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RE: How to break into DBA/Systems work without going broke doing

From: Hillman, Alex <Alex.Hillman_at_usmint.treas.gov>
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 11:32:45 -0800
Message-ID: <F001.002DBF7C.20010329112213@fatcity.com>

And usually the more DBA is knowledgeable - the more s/he is open to answer questions. I have one friend (she is a developer, never did any DBA work, went to Cancun for a week with Oracle course materials and passed OCP tests in couple of weeks after that). She asked their DBA about values of some of the parameters and 10 Minutes after that read access to parameter file was revoked. One of variation of this is not to give access to v$ views etc.

Alex Hillman

        -----Original Message-----
        From:   Jeffery Stevenson [SMTP:jeff_at_mpv.com]
        Sent:   Thursday, March 29, 2001 1:00 PM
        To:     Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
        Subject:        RE: How to break into DBA/Systems work without going
broke doing
          I started out as a Pro*C developer and helped out our help desk on
        rotation when our product was released.  This was the help desk that
fielded
        all the questions that the administrators out at all the sites
needed help
        finding answers to...kinda like this list (well except that I
couldn't pick
        and choose which questions I would answer).   :)  Anyways, since I
did such
        a wonderful job helping the admins get their problems resolved, they
asked
        me to help our DBA team out by developing utilities to ease the
burden of
        managing and propagating changes to the 1250 Oracle v6 instances we
had.
        Then one day the boss of a friend of mine (who I had been helping
with some
        Oracle problems he had run into) called and asked if I would be
interested
        in helping with their current project of migrating mainframe apps to
        Oracle...and after all the hassle of getting me over to his
organization, I
        became the primary DBA and Developer2000 person.  
          As for becoming a DBA and easing the transition, one way is to
become
        friendly with any DBAs you know (preferably where you work at or at
least
        nearby)...show interest in what they do and see if they'll show you
stuff.
        Ask them if you can sit in when they do a reorg late at night or
over the
        weekend (well, if you can't sacrifice your salary, then you
generally have
        to give up some time).  Don't ask too many questions or get in the
        way...just watch and take notes (and then try it on your own on a
test box
        somewhere which will answer most of the questions anyways, but if
you still
        have questions, you can ask them about it now and get better
responses
        because there isn't any crunch-time pressure involved).  Network and
chat
        with DBAs all around about Oracle stuff and when they go to hire a
new DBA
        you just might have a chance that they remember you and might give
you a
        call to see if you're interested.  Despite appearances sometimes,
we're
        mostly a friendly lot.  :)

        Jeffery Stevenson
        Chief Database Geek
        Medical Present Value, Inc.
        Austin, TX


        -----Original Message-----
        Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 10:31 AM
        To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
        it?


        OK, now I have to ask a question.  How did you(general) break into
the DBA
        business?  I'm not currently a DBA, I've installed a few development
        instances with the help of the NT dbassitant, tried looking for work
as a
        DBA a couple of years ago, then realized how much I didn't know and
in many
        ways was glad I didn't get a job as a DBA.  Now, I'm playing 8.1.5
on
        Solaris, but really, I'm not cutting my salary in half in order to
break
        into the systems side of the house, so how does a person move from
        development to systems without going broke in the process?

        PS - I have some ideas, but I'm curious about your ideas.

        Dan

        -----Original Message-----
        Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 11:11 AM
        To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L


        Cherie,

            OK, point well taken, so "silver bullet" would translate into
"the one
        item
        that will succeed when no other does", "magic formula".  

        And, no he never did say he had an OCP, but he did say he was taking
a
        "course"
        to get his OCP.  To me having an OCP certificate without any
experience is
        totally meaningless.  All it tells me is that you can memorize
information
        and
        take a test.  It does not tell me that you'll hold up in a crisis or
that
        you
        really understand the consequences of your actions.  That experience
speaks
        volumes more.  Now someone with a number of years experience AND an
OCP
        certificate is a different matter altogether.  Consequently my
question, are
        new
        people looking at the OCP as the gateway into a position that they
could not
        otherwise get?

