As part of our series of interviews with Oracle employees, partners, and customers who have successfully passed the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2018 Architect Associate exam, we recently interviewed Chris Riggin of Verizon.

Chris is the lead Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified Cloud Architect for Verizon. He has been with Verizon since 1999 in several IT engineering and architecture capacities, but he has focused on cloud design since 2012. Chris holds a patent for designing and implementing a first-ever cloud management system for heterogeneous platforms and services. He regularly presents at several events and technology summits, including more than 10 speaking engagements at Oracle Open World. His work on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure technology played a key role in enabling it as a highly cost-competitive, scalable, and stable environment for his organization. Today, Chris continues to expand Oracle Cloud Infrastructure deliverables to keep up with business demands and future trending technologies, always maintaining an ambitious three-to-five-year road map.

Greg: Chris, how did you prepare for the certification?

Chris: I went through the training curriculum posted in Oracle University and followed the posted path. Following the path and attending some of the instructor-led courses helped me gain, or in some cases reinforce, at least 85% of the knowledge I needed to pass the exam.

Also, working with a live Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) tenancy helped me identify any gaps I may have had in my skill-set as I was able to test many of the features within that tenancy.

Greg: How long did it take you to prepare for the exam?

Chris: Fortunately, my job was 100% OCI at the time, but I still needed at least two weeks where I was able to focus solely on exam preparations and make sure that I had the knowledge and skills necessary for the exam.

Unfortunately, life got in the way and prevented me from putting in as much time and effort as I had hoped. I didn’t feel I was as prepared as I would have liked, so a day before the exam, I tried to reschedule. Unfortunately, when I called Pearson VUE, because I was within 24 hours of the exam delivery, I was not able to change the appointment. I literally was forced to cram several missed days of studies into the very last day before the exam! Turns out it was enough, or I just had plenty of experience, because I passed! The moral to this story is you should be aware that you cannot change your exam appointment within 24 hours of when it’s scheduled.

Greg: How is life after getting certified?

Chris: As the lead architect, earning the certification has reinforced my position as the subject matter expert. Now when I speak about OCI, I speak with authority. Before receiving my certification, there were many different opinions on how to proceed, and it seemed no one had the credentials to lead the discussion. After it became known I had earned the certification, people immediately began to listen to what I had to say.

Since I’ve posted the digital badge on my signature, more than half the folks involved with OCI have gained an interest in taking the exam. They continually reach out to me for assistance, asking to be pointed in the right direction as to what to study, and even go so far as to ask for help after hours to prepare them for the exam.

Greg: Any other advice you’d like to share?

Chris: Do not focus solely on infrastructure. Make sure you are aware of and understand all the service offerings across the overall environment and exhibit a strong knowledge of cloud technologies and concepts outside of OCI. You should understand database, not necessarily to the level of expert, but you should understand some of the inherent services and service levels provided by Oracle. Learn about the OCI PaaS and SaaS offerings that are available. Understand DNS, connecting to the gateways, networking, and don’t forget Terraform!

Finally, I would strongly suggest that you certify as soon as possible! The exam is only going to get more difficult as OCI continues to grow and mature.

 

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Greg Hyman
Principal Program Manager, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certification
greg.hyman@oracle.com
Twitter: @GregoryHyman
LinkedIn: GregoryRHyman

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Other blogs in the How to Successfully Prepare for the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2018 Architect Exam series are listed under Greg’s blog page.