Le Moor:

That is cool.
So what materials would you like? Materials to Pass the exam, or materials to understand database administration. How new are you, have you used it before, or are u just starting?

Hope you don't feel I ask too many questions, but I personally believe, if you want to be a good DBA, then a good approach is needed which will make you fundamentally sound in database administrations.

I would normally recommend starting out with undertanding database design concepts. This is the fundamental building block of databases. And if you can understand it, then, believe me, database administration would come to you easily, because then you will understand the logic and the relationships that make the database what it is. Because as a DBA at some point, you would be called upon to design a database, and that is where your knowledge of the fundamentals will come from.

If you agree with me, them, I can try to provide you with materials for database design (Physical, and logical database, design. entity relationships etc etc). This might initially seem boring, but it is the better way to go. It is a bottom-up approach that will make anyone fundamentally sound.

Then we can move on to oracle specific fundamentals, and how Oracle interfaces with the OS and with the applications that use it. A lot of people forget oracle is just a repository that provides storage for a whole load of applications that will sit on it.

I will try to start putting this materials together (i just stumbled on this thread and i sort of got inspired to share my knowlegde). Hit me up on pm, and maybe we could chat some more, then, based on your feedback i will be able to offer more advice.

Do not worry if my responses are slow, it will be because of the time difference and i do sometimes get really busy.

pharuk:

i will give for free, am here to help people because some how i get lucky from helping people.
send me an email or call me even if u stay in the atlantic ocean, i wrote my OCA this month and had 91%. so ready to help, because thats what this forum is about right? just imagine if we were to pay to view this blog or something.
am not burning any cable, just want to help those who don't really have so much
malcolmeter@yahoo.com
08039638980

Le Moor:

Hi everyone. I havent been to this forum in a long time. was just browsing randomly and i remembered i used to be a member here during my serious foruming days.

Anyways, I have been reading this thread with interest, and it is a good thing to see many young uns getting into Oracle in Nigeria now. When I started, there were only a handful of us, and very few organizations even used oracle. but with that said, i will get right to the issues.

To be a dba, isnt really very difficult, but you have to be ready to get your hands dirty, when i say dirty, I mean you should be ready to break stuff, and fix it. That is the only way to learn. Certifications are great and a good start, but it should not be the ticket to getting into job market. as a dba, i have interviewed people with fantastic resumes and certification, only to find out the couldnt tell me where to find the alertlog, much less start up a database from the command line. Even when you ace your certifictions, ty tp be focused on the practical side of stuff (not the book stuff). Forget the definition, of what a primary key is and learn how to configure a backup database using rman. This is what sells and this is what will get folks through the door.

I am not trying to sound like a wet blanket, but I have been doing this for a while (since version , and I have worked in Nigeria, UK and the US. I am not a guru, but i can hold my own.

I love to be of assistance to anyone that is interested in oracle, in my own little way (advice or materials, or interview questions graded into levels of dicciculty <based on my little experience and how i would conduct an inteview). I am sorry i don't have exam dumps, because any real dba can tell if u have practical experience or not regardless of how many certifications you hold.