Oracle Certification

Some Prometric IDs (which is your unique identifier for all Oracle exams and certifications) were recently changed by Prometric at Oracle’s request. When some candidates originally created their profiles with Prometric, they used social security numbers as IDs. Due to security concerns, all Prometric IDs that were social security numbers have been replaced with new system generated Prometric Testing IDs.

Oracle sent an email to all affected candidates. However, due to incomplete or out-dated information, we may not have reached all parties. If you currently use your social security number as your Prometric ID, please visit Prometric's website to access your new Prometric ID. To view the new Prometric ID, login to prometric.com/oracle with your original username and password. Once you have accessed your Prometric account, select the "Update Personal Information" link to view your new Prometric ID. If you have any issues logging into your Prometric account, contact your local Prometric representative by selecting your Region under the "Questions? Call Us" box in the left navigation menu.

For all future Oracle Certification exam appointments, it is crucial that you use your new Prometric ID so that your Oracle Certification records are under one profile. You will no longer be able to use your social security number for any Oracle Certification purposes

Please contact ocpexam_ww@oracle.com if you have any questions.

The beta period closed on June 30, 2009 for two Oracle Certification exams: Oracle Database 11g: Administration II (1Z1-053) and Oracle E-Business Suite R12: System Administration (1Z1-206).

Exam 1Z1-053 is a single exam requirement for those holding the Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Associate (OCA) to upgrade to Oracle Certified Professional (OCP).

Exam 1Z1-206 is the only exam required to earn the Oracle E-Business Suite R12 System Administrator Certified Expert (OCE) certification. This new EBS R12 certification tests candidates in their ability to effectively manage the Oracle R12 Applications environment and architecture and measures competency for the foundational skills required to highlight the key parameters necessary to analyze system activity and performance.

The production exams will soon be released as exams 1Z0-053 and 1Z0-206. Those participants who took the beta exams will receive their score reports shortly after the release of the production exams.

QUICK LINKS:

• Certification Tracks:
  • Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Professional (OCP)
  • Oracle E-Business Suite R12 System Administrator Certified Expert (OCE)
• Certification Exams:
  • Oracle Database 11g: Administration II (1Z1-053)
  • Oracle E-Business Suite R12: System Administration (1Z1-206)
• Learn More:
  • Oracle Certification Beta Exams

One of the largest topics of conversation for the Oracle Certification Program is related to the hands-on course requirement in place for some of our certification tracks. So, I thought that I’d address a few of the most common questions and talk about the benefits of this requirement.

Why does Oracle have a hands-on course requirement?
Oracle’s hands-on course requirement was implemented in order to raise the bar for new candidates entering the Oracle Certification programs. In an era where complaints that “paper certifications” were devaluing some certification programs’ offerings, Oracle made the tough decision in 2002 that mandatory training would be required for most tracks. All new entrants after November 2002 would be required to attend an Oracle course, interact with an Oracle trainer, and participate in the in-class labs.

As time has gone on, we have continued to share about our position in how a significant part of the value of certification lies in the process of becoming certified (i.e. training, studying, practicing, etc.) Our course requirement plays a critical role in this process and can be highly valuable. This sentiment, more often than not, has been echoed by many certified individuals themselves.

The idea of requiring course attendance is not new. Universities, high schools and grammar schools require attendance. Additionally, many smaller application-oriented I.T. programs require their candidates to attend training; good examples are PeopleSoft and Siebel (now owned by Oracle).

What Is The Value To The Candidates?
A big value of the hands-on course requirement to the credential-holders is that Oracle has eliminated a large group of people that I unkindly refer to as “bottom-feeders” – those individuals and groups (identified by Oracle back in 2002) whose sole goal was to exploit the brand-recognition of the Oracle credentials without really doing the work to become certified. This includes cheaters, those taking advantage of proxy-testing, and those taking real short-cuts to become certified in many different company programs - practices that became evident during the tech-bubble. These people’s actions tend to damage the credentials that many people have legitimately earned. “Bottom feeders” - for the most part - are not willing to spend the time, effort and money to attend an Oracle course.

By cutting off the majority of these “bottom feeders,” Oracle’s certification program saw an immediate decline in volume, yet we knew that the overall value of the credential would be improved both short-term and especially long-term. This is one of many difficult actions that Oracle took to increase the value of its offerings. Others included the addition of scenario-based questions to our certification exams and the OCM certification path . The Oracle Certification Program has seen significant growth - 18 straight quarters and counting - an indication that people continue to reap the benefits and seek the value in holding these quality Oracle credentials.

