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Re: Increasing certifications on oracle database, could increase reliability on dbas

From: <ryan_gaffuri_at_comcast.net>
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:09:36 +0000
Message-Id: <101020061809.28025.452BE1E0000665EC00006D792207022933079D9A00000E09A1020E979D@comcast.net>


Communicationa nd writing skills become more important when you move into design and architecture role. I do architecture now and I spend most of my time writing documents and going to meetings.

It is far more difficult than most people think to write a document that a group of technical, semi-technical, and non-oracle people can understand. I find that my first few drafts leave out alot of steps that seem obvious to me. Then I have to get it reviewed and have people say "I don't know what you mean" and then I have to re-write it yet again(usually several times).

 Articulation of complex technical concepts to people, particularly to management and non-Oracle people is very difficult. It's also hard to take a basic idea and turn it into a realistic and practical design that fits into your current environment. Plus includes an implementation plan, level of effort, and an impact analysis.

I think the #1 intangible is a willingness to learn new things as necessary and on your own time. I am not just talking about Oracle material. If you work in a system with a java front end and you are doing database development, you should be able to at a minimum read the java code and communicate with the java developers, etc... I find a surprisingly small number of people willing to do this. I think it's because you get a comfort level and command of your primary skill set and it's just plain hard to learn something new. You are back to being a novice and have to stumble all over again.

> useful here. The "higher" up the scale you go, the more intangible the
> skills you are looking for. Communication , problem solving ,
> leadership and so-on. technical skills become more of a 'should be
> evidenced' requirement.
>
> On 10/10/06, Kevin Closson wrote:
> > >>>Knowledge can be learned or refreshed by dipping into a book
> > >>>or website but all the knowledge in the world about Oracle
> > >>>isn't going to help you if the problem is on the network,
> > >>>the OS or the thing connecting the chair to the keyboard.
> > >>>Good problem solving skills take longer to learn and can be
> > >>>applied more generally.
> >
> > ... to analogize, I draw upon the skill of telling time. Certifications
> > only prove you know what time it is.
> >
> > ... I always look at it this way. I'd rather work with someone
> > that knows how a clock works, and how to tell time, than someone
> > who knows what time it is. I have recruited many senior software
> > engineers over the years and that principle has always paid off.
> > I also rejected loads of candidates that had certifications and
> > degrees well beyond anything I can claim. In fact, my personal
> > experience is that heavily certified/degreed personnel tend
> > to not deliver in the commercial world. Back to the time telling
> > analogy, the overly certified/degreed personnel tend to
> > toil with the metallurgy of the clock, as it were, more than they
> > should.
> >
> > --
> > http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Niall Litchfield
> Oracle DBA
> http://www.orawin.info
> --
> http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l
>
>

--
http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l
Received on Tue Oct 10 2006 - 13:09:36 CDT

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