Re: Oracle for beginner - advice please! (long and uninteresting reply and incidental tirade)
Date: 1998/12/24
Message-ID: <BJmg2.238$xq4.246_at_news.rdc1.ne.home.com>
In article <36803CDC.75F81276_at_itnet.com>, Websurfer <Websurfer_at_itnet.com> wrote:
>Websurfer wrote:
>
>> To all Oracle experts and professionals:
>>
>> I only have a B.S. in Accounting.
>> However, I took COBOL, PASCAL programming in college.
>> Since I graduated, I have been working as a database
>> administrator/programer
>> using PC database softwares like DBASE, FOXPRO & ACCESS.
I've been doing Oracle development, database administration, and a bit of systems architecture for over ten years.
>> I want to enter the Oracle field.
>> Where should I start?
That depends on where you want to go...
Database administration? Development? (In what environment?)
Modeling? FInancials? ad infinitum...
Typical path:
-Spend a few years as a developer, during which you:
Learn SQL*Plus and PL/SQL
Learn at least the basic elements of relational theory (you can skip the relational calculus for now, but know how to recognize and correct violations of third normal form - and when not to.)
Learn one or more of the developmet tools: Pro*C, C++, Java, Oracle Forms, PowerBuilder, etc.
-Spend a few years as a lead developer/applications designer or as a Jr DBA during which time you:
Learn much the rest of the architecture, more advanced tuning considerations, design issues. Just as in academics, the "freshman" year(s) is mostly "general requirements". The "sophmore" year(s) is where you start figuring out where you fit, what you actually like, and "what you want to be when you grow up". The "junior and senior" year(s) are where you start picking up the "core" courses and deeper knowledge in your chosen field of study.
Probably become something of a platform specialist - Unix, NT, web, etc.
Take on more critical design challenges and primary responsibility for (much) larger projects - and learn to recognize the more subtle mistakes you made and their long term effects. (If Lito Tejada-Flores taught Oracle instead of skiing, he would call this "Breaking Out of the Intermediate Rut"!)
-Spend a few years as a Sr DBA, Systems or Application Architect, or some other such technical position or... defect to management!
>> I found a company offering courses in Oracle OCP and Oracle Developer.
>> Which one should I take first?
Is this "Oracle Developer" class generic (eg. SQL, PL/SQL, ...) or is it actually a class in Oracle Developer (i.e. Oracle Forms, Oracle Reports, ...)? You should start by taking to "Introduction to Oracle for Developer's" or some equivalent - a class in SQL*Plus and PL/SQL. Those are the basic building blocks for later stuff.
>> How much do those Oracle classes usually cost?
The classes offered by Oracle are quite expensive. The price depends on a number of things. I usually figure they are roughly $350/day. You might get a mess of training credits with a significant software purchase bundle though. Other sources are usually less expensive.
>> My company is not currently using Oracle but planning to buy Oracle
>> Financial.
Negotiate training credits as part of the package when you do...
>> Which is the chance that a company would hire me after completing some
>> Oracle
>> courses, probably with a Oracle OCP but no real work experience in
>> Oracle
>> and no computer degree?
The lack of a CS degree may keep you out of a few shops, but the degree in accounting is a *BIG* plus in the business world in general. It should be far more useful than a CS degree if you decide to specialize in Oracle Financials, for example (the accountants aren't going to be asking you for Quinn-McClusky diagrams or a finite state analysis anyway!).
(PS:
I have degrees in Physics, Applied Mathematics, and Computer Science.
For most jobs I've had, it wouldn't have mattered much if they had been in Arabian Literature and Ancient History. Analytical skills are great, but most of the dragons you go up against aren't that technical- they are much more likely to be some sort of political or administrative insanity! (Real life example: "Fom now on, all expenditures over $100 must be personally approved by the Vice President of Finance." In a company of over 1000 employees!
You may be a bit overly optimistic about getting the OCP before getting any real experience. Do you really intend to do nothing but take a lot of expensive training and read books, but not actually use the material? If the current OCP tests are worthy of the name at all, this should be nearly impossible. I don't know what your experience really is, so pardon me if this sounds condescending, but Oracle is not Access (or FoxPro or DBase or ...). Sometimes its more like Chaos Theory or perhaps Quantum Mechanics! (--Secondhand quote: "You've got to stop thinking logically, and start thinking Oracley!" -Jim Droppa).
SQL> alter session set flameproof on;
SQL> alter session set opinionated = TRUE;
I don't think I even grasp the concept of a "database administrator" for Access (or FoxPro or DBase or ...). They are truely little league. Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and DB2 are world series contenders. MS-SQL is bragging a lot and threatening to come up from the minors.
(Your opinion will almost certainly vary - no flame wars please.)
-OraSaurus (cron. "when UFI roamed the Earth") Received on Thu Dec 24 1998 - 00:00:00 CET