Becoming an Oracle DBA (part 3)

Hello,

I've been struggling lately because I'd like to make a career change but am not sure which IT field I want to switch to. I'm interested in
Oracle database administration, systems administration, and e-commerce, and I'm trying to figure out which of these areas interests me the most.

I took two classes on databases at the university a while ago, and I enjoyed them very much. Besides this, I don't have any experience with databases.

There are 2 main points that hold me back from going into Database Administration, that is:
1. A lot of overtime or lots of hours involved. 2. High Stress.
In your opinion, to what extent are these two points true? For instance, would you consider
database administration to be one far more stressful than systems administration or other web
related jobs (such as webmastere-commerce expert)?

Also, it sounds like it is hard to find a job as an Oracle DBA when all you have is Oracle's DBA Certification (from OCP) but no exsperience.
My understanding is that, for this reason, people who want to become an Oracle DBA
must first work in some database related job. I have a couple of questions on this:
1. Which jobs would help me gain the necessary experience to later become a DBA?
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2. How long would I have to wait before I can go into DB administration?

Thank you very much for your time,
H_H Received on Mon Oct 16 2000 - 20:04:18 CEST