Re: 1Z0-020 Oracle8i: New Features for Administrators test

In article <ah8054$sbp$1_at_lust.ihug.co.nz>, "Howard says...
>
>Tell me about it!
>
>As one teaching 9i New Features fairly early on, it was a bit of a shock to
>come across Chapter 20... Advanced Replication!!! And the last time I taught
>that in the 8i syllabus was.... er, ... er,...
>
>So, yup: you can certify on 9i without knowing anything about AR. But to
>*upgrade* to the same certification, AR is a must.
>
>It's daft, I agree.
>
>Regards
>HJR
No, all that means is that I'm more valuable as an "upgraded OCP" than a "non-upgrade OCP"! ;)

Seriously, I'm not sure if that's ever been raised with the certification folks, but I tend to think of it this way. Let's say I go for a job as a DBA. If it gets raised as an interview question, I can say "yes I'm an OCP, including 7.3, 8.0, 8i and 9i" because that's all the exams I've done. Someone else goes for the same job and they say "yes I'm a 9i OCP". That SHOULD be a pointer at least to the interviewers that I'm more experienced with Oracle than the person who's only done the 9i certification, yes?

Now, let's go back to the certification process itself. I did the 7.3 exams when they were beta (so many years ago I don't want to remember it). Once I've done those, should I need testing on the basics (that I've already proven I can do) or should I be tested on the new and sometimes more advanced features that as a theoretically more experienced DBA I should have an understanding of?

I'm not saying it's ideal, and yes there should be a differentiation between an "upgraded OCP" and a "non-upgrade OCP", but I think they're testing this the right way. It's more a problem with how you can tell which path an OCP has taken.

Pete
>
>
>"Richard Foote" <richard.foote_at_bigpond.com> wrote in message
>news:fHKZ8.38223$Hj3.115105_at_newsfeeds.bigpond.com...
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Just an example of how silly some of these exams are.
>>
>> When you become certified at a particular level (say 8i) all the exams are
>> primarily based on the "standard" bread 'n butter concepts. Although there
>> are some version specific questions, much of the new stuff is simply not
>> covered. There are *no* partitioning questions in the standard 8i exams.
>> Only the 8i upgrade exams covers many of these new topics (such as
>> partitioning).
>>
>> The main reason for this is that the exams are based entirely on the
>> corresponding Oracle courses. The standard courses simply can't cover all
>> the new features, hence they are not in the exams. The new features are
>> mainly concentrated in the new feature courses hence the upgrade exams are
>> always going to be much "harder" and content rich.
>>
>> Therefore you have the scenario where one OCP may potentially have
>> absolutely no knowledge of basic concepts of the DB (such as partitioning)
>> why another OCP *at the same level* has had to answer these questions
>> (because they upgraded).
>>
>> Work that one out.
>>
>> Richard
>> "Van Messner" <vmessner_at_bestweb.net> wrote in message
>> news:ujbr1psgh37u72_at_corp.supernews.com...
>> > It's not that it is harder, it's that it concentrates on just a few
>areas
>> of
>> > Oracle. So you have to know those areas in much more detail than you
>> would
>> > if you took the "regular" 8i tests.
>> >
>> > "Warren" <Warren_at_Lieu.org> wrote in message
>> > news:c51c5950.0207091040.72ee2c3e_at_posting.google.com...
>> > > How hard is the above test compares to the non-upgrade series?
>> > >
>> > > Also, am looking to buy STS's 1Z0-020 Oracle8i: New Features for
>> > > Administrators software. Contact me at Warren_at_Lieu.org with your
>> > > asking price. Thanks.
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>

HTH. Additions and corrections welcome.

Pete

SELECT standard_disclaimer, witty_remark FROM company_requirements; Received on Fri Jul 19 2002 - 11:26:40 CDT