Re: Fed Up with being a DBA

Daniel Morgan <damorgan_at_x.washington.edu> wrote in message news:<1063636908.985148_at_yasure>...

> I've learned more about Oracle since I started teaching that I ever
> learned when all I did was use it. When using it
> I only needed to know the minimum functionality set required to do my
> job plus a bit more out of intellectual
> curiosity ...

Hehehe! Now you know how some feel about having to go through all that "manual" stuff for the OCP. Most of it is never used...

> But get in front of a room with 30-40 industry professionals, some with
> Masters degrees and PhDs, all with at
> least 5 years experience in databases, some with 15-20 and you find a
> strong incentive to learn things you never
> though of before.

Yeah, it's great to be a target. I've been out of the public appearance circuit since the kids, about 10 years ago. Wasn't very easy then either...

> nothing this industry can even conceive of that comes close to the level
> of expertise they require to become Board Certified. And I've seen the
> numbers of the percentage they reject ... and it is staggering. Just to
> give you an idea here is a very short list of the more significant hurdles

I can imagine. The wife is a nurse manager and she has to deal daily with this sort of thing, although on a much smaller scale. It's a constant education exercise. It should be no less in our industry, if we want to get the credibility that deserves high salaries. But unfortunately the "certification" training is far from it.

There is no way vendor "certifications" will ever provide this level of training. It is where official educational organizations should be allowed to step in. Like it's been suggested here many times before.

There is a movement in Australia to have these certifications provided by professional associations. I still think it's wrong: most of them are sponsored by makers, which means they'll do whatever the maker wants and that's it. Maybe some form of union?

> Now that is certification.
>

Yes it is. And it has one BIG advantage: the next time some Jithead decides to bad mouth you in public, you can go after them with a legal stick and be assured someone will shut them up for good. Worth it IMO.

> engage in continuing ed. Some developers and DBAs (not all of them of
> course) seem to think that once they have
> a job the only requirement is that they show up.

Quite true. I'm a strong believer that in the absence of government regulation the market will tend to sort itself out: this type of person will fall by the wayside out of normal attrition. However, sometimes a strong stimulus may be needed. I think what is happenning in the IT market now is just one of those instances.

> CAST(MULTISET on their final. And I never covered the syntax in the
> class. They learned to think. Oracle will benefit. And I am immensely
> proud of them.

Precisely. And this is what I do NOT see OCP ever evolving to. As it is, it's a learn-by-rote exercise. I'm using the "learn" word quite inappropriately...

Quick story: Back in the mainframe days, manufacturers provided what I think was the best IT education ever. They had proper budgets for internal education and gave the trainers quite a large degree of freedom in structuring their courses. And education departments were in charge of training not only customers but also employees. Ask HJR how many internal courses was he asked to provide...

Instructors had guidelines, of course. But they were free to decide how much and what went into a course. Which tended to create "centres" of knowledge where very good courses were put together. I remember being told by my manager to apply for an internals OS course in Belgium. Because the instructor and course there were the best available anywhere. Those were four of the most intense weeks of my life. Still remember EVERY single day of them. Never regretted it (if nothing else because the beer over there *is* superb!).

And you didn't just get a job as a trainer. In order to become one, you had to have been in the industry for decades and be recognized as an expert in a subject. Which in time *might* qualify you to become a trainer in that subject, if you really knew how to teach others in the field. You were under constant evaluation. Three bad course feedbacks and it was straight back to field support!

Some of the best education in IT was available then from the manufacturers themselves. In fact, it was a major factor in selecting a company to work for. Then Novell, the supermini makers and M$ came along and decided to "certify" and outsource the whole thing. It's been a sad joke ever since...

> And all in say 500-600 pages? ;-)
>

WTH, this thread is half way there...
<G>

Cheers
Nuno Souto
wizofoz2k_at_yahoo.com.au.nospam Received on Mon Sep 15 2003 - 17:31:30 CDT