We'll share more in our upcoming post "Oracle Certification and the Hands-On Course Requirement (Part 2)."

Paul Sorensen,
Director, Oracle Certification

Continued from Tuesday's post "Oracle Certification and the Hands-On Course Requirement" (Part 1)

Isn’t This Just All About Money?
No, it’s not. And skeptics…read on:

First - the financial impact that Oracle initially took was tremendous. And because most of the aforementioned ‘bottom-feeders’ will never come back (the assumption being that they’ve given up on Oracle), we will continue to forfeit the fees associated with them.

Secondly - had the requirement been only about money, it would have been far more expansive than the actual policy in place right now. As it stands - the hands-on course requirement does not apply to many areas, such as the Oracle Certified Associate (OCA) level certifications, all developer certification tracks, and the complete set of Middleware certification tracks. Additionally - those who are upgrading their Oracle certification(s) are not required to attend further mandatory training - from any level, to any level. Essentially, once you are certified you have indeed demonstrated your commitment, have engaged in quality interactive learning that is key to success, and are hence ‘onboard’ and no longer required to attend additional mandatory training courses.

Why Is The Course Requirement So Strict? Do You Give Exceptions?
When the course requirement was initially implemented, only those courses related specifically to the exams in the track were awarded credit towards the requirement. As part of an ongoing analysis, we were able to expand the policy to include additional advanced courses related to the certification being pursued, thus opening the range of training options to meet the varied needs of our many candidates. Now the option exists to choose from a variety of courses to help increase knowledge while meeting the certification requirements. Our goal is to help candidates improve their skills, recognition and careers, and we feel that this is an excellent way to support our candidates. Because of our commitment to this valuable process, we do not provide exceptions to the hands-on course requirement for Oracle certification.

Summary
Oracle raised the bar for certification with the hands-on course requirement. This has had a clear and definite positive impact on the overall value of the Oracle certification - both for those who hold them, as well as those in the marketplace for Oracle credentialed individuals. As can be expected, we often get input from critics of the course requirement. Although in evaluating their position I often see compelling arguments, but sadly there is often also a clear bias. For example, we’ve recently gotten negative feedback from a non-Oracle training center whose courses do not count towards our requirement.

The primary goal of our program is for the candidates who earn our credentials to be experienced, well-trained and highly skilled. We believe that the hands-on course requirement supports that goal.

If you are holding back on earning an Oracle certification because you find that the course requirement is a barrier, I strongly encourage you to take a close look and consider how you can leverage the required training to improve and broaden your skills.

Paul Sorensen,
Director, Oracle Certification

Thanks to everyone who participated in our salary survey. We are busy working to compile, summarize and publish the results. The information will be available through the Oracle certification website and I’ll let you know through the Oracle Certification Blog when it is ready.

In the meantime however, I'd like to share some pre-release details that are interesting:

1. Certified professionals earn over 13% more than non-certified counterparts.
2. Years of experience in a role makes a big difference in overall compensation.
3. Pay between various job roles (architect, developer, administrator) can be markedly different.
4. Professionals who have earned more than one Oracle certification earn more than those hold one, and typically - the more certifications that you hold, the more likely you are to earn more.

I’ll discuss specific results in more detail when the salary survey results become available, and give my perspective on what it means to certification-holders and those considering certification.

I look forward to your comments and thoughts!

Paul Sorensen,
Director, Oracle Certification

The new Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Professional (OCP) certification will soon be live.

The beta period recently closed for certification exam 1Z1-053 – Oracle Database 11g: Administration II, which is a single exam requirement for those holding the Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Associate (OCA) to upgrade to Oracle Certified Professional (OCP).

Beta analysis and processing is currently underway, and the production exam is expected to be released in mid-September as exam 1Z0-053. Candidates can register now for the live exam, which will be available at Prometric testing centers worldwide with immediate scoring and pass/fail status. Candidates who participated in the beta can expect their beta score results soon after the live production exam is released.

For specific dates and details, visit the Oracle Certification Blog as well as our website.

QUICK LINKS

• Certification Track: Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Professional (OCP)
• Certification Exam: Oracle Database 11g: Administration II – 1Z0-053

Beta testing continues for the new “Oracle Database 11g: Program with PL/SQL” certification exam (1Z1-144) certification beta exam.

This test is offered as an alternative option to taking existing exam 1Z0-147 (Program with PL/SQL) for both the Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Associate (OCA) and Oracle Advanced PL/SQL Developer Certified Professional (OCP) certification tracks.

