've tried hard when actually you spent your time staring into space. Over time the process will become normal to you and learning will be easy, sometimes even fun :)

Cheers

PS. Remember, it's only my opinion!

IMO I would immediately re-study those areas where I scored badly. I would then give myself a break and crack open a few beers until a week or two before the test. From that point re-view all notes from beginning to end.

Not sure if you can do that with 9i exams, I heard they don't give a breakdown so it's harder to work out where you fell down.

I use the STS tests, Couchman and Sybex. Obviously the tests are very good at highlighting where I misunderstood the text or got my experiments wrong but the main advantage is the variety or authors means you are less likely to fall foul of their errors.

Taking A&A next week so let's see if the theory holds.

Cheers

Nick

But don't get addicted to STS.
You have to invent(if you will) your own strategy.
Why you need it?
You got to be able to understand the technology. And beleive me it's far more challenging (and fun) than the certification itself.

I would suggest: Get a box, install oracle, work on it for atleast a few months and then get certified.

All the best.

Tarry

Quote:

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Originally posted by kobe
Then, I would like to ask, if u have failed one of the exam,
what is the most suitable time to study again? immediately after the failed exam or 2 weeks before the day to retake?

thx

KOBE.

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Ummmm, I'd say 30 days at a minimum... why... cause Oracle say's that's why. :)

Anyway, I'm going to join Nick for a few of those beers, they'd better be COLD Nick... :)

[Edited by grjohnson on 09-12-2002 at 06:53 PM]

Mr Johnson

Of course pommy beer is cold *insulted*, never any warmer than 1 degree above body temp !

I guess the study time between exams depends on how badly/well you did on the failed exam.

I always thought the 30 day rule was to make sure you didn't get the same set of questions??

Quote:

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Mr Johnson

Of course pommy beer is cold *insulted*, never any warmer than 1 degree above body temp !

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Ahhh, sweet! So what are we drinking? Stella?.. or the Newcastle Brown Ale?

Hi, all, thanks for all your valuable comments. I believe I will benifit from it. Actually, I just failed to pass my first exam 1Z0-031(9i DBA Fundamentals I). My score is 41 compareing to the 44 passing score...

I use Couchman's book. But most of the questions in that book is single choice. But in my real exam, 70% questions have more than one answers. Is it the case in real exam every time?

Any more tips from you to prepare my next time exam? And any one can pass me the STS for this exam? Thanks again!

My email: [email protected]

Oracle exams do have a number of multi-selection questions.

I haven't been overly impressed by Couchman. But all practice tests can highlight gaps in your knowledge so there is value in them.

BTW You don't get "given" STS. You BUY them from Self Test Software!

Grjohnson. I thought we'd stick to XXXX just to make you feel at home. Not sure how much Stella you Aussies can handle (now there's fighting talk).

I'm suprised Jeffo hasn't edited ly's last post.

Hey Nick, your just lucky you said XXXX and not that Fosters crap :) ... It's the Aussie beer which no-one Aussie I know actually drinks.... and talking about Stella.. on my way to work this morning I saw Stella advertised for AUD$5.50 a Pint... (about 2 Pounds)... it's a real shame the pubs don't open till 10am. *sigh*... If I ever become Prime Minister there's going to be changes I tell ya... LOL!

Later,

ly, try using the Oracle docs - the "Database Administrator's Guide" is probably the best resource for 1Z0-03. Besides, its free!

Hi, Ngdh and Carlaus,

Thanks very much for your reply and advice. ;-)