Re: Is Sr. DBAs afraid of not be able to pass cert exam ??

You are correct in your first point. Being a DBA is not difficult.

Being a competent DBA that is an asset to the organization in which he or she works ... is the equivalent of being a good physician or attorney.

It requires a good education in the basics. A solid apprenticeship. And a willingness to do continuing education.

Daniel Morgan

Keith Boulton wrote:

> In my short and simple opinion:
>
> 1. Most DBAs do not require the level of knowledge shown for instance by
> some participants in this forum. Many DBAs I've worked with try to make out
> that being a DBA is a tremendously difficult job - it isn't.
> 2. DBAs DO need to be able to address new problems/situations as they
> arise - in my experience, this is an attitude, not a skill and is not
> something people learn over time.
> 3. They should never stop learning.
> 4. Certification is a largely pointless exercise because certification tests
> are based on what can easily be measured by computer and so generate a
> profit.
> 5. You cannot tell from the number of years spent doing something if the
> person doing it learnt anything - it is therefore *foolish* to base a
> decision on that, rather than an evaluation (based on a structured
> interview) of a person's skills.
> 6. Attitude is more important than technical skill - a good DBA should look
> at the big picture not just the technical detail of e.g. what is most
> efficient for the database.
>
> Daniel A. Morgan <damorgan_at_exesolutions.com> wrote in message
> news:3C57E9CD.F85B8317_at_exesolutions.com...
> > Thank you for feeling the need to add personal insults ("Then you're a
> fool.
> > Anyone with half a brain") to the group. Couldn't you have possibly posted
> your
> > opinion without dropping into the gutter?
> >
> > And I strongly disagree with your statement "Anyone with half a brain can
> learn
> > everything they need to know about Oracle in a single job in less than a
> year".
> > I doubt there is a single senior Oracle developer or DBA that feels they
> learned
> > everything they needed in three years. In fact the longer I work in Oracle
> the
> > more I realize I don't know.
> >
> > I'd also like to express my agreement with Tom Dyess when he states
> > "Certification exams, ..., require you to know a ton of
> > useless information." That is my opinion too. But not just certification
> exams.
> > Also those canned exams that are sold to HR departments that supposedly
> help
> > determine who is qualified and who is not. They are, at best, laughable.
> >
> > Daniel Morgan
> >
> >
> >
> > Keith Boulton wrote:
> >
> > > > there isn't anything to gain, why bother? If I had a choice of hiring
> > > > someone with 4 years experience and OCP and someone with 10 years of
> solid
> > > > experience, I'd choose the latter every time. The problem with
> > >
> > > Then you're a fool. Anyone with half a brain can learn everything they
> need
> > > to know about Oracle in a single job in less than a year. The only other
> > > thing they need to know is how to find out the stuff they don't yet know
> as
> > > and when they need it.
> > >
> > > After that, it's a matter of what's required for the job: oracle apps,
> data
> > > warehousing, how the client software interacts with the database...
> > >
> > > Most knowledge acquired more than 5 years ago is utterly irrelevant.
> > >
> > > There is no practical difference between 4 and 10 years experience - at
> that
> > > point, the issue is the difference between candidates' understanding,
> talent
> > > and motivation.
> > >
> > > I've worked with many people with 10 years experience which consisted of
> the
> > > first year repeated 10 times.
> >
Received on Thu Jan 31 2002 - 04:58:43 CST