Re: Perspective Oracle DBA

aphlix wrote:
> I have a question for everyone. I am about to attend a 6 month course at SMU
> for UNIX Admin/Oracle DBA. Basically they teach the first 5 tests for
> Oracle DBA certification (forgive me if I sound like I don't know what I am
> talking about because I don't know a thing about oracle). After I take this
> course, what do you suppose my chances of getting a Junior DBA position
> somewhere? (the course are part of the Workforce Development Program from
> Oracle and they exceed the minimums from Oracle)
>
> Thanks

As you probably know, landing a job isn't an exact science. There is another thread in this NG about what questions to ask a potential DBA. If there's anything you can learn from that thread it's that you'll be interviewed by a human, not a computer ... and every human seems to have their own agenda.

There's no definitive answer to your question. I've been an Oracle DBA for more years than I care to admit ... and I couldn't answer some of the questions with ease in that thread. Of course, part of the problem is I'm usually so petrified during an interview that my mind draws a blank when I'm expected to know practically everything the interview panel knows - usually they hit you with more than one interviewer. And each expects you to know everything they consider important.

I guess I've been lucky ... I don't need to use a lot of the skills that thread expects of a potential DBA. I don't know when the last time was I had to recover a database. I was a consultant with Oracle for a while and my phone interview lasted 2 hours while the interviewer went thru what must have been his workbook from an Oracle class, asking me things like what's the max size of a VARCHAR2 field?

But a Junior DBA is a different kind of job. I personally know three or four Junior DBAs who got jobs recently, even with the dismal job market. Until we are interviewed by computers, I think it's most important to develop people skills when you go in for that interview. Received on Fri Oct 25 2002 - 10:52:33 CDT