Much ado about job interview questions
On various public forums about Oracle (and I suspect for other IT careers as well), one of the more common posts is from people who request to be supplied lists of …
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Are certifications worth it? It depends on what you mean by ‘worth’ and ‘it’
On Dec. 15, Justin Rohrman published an article at TechTarget that asks a question many have argued: Are Certifications Worth It? The article is …
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Seeking career guidance and certification advice from strangers
Numerous times over the years I have seen posts from individuals on forums asking for suggestions on which certification track they should pursue to kick-start their career. Sometimes these are from people looking to change careers …
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Oracle’s new recertification policy: A calamity of Biblical proportions?
The Oracle Certification Program recently announced a significant policy change. A number of certifications related to older releases of the Oracle database now require candidates to recertify in order for their credentials to remain active. The policy affects 11 certifications for release 9i and older that will require action by Nov. 1, 2015. Another five …
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Is it always best to certify in the latest release of Oracle?
Recently I participated in a discussion about which release certification candidates just starting the Oracle DBA track should pursue. Robert Freeman, author of Oracle Database 12c New Features from Oracle Press and OCP: Oracle Database 12c Administrator Certified Professional Study Guide: Exam 1Z0-063 from Sybex had started the thread with the assertion that, barring a …
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Oracle’s SQL Expert exam slated for facelift Sept. 15
Of the more than 200 certifications offered by Oracle, their SQL Expert credential ranks in the Top 10 most popular according to a blog post by Oracle University. This is no surprise to me — knowledge of SQL is an extremely valuable skill and the SQL Expert designation is useful to both DBAs and developers. …
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Building an Interview: Find the right person for the job
In a prior CertMag article published June 2nd — How to train your assistant: Certification makes the minion — I was just starting the process of hiring a developer to act as my backup. The wheels have been turning slowly, but it has reached …
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Comparing and contrasting Oracle tuning certifications
I have known people to say that with enterprise databases, speed is everything. These people are dead wrong. With enterprise databases, data availability is everything. Committed transactions should never be lost …
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Is experience the most important arrow in your IT quiver?
It is tempting to state that job experience is universally acknowledged as the single most important factor when evaluating a candidate for a position as an Oracle Database Administrator. The universe is a really big place, however, and there is an exception to every rule. In 20 years of working with the Oracle database, I …
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There is virtually no excuse to lack hands-on experience
For the past 15 years or so, I have had a problem with operating systems. My primary computer is always running a recent version of Microsoft Windows. It is the OS that is invariably the one available in the offices where I work. I often have a project, however, that requires some other operating system. …
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