Tips to Prepare for Your Oracle Database Administrator Certification

4 Tips to Prepare for Your Oracle Database Administrator Certification

People have been trusting the wisdom of oracles since at least the eighth century B.C.E., when Pythia, the original Oracle at Delphi, sitting on a crude tripod, inhaling ethylene vapors escaping from a fissure, fell into a hallucinogenic trance and spoke in tongues. Pythia’s babblings, interpreted by priests, guided many a decision. Anxious pilgrims paid handsomely for the prophesies.

Today, with perhaps a bit less mysticism, a select few can be possessed of a rare and powerful ability—Oracle Database Administrator Certification. But you need not sit on a tripod in a remote temple to use it. Earning it, however, is still a pilgrimage. 

Tip 1: Get Started Early

If the ultimate goal is Oracle Database Administrator Certification, you have to first test to be an Oracle Certified Associate (OCA). This process alone takes time and plenty of preparation. You take two tests and qualify to work as part of a team on junior database management. 

The two tests present options. You can take and pass any one of these three: 

  • Oracle Database 12c: SQL Fundamentals 1Z0-061: Can you create, retrieve, maintain and edit data in a database? Do you understand, and can you use, SQL? You will be required to program in SQL
  • Oracle Database SQL Expert 1Z0-047: Be proficient in 76 different topics for this examination. Database objects, system-level queries, control privileges, complete mastery of SQL; you need to be confident in your ability to apply all these concepts, not simply memorize multiple-choice answers
  • Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 1Z0-051: This more or less replaces “Introduction to Oracle9i SQL” with 64 questions to answer in two hours. Questions include displaying data from multiple tables; retrieving, sorting and restricting data; creating schema objects; and using set operators

To have a good chance of passing any one of these, take advantage of Oracle’s online offerings (at $3,500 per five-day course!) or receive a significant part of this training as a portion of an undergraduate degree program in database programming (and check if your school offers certification discounts for enrolled students or alumni!). You will also need to pass the Oracle Database 11g: Administration I 1Z0-052 exam. 

The Oracle Database 11g: Administration I 1Z0-052 exam is a 90-minute test in which you set up database environments, creating and managing multiple Oracle instances. Configure and secure these instances, demonstrate understanding of database backup and recovery, and administrate and manage storage structures. You have to not only know the correct answer, but the correct sequence for solving the problem. 

Tip 2: Know the Difference between OCD and OCP

It is true that many database administrators benefit from appearing to have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but to get to the heights of Oracle Database Administrator certification, you have to become an Oracle Certified Professional (OCP). This means (after already being an OCA) taking two courses and passing an exam in either Database 11g or Database 12c. 

The course selection between 11g and 12c is extensive. These courses must be instructor-led, a virtual class, or a training-on-demand environment. 

Tip 3: Become a Master 

Master certification is the Oracle pinnacle. An Oracle Certified Master (OCM) can work at senior levels in IT departments just about anywhere, handling sensitive data, solving complex challenges, and earning high salaries. 

The prerequisite for OCM is OCA and OCP. Complete two additional courses (similar to the coursework for OCP) that are instructor-led, virtual, or training-on-demand. Also submit results of a previous course, then take the Oracle Database 11g: Certified Master Exam 11GOCM. This two-day, performance-based test is rigorous and yet its scoring harkens back to Pythia for its enigma-shrouded unknowability. To quote from Oracle’s website: 

Participants are scored on their ability to complete assigned tasks and to recover from various database failure scenarios. Data from each participant's environment is collected at the end of each scenario and used to determine the final score. In some scenarios, participants may receive partial credit, however the inability to recover from a failure scenario results in zero credit for an entire scenario. 

Tip 4: Educate Yourself

An excellent place to begin the pilgrim’s journey to Oracle Database Administrator Certification is by attending ECPI University’s 2.5-year program to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer and Information Science with a concentration in Database Programming. Contact ECPI today to learn what the future could hold for you! It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

Learn more about ECPI's College of Technology TODAY!

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