Re: Certification

"Daniel A. Morgan" <Daniel.Morgan_at_attws.com> wrote in message news:3B26743D.3EB35776_at_attws.com...
> Niall Litchfield wrote:
>
> > "Daniel A. Morgan" <dmorgan_at_exesolutions.com> wrote in message
> > news:3B19DEF2.8FBB05A2_at_exesolutions.com...
> > > I know it will upset someone in Redwood Shores ... but it would be
 nice if
 they
> > > trashed this OCP money-making gimmick. I don't know of any employer
 that
 cares.
> > > And not once have I ever been asked, or asked, about it in an
 interview.
 Why
> > > would I care whether someone spent a lot of money learning obscure
 things
 that
> > > have little to do with the actual job.
> >
> > I have to say I disagree with you Daniel.
> >
> > First there is plenty of evidence from job ads at the very least that
> > employers are asking for OCP.
> >
> > This is a debatable point which could be settled by empirical evidence
> > rather than your or my opinion. Oracle believes that it has that
 evidence
> > which is why it states that certified individuals handle 40% more
 support
> > calls and companies which employ them suffer 49% less downtime. This is
 a
> > strong selling point to employers
> >
> > However I do take issue with the idea that OCP teaches 'obscure things
 that
> > have lttle to do with the actual job'. Lets remind ourselves of some of
> > those *obscure* things that are in the syllabus.
> >
> > Hot and Cold backup procedures.
> > What happens when good backups go bad.
> > Physical Database layout for performance and security.
> > A focused and clear tuning methodology.
> > Net8 architecture and optimisation.
> >
> > If a candidate has passed OCP I'd definitely expect him to understand
 all
> > these areas, It doesn't necessarily mean they'd be good at
 implementation
> > but that is why you'd look for experience as well.
> >
> > --
> > Niall Litchfield
> > Oracle DBA
> > Audit Commission UK
>
> I can't disagree with you. Oracle does use those arguments to sell the
 program.
> But I can tell you that here in Seattle, WA ... I have yet to see a job
> advertisement in the newspaper or at dice.com with the letters OCP in it.
 Never
> been asked about whether I had one. Don't know of another DBA that has.
>
> My evidence may be anecdotal. But then I'm not making millions of dollars
> selling the program.
>
> As Mark Twain observed:
> "There are three types of liars.
> Liars
> Damned liars
> And statisticians"
>

And those who claim they can create a database without a system rollback segment.

That Mark Twain was a perceptive chap, I think. Even if he couldn't count.

HJR
> I believe your percentages come from statisticians. <g>
>
> Daniel A. Morgan
>
Received on Wed Jun 13 2001 - 03:08:15 CDT