Oracle Certification Next?

Dusty0463

Well, I decided that I'm going to probably start going for my Oracle certification next, after I get my CCNA. I know it's not networking related, but it is IT related and as they say, the more you can show on your resume the better.

Plus, as I'm looking at these job sites lately, alot of the positions seem to be oracle this, oracle that....Granted most of them want experience, but at least with all of those job positions out there, I have more of a chance in running into a position that will take someone in entry level.........

Dusty

M_Boyd

Plz don't take me wrong and I am new to this but I do pose a question to you....

What do you wish to gain out of these certifications ?

If you have decided networking isn't for you then yeah go for oracle ! but if you want to get a job in IT you need to work out your area of expertise....not just get things for the CV. Imagine I was an employer and I have a CCNA or CCNP and I had a java developers certificate, and I was applying for a networking job. Do you think they would even have the slightest care over how good you understand java. I can say categorically NO. I don't mean to be mean but you have to understand priorities. Think about the certs you could get to further your networking with the effort applied. Now Imagine another networking certificate and how your employers would react to seeing that on your resume. You are marketing yourself for A JOB, not many jobs...

When was the last time you saw networking jobs advertised as - knowledge of oracle a definate plus...

YOU have to make yourself a marketable product for a company. Sure it says he's got another cert but hey do I care .... thats how employers will see it.

I don't know how old or experienced you are in IT but im only 21 and I don't feel I have time to waste doing unrelated certs(unless they require next to no effort on my part other than the £££ to do the exam). I WILL pass my CCNA and decide from there in the field of networking of what is my next best move - I will speculate and ask peoples advice just now but ultimately it will be me that decides what the next move is next(and it will be when I can categorically say its the best one for me).

I don't see a goal here, just you thinking perhaps I should do this instead - you saw in papers oracle this and oracle that....

My advice is - if you decide for a career move thats fine but you need to understand that you must have a bigger picture of things. Don't shift from one thing to the next ..... networking and oracle are stable parts of the IT market - they are good to base a career in. Life is too short to study for nothing.....

Dusty0463

Boyd,
Well, even though I'm thinking of pursing my dream of stock trading(something I'm very good at), IT is still something I'm keeping as a backup. As far as why get so many certifications? Well, when I wrote this, it was because I wanted to be well-rounded. I don't know how many times I've had jobs and something else has come up in another department that provided more money, but I didn't have the skillset or education to do it. I think that in this market, if you narrow your focus too much, it may be forever before you find a job. On the other hand, if you have many different areas of skill, then you can change your resume to fit the position. For example, alot of my experience is in mainframe. When I'm looking for a mainframe position, I would make sure that it was my mainframe skills which showed more in the resume. If it was networking, then I'd make sure my networking skills showed. The point is, there is no ONE area in IT I'm interested. There are alot of areas I'd like to explore and learn and grow in. It just seems to me that when talking with other professionals who've been job hunting, many of the people unable to find work are those who are so specialized and specific that they are unable to find what they are looking for.
Another thing, I don't view certificates as ways to impress employers. I view them as benchmarks which tell myself that I mastered certain topics, etc..... Since this is a bad time for IT jobs(although it's getting better), I think it's better to be a jack of all trades as opposed to only a master of one. If I was to complete the Oracle certifcation, I could then look for Oracle jobs AND networking jobs at the same time.
It increases my chances of finding work and when it comes down to survival and paying your bills, that's what's most important...


Dusty

Dusty0463

M_Boyd,
I forgot to mention that years ago, the thought of this would never have come up!!!! I was getting many job offers a month as were alot of other IT people. Years ago I could have got away with being super specialized and having no problem getting a job....The bottom line for is that it comes down to getting a job soon as opposed to next year...But again, since I'm making more right now in stock trading than I can ever make in an IT job, I'm really thinking about doing this for a living, at least until IT jobs become more available and I can get paid what I'm worth......

Dusty

Ghent

I just got done with a couple of days of intense oracle training through new horizons for my job. The OCP (Oracle Certified Professional) cert will open a lot of doors to high paying jobs right now. It's definately something to consider.

Webmaster

Some years ago, when I decided to specialize in networking (hence forgetting about system administration) I looked into Oracle certs for myself and a couple of coworkers because we had a large environment with several Oracle servers but nobody with the knowledge to admin them... I went for my CCNA instead of Oracle certs, but a couple of my coworkers took the DBO course/exam (Database Operator instead Admin) seemed much easier to achieve but it had a great effect on their salaries. The DBO is a great cert to combine with MCSE for example, DBA is more towards developing... databases as well as 'forms'.