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Billy,
It depends upon what you can afford and what the market requires.
Oracle 8i OCP requires 5 tests, but has NO Oracle education requirement. To
upgrade to Oracle 9i you will need to take an upgrade test, plus (since your
OCP is after 9/1/2002) meet the education requirement (e.g. take the upgrade
class).
Oracle 9i OCP requires 4 tests has an one Oracle education (or Oracle
certified education company) requirement.
If prospective employers don't see a difference between 8i and 9i in your area (e.g. many employers in my area have no real interest in 9i other than testing it - one company I dealt with in Houston has no plans to consider 9i before Summer 2004), then the cheaper way might be getting your Oracle 8i OCP. The main cost is the Oracle education requirement with Oracle 9i OCP.
Another thing about an OCP expiring is your OCP doesn't expire, only its status as being current expires. Once you pass the requirements you are an OCP XYZ (e.g. 7, 8, 8i, or 9i) for LIFE. The key is the OCP is not current (e.g. against the current supported release).
Some companies actually look for DBAs with knowledge of older versions of the database. I talked to one company needing Oracle 7 help. They said "Great you know 8i and 9i, but do you know 7. We use 7 and 8, not 8i and 9i and don't want to waste time on someone who expects bla-bla feature to be in Oracle 7, when it isn't there.
So, what should you do? As is much in life, it depends.
For myself, I completed my Oracle 8i OCP after much review AND 4 years 9 months of DBA experience in August 2002. I took my Oracle 9i upgrade exam in November 2002. I did it this way to escape the $1,500-3,000 cost of an Oracle class (more if you have to travel). In my case, the company would NOT pay for the education as my position does NOT require an OCP and they were not scheduling DBA education in 2002. If I was to take the Oracle class, it would be out of my own pocket.
To be honest, an OCP without experience is not of much value. On the other hand, I personally value experience plus an OCP. Why? My DBA experience taught me a great deal, but it was only what we required - nothing more. When I studied to pass the OCP (not knowing what was going to be on the exam), it forced me to study (read and try) areas we never even explored. In fact, I was able to take some of this knowledge to work and use it. In this case, I promoted ONAMES (Oracle Centralized Naming) over what we had been using (TNSNAMES.ORA). (Before someone bring up LDAP, at the time I didn't know about ONAMES going away. Yet, at the same time I still stand by my decision even today since LDAP (even by Oracle's admission) is NOT ready for prime time. There is a recommendation on Metalink basically saying if you are on TNSNAMES today, to go to ONAMES (not LDAP directly) and wait for the next release.) Anyway, management liked the ONAMES idea and the company is on ONAMES today.
Bertram Moshier
Oracle Certified Professional 8i and 9i DBA
http://www.bmoshier.net/bertram
"Billy J.L. Chien" <billy_at_eagle.seed.net.tw> wrote in message
news:b2rsun$9ch$1_at_news.seed.net.tw...
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to know if I pass OCP of O8i exam, it's said the valid date would
> be expired in just a few months. If it's true or not? Somebody just told
me
> to prepare the O9i exam. What should
> I do?!
>
> Best Regards,
> Billy
>
>
Received on Tue Feb 18 2003 - 13:01:16 CST