Re: How do I become an Oracle DBA?

In article <Qpsz2.5221$po.2141_at_c01read02.service.talkway.com>, "Robert Shanks" <robnanshanks_at_sprynet.com> wrote:
>I'm an engineer in the (collapsing) mining industry looking for a
>carreer change. I need to find a career that will get me back to
>$60K/year fast. Oracle DBA seems to fit the bill. I'm quite
>proficient in MS Access but have no Oracle experience.
>
>Question 1: is there a big difference in complexity of say Oracle 8 and
>Access? - is it reasonable for me to think I can get up to speed on
>Oracle 8 without using it day in day out.

Access and Oracle are radically different! It is not reasonable to assume that you can "get up to speed" to the point of becoming a DBA without using it day in and day out (and night in and night out!).

>Question 2: Are the Oracle CD ROM tutorials really effective assuming
>no other Oracle exposure - can I pass the certification exams using
>only the CD ROMs?

My personal opinion of the CBTs from Oracle is that they are pure junk. They are extremely tedious, often incorrect, and they "flunk" you for things that are totally irrelevant. Example, in most of them, you must type in the answer in all upper case or it claims you are wrong, even though SQL*Plus is case insensitive! Don't waste your money!!! (I evaluated them for a previous job and recommended against them. The company bought them anyway. Only a few people ever tried them and they all gave up in frustration. My ex-boss at my current company spent an entire year's training budget (~$50,000) on the damned things to "stretch the training dollars"). I was pissed, but thought I'd give them another chance. They are actually WORSE now! (And every other DBA I know who has tried them has said the suck also.) So they sit in a huge box collecting dust - they don't even rate shelf space.

>Question 3: Are the CD ROM tutorials availale used (parting with that
>$6K would kill me right now) - is that even legal, are they licenced
>only to the original purchaser?

See above. Don't bother. The CBT's are just Oracle Education marketing hype with no real value. Buy a book for <= $50 and get a far better deal.

>Question 4: If the answers to Q3 are favorable, where would I find a
>seller?
>
>Question 5: Assuming I'm pretty smart and work a couple of hours a day
>on the tutorials, how long till I'm a "certified Oracle proffesional"?

A "couple of hours a day"? Hmmmm... Maybe about 5 years....

>Question 6: Assuming I bust ass, pass the exams and get certification,
>will someone give me a job with no actual DBA experience and no coding
>/ programming knowledge.

Probably. I know of one person who took the Intro class, the DBA class, the tuning class, the backup class - and didn't really understand any of it. They then spent about 3 months writing truely atrocious SQL, then managed to get a job with a national consulting company - as the world's worst consulting DBA! (In this job market, people can sometimes get away with anything. I recently had one $200/hr "database consultant" ask me what an "entity" is! REALLY!)

>Any advice from someone who has some experience in the above would be
>much appreciated.
>
>Regards
>
>Robert Shanks

Get some real experience developing for Oracle - SQL, PL/SQL, Pro*C, Java (?), or whatever language you already have some experience in. Study the books, but really focus on finding an on-the-job mentor and on learning the basic material. Also learn some operating system fairly well. Most of the high-end (thus well-paying) Oracle DBA jobs on on Unix.

Good luck! (But remember, this isn't like learning Access - its more like learning Quantum Electrodynamics! There is a *LOT* to it!)

BTW: I spent six years as a developer, systems analyst, and application systems architect (using Oracle, SQL*Forms, PL.SQL, and Pro*C) before deciding to become a full-time DBA, but two or three years in some sort of programmer/analyst role is more common.

ALSO: I am the senior DBA at a major company whose most critical systems are almost all Oracle-based (just the hardware for the dedicated database servers is worth $millions). My last job was essentially Oracle DBA/database_engineer doing R&D. And I've never even been asked about certification. Experience, a proven track record, and word of mouth is worth *far* more than all the fancy paper you can buy from Oracle Corporation!

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