        BTW: I'm not trying to either criticize or "brow beat" Xing.  If
that
        impression
        has been left, then I apologize.  He asked a question, similar ones
I field
        in
        house each day, and he was given an answer that is similar to the
ones I
        hand
        out to my developers although I'd have given him the page number too
and a
        whole
        lot less trash than Xing has gotten from this list.  In my mind that
is
        sufficient to the purpose.  Now if that creates additional
questions, a much
        longer dissertation on the results is in order.


        Dick Goulet

        ____________________Reply Separator____________________
        Author: Cherie_Machler_at_gelco.com
        Date:       3/29/2001 6:35 AM


        Dick/Lee/Joe,

        I'm not trying to defend him but unless I have not yet recieved
        a post in my mail, Xing never said he had an OCP.   Plus, Lee,
        I think you may need to define "silver bullet".  It probably doesn't
        translate for people who don't use English as a second language.

        Cherie Machler
        Gelco Information Network
        (really too busy this morning migrating a database to be sticking my
nose
        where it doesn't belong)




        dgoulet_at_vicr.com_at_fatcity.com on 03/29/2001 08:00:45 AM

        Please respond to ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com

        Sent by:  root_at_fatcity.com


        To:   Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com>
        cc:



        Lee & Joe,

            While I do agree that is possible one should try to figure these
things
        out,
        and this really is a simple one, there does come a time when asking
for
        help is
        appropriate.  In this case Lee's answer is very much so.  As far as
taking
        an
        OCP course, that does torque my jaws.  Over the last two years we
must have
        had
        10 people looking for a job who's only mention of Oracle on their
resume is
        that
        they have their OCP certificate.  Needless to say, not a one of them
has
        been
        invited in for an interview.  I'll ask the question that's been
bugging me
        for
        some time, Xing, do you think this is some kind of "silver bullet"
to
        getting a
        job?

        Dick Goulet

        ____________________Reply Separator____________________
        Author: "Joseph S. Testa" <teci_at_oracle-dba.com>
        Date:       3/29/2001 4:05 AM

        Lee, i'm with you 200%,


        oh and for the original addressee(and others) if you can't figure
out
        what the heck that simple pl/sql block is doing(or where to figure
it
        out), then quit diluting the OCP worthiness,  people who study just
to
        take the OCP and have no experience just go to further the waste of
        paper that the certificate is printed on.  :)


        joe

        lerobe - Lee Robertson wrote:

>
> Xing,
>
> Have a look at the documentation, specifically, Application
Developers
> Guide, section dealing with "Using Procedures and Packages".
>
> No disrespect intended but sometimes, certainly for questions such
as this,
> you will learn a heck of a lot more by digging around in the docs,
and
> reading (and working out) the answer for yourself. That is
certainly my
> experience. You will also fell encouraged to delve further and
learn more
> about other packages etc. Hope my pointer will help you.
>
> To the rest of you - I know it would have been quicker to write
down the
> answer to Xings question, but what will he have learned about the
general
> syntax ??
>
> Regards
>
> Lee
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Sent: 29 March 2001 07:05
> To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
>
> Hi DBAs and SAs,
>
> Can someone tell me what is this ORACLE PL/SQL Script all about,..
> Ya... I know I have to read alot, my OCP course will start next
month.
>
> BEGIN
> dbms_utility.analyze_schema ( '&OWNER', 'ESTIMATE', NULL, 5 ) ;
> END ;
> /
>
> Thank you
>
> Xing
>
-- Joe Testa http://www.oracle-dba.com Performing Remote DBA Services, need some backup DBA support? For Sale: Oracle-dba.com domain, its not going cheap but feel free to ask :) -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Joseph S. Testa INET: teci_at_oracle-dba.com Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: dgoulet_at_vicr.com Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: Cherie_Machler_at_gelco.com Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: dgoulet_at_vicr.com Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). _____________________________________________________________________ This e-mail message has been scanned for the presence of all known computer viruses by the MessageLabs Virus Control Center. However, it is still recommended that you use local virus scanning software to monitor for the presence of viruses. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Dasko, Dan INET: Dan.Dasko_at_cdicorp.com Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Jeffery Stevenson INET: jeff_at_mpv.com Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
-- 
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-- 
Author: Hillman, Alex
  INET: Alex.Hillman_at_usmint.treas.gov

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Received on Thu Mar 29 2001 - 13:32:45 CST

Original text of this message

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