Oracle Certification

Paul,

Thanks for a very nice post. I completely agree with the HOC requirement as I have seen this happening a lot that people go for a cheap training given by a single individual on a single pc which at times,doesn't even have proper softwares to show the hands on too. OU quality is top notch when it comes to labs, instructors and an over all good training experience. As I support and encourage candidates to go for certification to prove their technical skills, I always encourage them to go for a proper training as well along with it.

That said, I still feel that at some points , the restriction appears to be a very high barrier for some folks who don't pay from the company money and spend from their own pocket. For example, in OCM, there are 2 courses are needed to attend after attaining OCP(and may be person have attended one course already while doing that too) which too are advanced courses. I agree that the level of OCM is very high so asking delegate to attend an advanced course will only him but I feel , the restriction of 2 courses is a bit extreme. This can be set to 1 course , just like the OCP course, as the fee for the OCM exam also is way higher as compared to OCE,OCP. I would appreciate your valuable opinion for this.

Thanks for the great certification platform and for the good work that your team does.

regards
Aman....

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the wonderful insight, and your perspective on the mandatory training associated with the Oracle Courses. It definites does a bit to heed to the concerns of the community as a whole.

I basically work with Siebel CRM, and have always wondered about the mandatory training clause Oracle has.

Unfortunately, I beg to differ with your viewpoint. You say, Oracle has introduced the mandatory training clause to avoid fakes. But, how does the course guarantee that there would be no fakes? The bottom liners would still be there. Just that it would take them a little more time (and obviously more money in Oracle's pocket) to do it.

You also mention that some of the Oracle certifications don't need a mandatory classroom course, like the OCA. Does this mean that Oracle's OCA is likely to have higher number of the so called bottom liners, and thus should be considered a less valuable certification? Are we concluding that Oracle itself is biased towards a community based on the technology domain, Siebel CRM certification, or the Oracle DB tech?

Paul,

I would agree with you if the courses quality are as high as should be. But unfortunatelly it is not like this and sometimes the instructor doesn't have any, or minimal, experience and the course is just a waste of time and money.

I would also like to say that the exam by itself doesn't guarantee anything. I don't feel more confident by earning these certifications but seems that the people I work for do. So fair enough we pay for what we ask for. With all, the quality of the exams should be improved as there are ambiguities either in the documentation, which I suppose the questions are taken from, and the questions. You can check what I mean my comment to the next comment: http://el-caro.blogspot.com/2006/12/adding-voting-disk-online.html

Thanks,

LW

While I think there is value in requiring a class for certification (thus in theory there is a guarantee that a certification is more than the ability to memorize a brain dump), I have a hard time buying into it not being about money for Oracle. If it weren't, why do the classes HAVE to be via Oracle (and thus $3k+)? Why not allow for the curriculum to be taught at local community colleges and thus cost the worker/company 1k? Or allow verifiable work experience to count?

Hi Paul

Apologies for posting this question here, but I've been trying in vain to get a response from Oracle via the proper/official channels.

I'm in the process of doing my HOC's for the 10g OCM. I'm in the UK and want to do the Oracle Streams course as part of this. Unfortunately the Streams 10g course seems to be discontinued, with only the 11g one available.

I would like to know if this course (Sreams 11g) will be accepted as part of the 2 HOC's needed for the 10g OCM? There are a few 9i & 11g courses listed on Oracle's website as acceptable for this, but this course is not one of them. On this note, the other course I did was the 10g RAC course. Will this be acceptable for the 11g OCM (in case I decide to skip the 10g one and go directly for the 11g OCM when it becomes available - which seems is going to be soon)?

I would appreciate if someone can answer this and also email me an official response for my records.

Kind Regards
Frederik

Hi Looreine

Thanks for your comments.

I wanted to point out that if you (or anyone) has an issue with an Oracle course that they attended, Oracle offers a 100% Student Satisfaction program (see link below).

http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=94

Thanks,
Paul

Hi Kathryn,

Thanks for your comments. There are programs available through community colleges that if taken will count towards the course requirement if they are authorized by Oracle. These usually take many weeks (or even months) to complete but are a very good fit for some people. You'd have to search for these types of courses in your area.

As for verifiable experience, I'd love to count this as well, however it is very tough to consistently apply parameters and rules to work experience. I anticipate that our legal team would really have a problem with this unless it was very restrictive, which would make me nervous. I don't think that we are ready to go down this path, although I agree that this would be a good thing to include.

Thanks,
Paul

Hello Frederik,
As you can see on our Approved Courses page on the Oracle Certification website http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=244#5a, the Oracle Database 11g: Implement Streams course is included in the list of approved advanced or specialty courses to meet the course requirement for the 11g OCM certification.

Feel free to contact us at ocpexam_ww@oracle.com with any further questions around 11g OCM requirements.

Regards,
Brandye

Hi Brandye

Thanks, but that does not answer any of my 2 questions i.e.:
1.) Is the Streams 11g course acceptable for the 10g OCM?
2.) Is the RAC 10g course acceptable for the 11g OCM?

Please note the Streams 10g course is not available in the UK anymore.

I do not get replies through the provided email address.

Kind Regards
Frederik
Ps. Thats the same reply I got from Oracle earlier, but it does not answer my question!

Hello Frederik,
The OCP team has responded to your questions via email to the address you provided. For the benefit of others reading the blog, I will provide a recap of their response.

1. The 11g Streams course will be accepted toward 10g OCM certification if the 10g Streams course is no longer being offered.

2. The 10g RAC course will not be accepted toward the 11g OCM certification as the 11g RAC technology on R2 will have changed significantly from 10g.

I hope this answers your question.

Regards,
Brandye

Hello ..!

This is my scenario for oracle 10g OCP.
I passed introduction to 9i exam on self study .
--> If i take only one training from an oracle approved training center in Fundamental I or Fundamental II can i have my OCP recognition from ORACLE ?

---> If i sit for the two remaining exams ?

--->Are the three exams compulsory to be taken from an oracle approved training center ?

thanks

HI Soulemane – congratulations on passing "Introduction to Oracle9i SQL!" Your next step will earn you the OCA, which is taking "Oracle Database 10g: Administration I" (1Z0-042). Because the OCA is a prerequisite for the OCP, you can then earn the OCP by taking (just one) training course and taking "Oracle Database 10g: Administration II" (1Z0-043). The exams may taken at a Pearson VUE (www.pearsonvue.com/oracle) test center near you. Be sure and submit the Course Submission Form (http://bit.ly/bwXV) to receive credit for your training course.

Dear Sirs,
I have completed OCP in Oracle 9i from Kanpur. First two papers of SQL and Fundamental-I I attended the course from
an Oracle Authorised Training Centre. The Next Two that is Fundamental-II and Tuning I studied from Private Teacher. I Cleared the last exam about 4 months ago. But I am not getting my OCP certificate. The Institute from where I completed my first two papers hasnt offered me any support. I am getting frustrated.
Tell me what is my Fault.
Thanks
Irfan

Hi Irfan – did you submit the Course Submission Form to receive credit for your training? Download from http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=99.