RE: Becoming a DBA questions

As I made the jump from Access to Oracle a couple of years ago, I'll try to answer some of your questions.

1. Salary: Very dependent on where you work and the state of the economy. In my case, I started as a junior DBA with the same salary as a very experienced Access developer. Oracle has much more opportunity for advancement.
2. I would not put in "entry-level" on the resume. Your resume should show your Oracle experience or lack thereof.
3. When I interview for this Oracle DBA position they asked what I knew about Oracle. I said "Nothing, but I do know databases. And I can learn." I explained my experience with Access and Approach. I discussed normalization and indexing. I told them that I teach Access at the local community college part-time.

4a. I still don't have an OCP, but I plan on getting it next year.

4b. IMHO, training is good. Experience is better. Training + experience is best.

6. Depends. Check out:

https://oraclestore.oracle.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=1016 8

You can get a personal edition of 8i for free at the site below. It's quite large so hopefully you have more than a 56K modem and a CD burner to store it:

http://otn.oracle.com/software/content.html

Jerry Whittle
ACIFICS DBA
NCI Information Systems Inc.
jerome.whittle_at_scott.af.mil
618-622-4145

> -----Original Message-----
> From: LBanzali_at_aol.com [SMTP:LBanzali_at_aol.com]
>
> Hi! Here are some new questions that I have but here is some
> background information you'll need to know about me first:
>
> I'm looking into getting into the field of Database Administrating.
> Right now, I have experience with MS Access and have created several
> databases for companies that I have worked with in the past with
> Access.
>
> I'm looking for a jump in my career and the next logical step for me,
> I would think, would be in database field. However, I also have some
> networking knowledge (Cisco certified...). So, I'm looking into the
> advantages of both fields. I have some questions & I'm not sure who
> to ask or where to get my answers. But, here they go:
>
> Questions for a Database Administrator:
>
> 1. What is the average salary range for an entry-level DBA position?
> Or a position for someone who is just starting out as a DBA?
>
> 2. In a job resume, should I request an entry-level position or would
> that set me up for no phone calls?
>
> 3. What are some steps I should take to becoming a DBA w/ the
> background that I have (ie. generated databases w/ MS Access)?
>
> a) Recommended training/education in Los Angeles area?
>
> b) Where do you recommend I study & is online training valuable?
>
> 4. If I could learn Oracle software on my own through Independent
> study (books & reference sites), could this be sufficient enough to go
> about to get a job?
>
> a) Is the OCP certification necessary?
>
> b) If I took this independent study route instead of formal training
> from like a vocational school, would the steps to getting a job (or
> even my OCP certification) be the same? Or would it be more difficult
> without formal training?
>
> 5. What are some valuable books and resources to aid in my training?
>
>
> 6. How much does Oracle9i cost & would it be worth it to get since i
> want to learn? Are there evaluation copies out there that I can get
> my hands on?
>
> 7. What are the basic introductory courses/resources/training I could
> do to learn or get started in DBA training?
>
> 8. Basically, please list the steps you took to become a DBA
> (starting with education/training to job entry) and how you sould
> suggest I should go about starting to learn the fundamentals and then
> more in depth?
>
> Thank you!! I really appreciate your help!!
>
> Please, write to me @
>
> LBanzali_at_aol.com
>
> thanks!!
> smiles & happy new year 2002!!!!
>

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Author: Whittle Jerome Contr NCI
  INET: Jerome.Whittle_at_scott.af.mil

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