Re: Certification

Niall Litchfield wrote:

> "Daniel A. Morgan" <dmorgan_at_exesolutions.com> wrote in message
> news:3B19DEF2.8FBB05A2_at_exesolutions.com...
> > I know it will upset someone in Redwood Shores ... but it would be nice if
 they
> > trashed this OCP money-making gimmick. I don't know of any employer that
 cares.
> > And not once have I ever been asked, or asked, about it in an interview.
 Why
> > would I care whether someone spent a lot of money learning obscure things
 that
> > have little to do with the actual job.
>
> I have to say I disagree with you Daniel.
>
> First there is plenty of evidence from job ads at the very least that
> employers are asking for OCP.
>
> This is a debatable point which could be settled by empirical evidence
> rather than your or my opinion. Oracle believes that it has that evidence
> which is why it states that certified individuals handle 40% more support
> calls and companies which employ them suffer 49% less downtime. This is a
> strong selling point to employers
>
> However I do take issue with the idea that OCP teaches 'obscure things that
> have lttle to do with the actual job'. Lets remind ourselves of some of
> those *obscure* things that are in the syllabus.
>
> Hot and Cold backup procedures.
> What happens when good backups go bad.
> Physical Database layout for performance and security.
> A focused and clear tuning methodology.
> Net8 architecture and optimisation.
>
> If a candidate has passed OCP I'd definitely expect him to understand all
> these areas, It doesn't necessarily mean they'd be good at implementation
> but that is why you'd look for experience as well.
>
> --
> Niall Litchfield
> Oracle DBA
> Audit Commission UK

I can't disagree with you. Oracle does use those arguments to sell the program. But I can tell you that here in Seattle, WA ... I have yet to see a job advertisement in the newspaper or at dice.com with the letters OCP in it. Never been asked about whether I had one. Don't know of another DBA that has.

My evidence may be anecdotal. But then I'm not making millions of dollars selling the program.

As Mark Twain observed:
"There are three types of liars.
Liars
Damned liars
And statisticians"

I believe your percentages come from statisticians. <g>

Daniel A. Morgan Received on Tue Jun 12 2001 - 14:57:49 CDT