Re: Total oracle newbie

On Tue, 11 Feb 2003 14:07:54 +0000, Jeff wrote:

> How difficult is it to have a competent instructor (at least one, if not ten)
> review the curriculum before it's distributed, so that course instructors
> aren't having to teach AROUND the course materials instead of from them? Why
> shouldn't customers expect that their Oracle training will be top-notch,
> rather than having to grill some salesman about the instructor (if you even
> have the opportunity to do so) to find out if he's competent? If he's not,
> why is he still teaching?
>

Because we live in an imperfect world.

Ideally, the second-most expensive purchase most of us make (I mean a car, not Oracle training!) would never go wrong, and wouldn't even *need* a warranty. But they do, so you take precautions such as warranties.

On the same lines, I personally think everyone should find out about their prospective instructor before going on a course (even if the course was booked by someone else on your behalf). And on the day, everyone has the right to walk out and re-schedule for another time for no reason other than that you feel the instructor isn't good for *you*:

Training involves people; and sometimes, people just don't get on. I've probably irritated a good few students in my time, just by being me. You can't learn properly if you're sitting there fuming about the instructor's accent, hair, bad breath, choice of Armani suit, whatever. So visit the reception desk and (politely) reschedule.

In other words, Oracle doesn't (I think) have really *incompetent* trainers in the sense of complete no-hopers who haven't a clue. But some trainers plod, some flit round the course material like a blow-fly on speed, and so on: whatever you get, it might not be right for you, and since you're paying for it, you should exercise your right of choice until you get a better 'fit'. It doesn't mean the instructor you're avoiding isn't exactly right for someone else.

So yes, Oracle customers do have the right to expect quality training, but (like a car warranty) there are precautions *you* should take just in case, and there are mechanisms to deal with occasions when for one reason or another it doesn't happen.

The people who write the course material, by the way, are all undoubtedly extremely competent. But that doesn't mean they don't have to skate over some issues which are capable of sparking a religious war if subject to close debate (witness what goes on here on certain topics, such as the right block size or the need to separate indexes from tables): courses last a finite number of days, and the material has to fit accordingly! Sometimes that means writing things which are 'generally' true, but not always specifically accurate. If you get an instructor who's willing to look into some of those subjects, it's a bonus, not a sign that the material is necessarily bad. For the same reason, not all instructors get to preview the material before release because it would never be released if they did!

And also, speaking from personal prior experience, not everyone who is good at delivering training is good at writing (or advising on) training material.

Regards
HJR Received on Tue Feb 11 2003 - 08:28:26 CST