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Home -> Community -> Usenet -> c.d.o.misc -> Re: How'd you start w\ Oracle
On Tue, 5 May 1998 13:20:53 -0700, Scott Dunn <scott.dunn_at_eds.com> wrote:
>I am curious how some of you got your start in working with Oracle. I am
>currently working with PowerBuilder, but the only opportunities I see with
>Oracle require previous experience with Oracle.
Around 1983 I was working for a place that decided to evaluate several database engines. I advocated the one I knew, of course. Since I had relational experience, I was able to come up amazingly (to the guy in charge) fast on Oracle and Ingres. Things were a little simpler in those days. Oracle and Ingres proved to be 2-3 x faster than Datatrieve (based on DEC's hierarchical RMS file structure), and the one I championed screwed up the demo. They decided on Datatrieve, so I became a Wombat. Not long after, I went back to the 3GL world as an RMS expert. Every place I went I tried to convince that R technology was the way things were going, but it was easier for salespeople to sell RMS packages, so I bided my time as an indie RMS expert.
By '89 it became obvious to me that Oracle was the way to go, so I took a job with a big company that had a contract with the government to convert a legacy (Unify) system to Oracle. That got me 5, 6, and 7 experience, as well as unix, and some big bucks on some other legacy systems later (which I still am turning down in favor of Oracle work). Since '93 I've just been "the Oracle guy" wherever I go. I still think Rdb is better, technically, but now that's an Oracle product too!
As a Powerbuilder person, you're likely to eventually find a place that either will be amenable to train you on another similar package to use Oracle, or uses Powerbuilder and doesn't much care that you don't yet have paid Oracle experience. There's a shortage of Oracle people, and most companies have to go through a budgeting process where they can't do anything until the budget is approved, then have to scramble for people when they do. That scrambling is your opportunity - at first they say they only want people experienced with Oracle, then they get desperate when they see how hard it is to get good people. Some larger companies actually understand this ahead of time, and may be looking for someone just like you they can train - I had to support many people like that when I had a support job, so I know it happens, but I've never been that lucky with Oracle! One person I worked with on that contract mentioned above wound up getting a high paid job with the GSA, plus about 20 grand worth of O training. <sigh>
Most of the people I know in the Oracle world fell into it at some point while working on something else.
If you get a MSCS and know C, then you can work for Oracle Corp (or any of the others, for that matter) and get all the training from them, then write your own ticket.
Of course, with Compaq about to lay off about 15,000 Digital employees, all bets are off.
Good Luck!
>
>Thanks,
>Scott
>
>
--
These opinions are my own and not necessarily those of Information Quest
jgarry@eiq.com http://www.informationquest.comhttp://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/joel_garry "See your DBA?" I AM the @#%*& DBA! Received on Fri May 08 1998 - 12:41:01 CDT
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