Re: How to confirm someone is an OCP?

Hi Sean,

You have summed up perfectly what is good about the OCP program, so good on you. If it motivates you to go out and learn, and study and explore different aspects of the database then that's all a positive. If at the end of the process you're better trained and qualified, then again that can only be a good thing.

I worked for Oracle University for many years and I understand the importance of training and getting the technical foundations right. And if OCP encourages people to be trained (or research and develop skills in others ways) then that's a plus.

BUT note all the various issues and concerns regarding the obtaining and relevance of the OCP status.

One last point. Don't be embassressed by being an OCP. If you're a Kylie Minogue fan yes, but not an OCP. Note I've been an OCP since it first come out and I've upgraded ever since. Why, because work (Oracle) paid for it and because it was kind of expected from Oracle that I be certified. Am I a better DBA or instructor as a result, not in the slightest but it does mean I can speak about this with some knowledge.

The "Hi I'm Richard and I'm a OCP" line got me nowhere either. My wife married me because of my good looks and charming personality (and the blind dog took a liking to me :)

Regards

Richard

"Sean McKeown" <smckeownNO_at_BACKSIESearthlink.net> wrote in message news:3D2D0DFB.8C5CA945_at_BACKSIESearthlink.net...
> "Howard J. Rogers" wrote:
> >
> > >*Oracle Certified
> > > Professional" strongly implies you are more than a possible new comer
to
> > > Oracle.
> >
> > It implies you are a P-plater, with no more right to drive on God's good
> > earth than an earthworm with wings. It implies you had more money than
> > sense, or a generous and short-sighted employer.
> >
> > OK, sarcasm mode off. I truly wish we could put this one to bed.
> >
> > So, OK here goes for nothing.
> >
> > No-one who values their professional reputation would bother doing OCP,
and
> > if they did it for the purposes of job hunting (where it might prove
useful,
> > because as we all know, there's one born every minute, and they're
usually
> > in HR), they'd keep very quiet about it when it comes to the business of
> > exchanging technical know-how amongst other competent DBAs. There are
> > members of this very group who fit that pattern rather well, in fact.
>
> <begin 12-step program background music>
>
> Hello, my name is Sean, and I am an Oracle Certified Professional DBA.
>
> <after all, the first step is admitting you have a problem over which
> you have no control, right? ;) >
>
> I bothered doing OCP. I was young, I needed the money. No, seriously,
> my employer 1) paid for the courses, 2) paid for the tests, 3) heavily
> encouraged me to study and pass it. Why? Partly because they got a
> good deal on the courses/tests. But I think mostly because I was in the
> Consulting arm of the company at the time and they liked to have X
> number of resumes plastered w/OCP at the top to show prospective
> clients, presumably to impress (no comment). Seemed like a OK deal to
> me at the time (this was shortly after the OCP program was announced...
> 4 or so years ago?).
>
> Do I typically announce my OCP-ness in dealings with other Oracle
> professionals? No. ("Hi, I'm Sean, did I mention I'm OCP?" - yeah,
> that'd go over real well.) But that doesn't mean I'm embarrassed by it
> either. If it comes up in conversation, I don't deny it. I still have
> it on my resume (but not highlighted at the top, mind you). I've never
> felt it has made me a black sheep in the DBA community (though reading
> this newsgroup has got me wondering...), nor do I feel it has helped me
> much job hunting. I don't think it's quite so terrible as many in this
> group make it out to be. It's just a test. I took it and passed it.
> Others didn't take it. Still others took it and failed. That's all,
> nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't mean I'm an expert at anything.
> But here's the real question: Did the process make me a better DBA?
> Yes. Yes it did. A *much* better DBA? No. But a little better, yes.
> Sitting through the classes and forcing myself to study the material
> surely did no harm, and definitely exposed me to some features and ideas
> I would have otherwise not been exposed to in my daily work (at least
> not right away). OK, more correctly - the classes exposed me to the new
> features/techniques/ideas, while studying for the tests meant I actually
> *remembered* some of what I was taught.
>
> So. There it is. It's not so bad. But no, if it hadn't been free, I
> wouldn't have done it.
>
> Regards,
> Sean "P-plater" M
Received on Thu Jul 11 2002 - 00:34:13 CDT