Re: OCP value - Serious.

From: Doug Coan <dcoan_at_aegonusa.com>
Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2000 14:17:16 GMT
Message-ID: <8a5nd9$ioo$1@nnrp1.deja.com>

In article <Hwjx4.105256$up4.1632924_at_news1.rdc1.ab.home.com>,   "joon" <joopark_at_home.com> wrote:
> Howdy
> When I talk to some(?) people , they claim that MCSE is better than
OCP.
> OK MCSE vs OCP is different area but I don't agreed with that, since
you can
> find 40,000 MSCE , but 8000 OCP.
> Not only that, Oracle is real DATABASE than SQL 7 or ACCESS.
> Certification can't be useful if you don't have real experience , BUT
it
> will find good DBA from weeds.
>
> I think Oracle Corp. has to promote more OCP s. And show power of
Oracle
>
> This is my thought not yours,
>
> JOON
>
>

I am one of 2 OCPs in our company and think the tests are of great value. When I took the sample MSCE exams a few years back, it was pretty much memorization and offered little real world value. (perhaps this has changed) The OCPs are of course some memorazation, but contains a lot of real world questions. I took the time to study the meaning behind the questions and averaged @94%. If the tests had not lent significant real world value, I would have stopped taking them.

As for the number of OCPs. I like that there are few. Some numbers i have heard per the Oracle student web site, salary surveys, job sites...

- less than 10,000 OCPs in the world
- A 65% fauilure rate for all OCP exams
- In our area, about 1500 MSCEs are cranked out each year (My estimate

based on local MSCE training course enrollments) - I have heard from an OCP Oracle that there are only 4 OCPs in total in our local area.
- Average salary for MSCE @ 45K and going dow. For a DBA @ 75K and going up. I bet Oracle ones are at the higher end of the range than sybase, mssql ,etc... Look in your local classified section and compare. - Some OCPs are saying that they are not being required to interview for jobs. While I think this a bad practice, it speaks to the value employers are placing on finding qualified DBAs.

All this tells me that the OCP means something and isn't a pay your money for a certification deal. Some promotion is OK as long as the OCP is not cheapened. I hope that Oracle maintains the high standards and keeps the tests difficult. Quality - not quantity is my point of view. But, would you expect an OCP to say otherwise :-)

My two cents.....

--
Doug Coan
Oracle Certified Professional DBA
AEGON USA
dcoan_at_aegonusa.com

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Before you buy. Received on Wed Mar 08 2000 - 08:17:16 CST