I'm looking to get into DBA and I don't know which certification is better. Which pays more? Which would I have a better of finding a job with? I need some honest feedback. Thanks for your help.
Joined: 20 August 2003 Location: United States Posts: 3441
Posted: 27 January 2006 at 4:38pm | IP Logged
without experience, neither one will matter. Forget about which one pays more money, that shouldn't be an issue. Do what you like doing, then work on certifications that relates to what you do or the next level up.
Your perception of looking for a job is flawed. If you have experience with either or both, then your chances of a good paying job will follow with sufficiently more experience.
Joined: 30 August 2005 Location: United States Posts: 6048
Posted: 27 January 2006 at 10:05pm | IP Logged
Do you prefer working with Microsoft-based SQL or Oracle-based SQL? If you can't answer that question, then you have no business asking which certification you should pursue. WD is right - you need experience to be able to get a job doing nothing but database administration.
How do you get experience? Become a network admin and look for opportunities to work with and learn about the existing databases in your company. Gotta walk before you can run... same thing with security, same thing with router administration, same thing with VOIP.
Joined: 11 March 2004 Location: United States Posts: 10
Posted: 28 January 2006 at 1:42pm | IP Logged
Zman,
I don't know what WildCat_Dude is talking about. I believe that experience is very important; however, employers will hire you with no experience if you have a certain certificaition. For instance, if you didn't have a lick of of experience but you have a CCNP, you would probably get a decent job. The fact of the matter is that you should go for what ever will get you the most money. I believe that employers value Oracle certs more that MS certs as far as databases aret concerned. Oracle is the enterprise choice for databases.
I have received serveral offers from employers because of the certs that I havel. With no experience. But Experienc is very important. And sometimes people won't give you experience unless you have a certain pedigree. So go for the Oracle cert first. Then the MS. And most likely there will be some overlap in concepts. But, both companies like to put vendor specific info in there exams. I hope that his helps.
Joined: 20 August 2003 Location: United States Posts: 3441
Posted: 28 January 2006 at 2:08pm | IP Logged
The reason you have no idea what I'm talking about is that you really don't have any idea what I'm talking about .
Employers who give job offers to those with certifications and no experience are looking for entry level that they can hire for far less than they could someone with experience.
You compare it to someone with a CCNP and then say *probably* get a decent job. Probabilities can also suggest you can win the lottery only once in your life buying only one ticket but that doesn't mean it will happen.
We'll be hiring a programmer this summer and couldn't care less if they have a certification, but they better be prepared to show us they have the necessary experience and the right attitude for teamwork and the all important factor - people skills.
Joined: 30 August 2005 Location: United States Posts: 6048
Posted: 29 January 2006 at 9:13pm | IP Logged
reality24 wrote:
Zman,
I don't know what WildCat_Dude is talking about. I believe that experience is very important; however, employers will hire you with no experience if you have a certain certificaition. For instance, if you didn't have a lick of of experience but you have a CCNP, you would probably get a decent job. The fact of the matter is that you should go for what ever will get you the most money. I believe that employers value Oracle certs more that MS certs as far as databases aret concerned. Oracle is the enterprise choice for databases.
I have received serveral offers from employers because of the certs that I havel. With no experience. But Experienc is very important. And sometimes people won't give you experience unless you have a certain pedigree. So go for the Oracle cert first. Then the MS. And most likely there will be some overlap in concepts. But, both companies like to put vendor specific info in there exams. I hope that his helps.
-Reality
I have to ask - how long have you been in IT? Because there is absolutely, positively no chance that we would hire someone, for instance, for a router administrator job with a CCNP certification and no experience. I don't know *any* CIO, CTO, or IT manager that would. Same holds true for the MCDBA and Oracle certifications... if you've got the certification, but have never administered a live (in production) SQL or Oracle database, there's no company that will hire you. Why? Those positions are simply not "entry-level" positions where you need no experience to apply. You very well may have received job offers due to your certifications... most likely for jobs that require no experience.
How do you gain experience? You start out at an entry-level job and acquire it.
Don't get me wrong - certifications are great. However, they simply get your resume noticed. Your knowledge, your personality, and most of all, your experience get you hired.
Joined: 11 March 2004 Location: United States Posts: 10
Posted: 30 January 2006 at 1:20pm | IP Logged
Hello,
WildCat and TMichael. I understand both of your points. And I agree that experience is very important. However, a lot of times a Cert will get your foot into the door. Sometimes a company needs to fill a position very badly and they can't afford to get an experience person. So like TMichael said a cert will get you noticed, many times that is the hardest step.
Having a cert with no experience is better than having no cert with no experience. And assuming that Zman doesn't have experience, then I suggest that he/she go for the cert that pays the most and has the best industry recognition. Zman probably wont' make 80k/ year but should make a decent amout more if he/she is not in a very damanding profession.
TMichael, to answer your question, I've been in IT since 1997 (9 years). I am a Senior Software engineer.
I have a B.A. degree in Computer Information Systems. I have my A+ and I'm currently studying for my Network +. I should prob rephrase my question. I know I want to do Database Administration at some point but I don't know the best way to get there. As far as the cert, I'm just wondering what is the better way to focus my attention. Would going Oracle or SQL Server be the better way to go? Thanks for your help.
Joined: 11 March 2004 Location: United States Posts: 10
Posted: 01 February 2006 at 10:08am | IP Logged
Zman,
I would suggest going for a Oracle ceritification. Although SQL server has gained some grownd, and will probably gain more with the release of SQL Server 2005, Oracle is still the most popular choice among government and private enterprises.
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Topic: MCDBA Vs Oracle OCP???
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