In my view, Apps DBAs and their employers benefit from Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) certification, as it not only proves a certain level of understanding, but more importantly, the OCP process itself provides a vehicle to renew and expand your knowledge.


I have always found certifications very good learning tools.  When in a class, if I know I need to pass an exam on the topic, it gives me great incentive to pay attention and ensure I understand everything that is being discussed… and after will ensure that I re-read the course notes and play around with the product, until confident I really know the topic


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Why become OCP Certified?



  • The requisite training, self study and background reading will give you a good understanding of the whole topic area being covered.  In your normal daily role, you may not get exposure to the full product, so the training will introduce you to new skills and enhance your existing understanding.
  • Gives you access to your peers and instructor.  You will meet new people who are likely doing a similar job to your own, so can exchange tips, views and experiences.
  • Sense of achievement, with recognition of your skills by your peers

Why should your manager approve your request for training and exam fees ?



  • Enhances employee skills, making them more efficient, confident and capable
  • Giving employees sense of worth and job satisfaction
  • Helps induce employee loyalty

The webcast What Your Manager Should Know about Certification covers benefits in more detail.


Oracle Certification Program


Oracle have a variety of OCP exams covering Database, Middleware, Applications and Linux all of which you can view from the Oracle Certification web site.


Which OCP are essential for Apps DBAs?


In my opinion, these are all essential for any Apps DBA:


  1. Oracle Database 10g Administrator

    All Apps DBAs need a good understanding of Database and related technologies, so this should be a no-brainer

  2. Oracle 11i Applications Database Administrator Certified Professional

    Installation, patching and maintenance:  all essential skills

  3. Oracle 11i System Administrator Certified Expert

    Covers OAM, Concurrent Manager and other important Apps DBA tasks
  4. Oracle Application Server 10g Administrator

    For those using OracleAS10g components such as Single Sign-On (SSO), Portal, or Discoverer integration. 

    This is also essential for Release 12 administrators, since the technology stack for this release is based on Oracle Application Server 10g.

Are there any other Oracle OCPs that would be useful?


  1. Oracle 11i Workflow Certified Expert

    So much of the eBiz functionality relies on Workflow that this knowledge is generally useful

  2. Oracle Database 10g: Real Application Clusters Administrator Certified Expert   

    For those of you using or evaluating RAC deployments
  3. Operating system vendor certifications

    Most operating system vendors offer operating system certifications program.  In addition, Oracle offers the “Oracle Database 10g: Managing Oracle on Linux for DBAs.”  

Conclusion


I believe certifications in general have real world value, with OCP exams being particularly relevant and important for Apps DBAs.  For me, there is no doubt it is a good investment of time and money and I am certain most Apps DBAs would find similar benefits.


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