Re: Fed Up with being a DBA

Noons wrote:

>A similar idea to yours was put together by a uni professor over here
>quite a few years ago. Oracle basically shot it to pieces with the OCP stuff.
>The guy got so discouraged he threw the whole thing down the drain. I've since
>talked to another who would be interested in picking it up from where
>G.Feuerlicht left it.
>

Then perhaps we should all talk. We don't need Oracle's permission to certify truly qualified people and it
would help them if employers could distinguish between those that crammed for an exam and those that can
actually do the job. All it would require is putting together a committee of true experts and making sure that no one was certified just to put money into some bank account.

>But the level of interest for this from the UG and Oracle is basically
>nill. The former, because there is no potential sponsorship $$$ in it for them.
>The latter, because there is no tangible short-term profit in it.
>

This is a marketplace where the buyers are corporations, government agencies, etc. If they perceived that a
certification had value that would be the driving force. The critical step to being successful would be the
industry recognition that those that climbed over the hurdle were actually competent.

>If any1 knows how to turn this around and how to make this viable economically
>(not profitable, just viable) without "corporate" sponsors and private
>"certificates", I'll be happy to help. Can't do much more where I'm stuck now.
>

I think there is enough horse-power here to have a shot at it.

>>Perhaps we need to get together a handful of people in the States, UK,
>>Oz, etc. and put something together that has real meaning. And do it to
>>improve our industry ... not just as a revenue source. The minute it
>>goes from being a non-profit to
>>a for-profit the incentive is to crank as many people through as are
>>willing to write a check. And that is the reason why
>>previous certification programs have little or no meaning.
>>
>>
>
>Too true. But I think it needs to have at least a solid foundation. So
>it won't *need* to resort to profit. I've been racking my brains
>for years trying to figure out a way of achieving it. Short of getting
>a religion, a party, a charity or a union involved, I see no
>other way of doing it. Someone better than me will find one, I'm sure.
>

The medical board had its Board of Directors meeting last week so I won't be able to find anyone for a week
or two, they are all on vacation. But I will find out how they got their start and get back to you. Others have
successfully done it. And in the area of medical boards I can tell you there was obviously no industry sponsorship because there is no "industry" that benefits: Just the patients.

>Get the Oracle rep to recommend one of their ex-employees to be
>the "new dba" to rubber stamp all this. Get the IT manager on side to pass
>all this through the TCO brigade. Who will gobble anything that reads "M$" anyway.
>
>I can't stop thinking there were some very serious "side-incentives"
>going on in this one! Safe as apples, it went ahead. Sure as the Sun
>coming out every morning, it carked after the first week. Haven't heard
>from the Oracle "rep" since. Probably enjoying his "commission" on
>the placement of the "dba". Or promoted to VP of something.
>
>Meantime, M$ is in there being the "hero" that fixes the mess.
>When before they didn't have a foot in the door.
>I wonder how much of this sort of thing ever reaches Larry's ears...
>

Unfortunately not enough.

>>to generate sample data that simulated the airplane configuration
>>process. I got the short straw. ;-)
>>
>>
>
>Hehehe! You could spell the darn name, couldn't ya? :D
>Seriously: know exactly what you mean.
>

Wrote a package full of functions and procedures and a lot of DBMS_JOBs that took a pool of existing airlines and simulated them buying and configuring an airplane. You want how many 747s and 767s? Which galley model? Which engines? How many seats? .... etc. When you have an airplane like the 747 with 1.2 million or so parts ... it can be quite an interesting exercise.

-- 
Daniel Morgan
http://www.outreach.washington.edu/ext/certificates/oad/oad_crs.asp
http://www.outreach.washington.edu/ext/certificates/aoa/aoa_crs.asp
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace 'x' with a 'u' to reply)