OCA MySQL5

I have decided to take the plunge and write the MySQL Associate exam next week. It's not really a must have certification for me (in fact I don't actually need a MySQL certification as I mainly work with SQL Server 2008, we only use MySQL on our helpdesk system) but it gives me a chance to ease back into the certification game.

My basic strategy is:

1. Gain MySQL Associate ceritifcation.
2. Try focus and get ITIL Foundation out of the way by early September.
3. Get over my fears and get MCTS 70-432 done by year end.

I have been putting off (read - scared) of doing the database admin MCTS since the SQL 2005 days and keep finding excuses to put it off, hopefully if I ease myself back gently into hte world of exams I can gather enough courage.

On the MySQL Associate front - to me it seems even Oracle themselves don't take it too seriously. There's very little information available, in fact apart from the MySQL Certification Guide (from which one has to pick chapters to study) there's no real dedicated resource. It's a bit of a pity because I think it's a good entry point for those wanting to test their basic SQL skills. Anywa, I'll know next week whether I have made a good decision or just added another failed exam under my cap (I still have bad memories of the CCNA exam I failed 3 times way back in 2003.......made me give up on Cisco though now I realise I was nowhere near ready).

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Comments

Zorodzai

Just out of writing the exam - passed with 88%

. It's definitely a "beginner" exam - very straight forward if one has a bit of experience with SQL. A lot of the questions I actually used my knowledge of general SQL (I use MS SQL 2008 at work) and believe I probably could have pulled through without studying as much of the MySQL Study Guide as I did. A lot of the SQL questions seemd to concentrate on JOINs, nothing in depth really. Now onto ITIL Foundations next week (haven't even begun studying yet) before my arch nemesis - MCTS 70-432.

crashdump

Zorodzai wrote: »

Just out of writing the exam - passed with 88% . It's definitely a "beginner" exam - very straight forward if one has a bit of experience with SQL. A lot of the questions I actually used my knowledge of general SQL

Congratulations! Thank you for review.

Flemeth

I m looking to get MySQL Associate in the next few months but i m wondering what books to use for self study . At this point i have very little theoretical knowledge on MySQL and no practical xp . Any advice on books or places to start will be more then appreciated.

Zorodzai

@Flemeth - all you need is the MySQL Study Guide and the study plan (you can find it online) for the Associate exam.

Flemeth

After looking over the MySQL Associate decided to go directly for MySQL Developer one (1Z0-871 and 1Z0-872) . I passed the final exam a few days ago . It toke about 1.5 months to pass both but i started with no SQL knowledge whatsoever. I would imagine someone that already knows basic sql can pass both in less then a month especially if you aim is passing ( i aimed to learn sql/mysql)

As Zorodzai said the best study material by far is MySQL Study Guide ,the old 2005-2006 book. It has everything you need and more importantly is written in a didactic fashion so it s relatively easy to learn. Only complains i have about it is that is has allot of errors(here) and it has too simplistic and too few examples for the theory.

A great book i used and i would advice it for someone wanting to learn SQL is Murach's MySQL
-it s a great first book into SQL
-it s focused on examples (the theory is validated right away with examples)
-every chapter has 6+ exercises starting from easy to challenging (for someone that just now is starting SQL)
-from all the SQL books i looked over this has by far the best division of chapters and the best order for learning.(ex joins are not some last chapter and are right there near the beginning , all the DDL (data definition language ) like Create db/table/etc are somewhere at the middle with everything else you need to know about db design and implementation not at the beginning like most books and then have the rest of db design content near the end of the book...
-has a series of already made and filled db's complex enough that you can use them for everything in the book but with a relatively simple business logic that you understand the whole construct and how it would work in reality(you do have to run the scripts but it s all there at the beginning in easy steps even if you ll learn much later all the DDL commands etc.
- it s thorough ,it has about everything you need and a bit more for a first strong step into SQL : an introduction , the essential SQL skills (selects using simple syntax ,joins or subqueries , updates/inserts/delete , data types and functions) ,database design and implementation , stored programs development and some database administration introduction.

About the exams (1Z0-871 and 1Z0-872) they are not hard , they will not challenge your expertise as a programmer , just your knowledge of MySQL syntax and special cases etc so you don't really need experience for them .They do challenge you time wise especially if you are not careful. You have 70 questions for each and 90 minutes so you cant afford to loose to much time at any question, especially on 1Z0-872. The practice tests found on the CD of MySQL Study Guide are close to the exam so if you answer over 80% of the questions right you ll most likely pass the exams as well.You can find them here : DevI and DevII

Zorodzai

Congrats, what 's next ....

Flemeth

After a few months break i ll start learning Ruby (no certification here ) and then java , hopefully until the end of the year i ll be able to take and pass first oracle java certification.

petedude

Tougher exam than it looked going in; some questions required a lot of thought.

Yes, this exam is being retired in a few months and it's more expensive than the new beta, but it's a (somewhat) established exam with some available materials.

I used:
--Ucertify's practice tests (difficult but helpful, some grammar glitches)
--the old Sun MySQL guide (tough read)
--Wrox's Beginning MySQL (dated but well written) (via Books24x7)
--Wiley's MySQL Administrator's Bible (via Books 24x7)
. . . there also seem to be some useful Apress books

What can I tell folks looking at this one?
--Understand column types and NULL entries
--Understand how to import/export data with MySQL
--As others have mentioned, getting a good grasp of basic SQL commands

I'm happy to have a basic SQL cert (sorry, the basic CIW RDBMS cert doesn't really cover enough SQL).

N2IT

The new environment I am going to is a dual RDBMS environment. MS SQL and MYSQL. I'd be interested in looking this over.

Holy cow how large in the MYSQL RDBMS? 30 minute download?!

Zorodzai

I enjoy MySQL - most likely because it's so 'bare metal'. You basically have the engine and that's it. You can always download the Workbench but I have always found that a bit clunky compared to SSMS.