Oracle Master Program ?

I'm interested in the US readers who have supposedly had this program running for a while and what they think of it.

We just had a presentation at Oracle's office over here on the advantages of being a certified Oracle MASTER.

There is no test to prove you've achieved competency.

This MASTER certificate(s) is supposed to make it easier for prospective clients to identify who has the skills they need.

A person can attend all the relevant courses and not learn anything and still get one of these MASTER certificates.

The MASTER certificate applies only to the current version of Oracle and/or its products so you have to renew your certification every time there is an upgrade.

I can't get the MASTERS certificate because I can't afford the time or money to go back and do the "beginners" SQL, "advanced" SQL, "DBA Admin 1&2", "database tuning", etc. courses that I did over 5 years ago when I first became a DBA. I've done all the relevant "upgrade" courses along the way (from Oracle 5 through Oracle7) but they don't recognise anything earlier than JUNE 95 as back credits.

This appears to be simply a gimick by Oracle to get people to do more and more of their expensive courses.

Also, a 3rd party over here provides a DBA certification test which is unrelated to the MASTERs program and in 60 questions are supposed to be able to confirm that you are an excellent DBA or a dunce. Do "clients" actually recognise these credentials in the US?

Your thoughts and comments please.

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   T T T T T T T T        Bruce Pihlamae
   I I I I I I I I        bpihlama_at_nla.gov.au
   I I I I I I I I        National Library of Australia
   T T T T T T T T        Phone: +616 262-1575
  -----------------       Fax:   +616 273-2116
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