Candidates are encouraged to register for and take the beta exam while it is still available at the special beta price of $50 USD. Beta exams are an excellent way to directly provide your input into the final version of the certification exam as well as be one of the very first certified in the track. Furthermore – passing the beta counts for full final exam credit.

For more information and exam details - including exam objectives, test details, training options, and registration information - please visit the “Oracle Database 11g: Program with PL/SQL” certification exam (1Z1-144) exam page.

QUICK LINKS

• Register For Exam: Prometric Testing
• Certification Exam:
  • Oracle Database 11g: Program with PL/SQL (1Z1-144)
• Certification Tracks:
  • Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Associate (OCA)
  • Oracle Advanced PL/SQL Developer Certified Professional (OCP)
• Learn More:
  • Oracle Certification Beta Exams

Why does the Oracle Certification Program charge for beta exams?

Doesn’t this delay the beta to live process significantly?

I recently received these very good questions and thought that it would be good to address it with a post here on the Oracle Certification Blog.

There are several important reasons that we charge for betas, with one of them being much more important than the other.

1. Delivery Costs
When someone takes a beta exam, we are charged a delivery fee. By charging for the betas we are able to cover the costs of delivery.

However - although it is important for us to cover the costs, this is not the main reason that we charge for betas.

2. Reliability of Beta Exam Results
The reason that we run betas on our exams is to gather test-related data from qualified candidates. We use beta exam results data to analyze the reliability performance of the exam questions, assemble the exams and set the scores (among other things).

Unfortunately, free betas encourage undesirable behavior in some people with exam results that greatly reduces our ability to perform our analysis. If we offered free betas exams we would see a dramatic increase in:

• "No shows" at the testing center. We (Oracle) would we still have to pay the delivery fee.
• Early terminations (stopping the test early)
• Exposure of exam content. People will re-take the exam it over and over to find out what is on the test.
• Poor results data. Free exams attract test-takers who are either significantly unprepared or unqualified.
• False results data (from people deliberately take the exam under false pretenses in order to throw off the results).

Some of these may seem strange, but having worked in certification for a number of years, I've seen multiple real-world examples of these. The unfortunate end-result is usually an increased length in the beta period (delaying scores even more), an increase in the effort/cost to analyze results, and a decrease in the quality of the ultimate production exam.

For this reason, we plan to continue to charge a minimal fee for our beta exams.

I am very interested in any ideas that you might have in how to encourage continued participation in Oracle’s beta exams, as the better the attendance – the shorter the beta period and hence – the faster exam scores are released.

Paul Sorensen,
Director, Oracle Certification

The beta period continues for the Oracle Database 11g: Performance Tuning certification exam (1Z1-054).

Exam 1Z1-054 is a single exam requirement for Oracle 11g DBA OCPs to earn the Oracle Database 11g Performance Tuning Certified Expert (OCE) certification, which endorses those database administrators, support engineers, and technical consultants who have demonstrated their knowledge and skills using Oracle Database 11g automatic tuning features, including SQL Tuning Advisor, SQL Access Advisor, Automatic Workload Repository and Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor.

The beta exam is only $50 USD, and is an excellent way to directly provide your input into the final version of the certification exam as well as be one of the very first certified in the track. Furthermore, passing the beta counts for full final exam credit.

You can register now online at Prometric.

QUICK LINKS

• Register For Exam: Prometric Testing
• Certification Track: Oracle Database 11g Performance Tuning Certified Expert (OCE)
• Certification Exam: 1Z1-054 – Oracle Database 11g: Performance Tuning
• Learn More: Oracle Certification Beta Exams

The new Oracle E-Business Suite R12 System Administrator Certified Expert (OCE) certification will soon be live.

The beta period recently closed for certification exam 1Z1-206 – Oracle E-Business Suite R12: System Administration, which is the only exam required to earn the Oracle E-Business Suite R12 System Administrator Certified Expert (OCE) certification.

This new EBS R12 certification focuses on the candidate’s abilities to effectively manage the Oracle R12 Applications environment and architecture, and measures competency for the foundational skills required to highlight the key parameters necessary to analyze system activity and performance.

Beta analysis and processing is currently underway, and the production exam is expected to be released in mid-September as exam 1Z0-206. Candidates can register now for the live exam, which will be available at Prometric testing centers worldwide with immediate scoring and pass/fail status. Candidates who participated in the beta can expect their beta score results soon after the live production exam is released.

QUICK LINKS

• Certification Track:
  • Oracle E-Business Suite R12 System Administrator Certified Expert (OCE)
• Certification Exam:
  • Oracle E-Business Suite R12: System Administration – 1Z0-206