1. Depends on the company/part of the country and the economy. 2. State your experience with other databases. Once you get Oracle up and running at home, add that so they know you have installed it (IMHO installing on Linux is more impressive as it is very close to unix, but doing it under windows is better than nothing.) Don't say "looking for entry-level Oracle dba job" in your mission statement. Say something like "looking for the opportunity to move my proven database design and administration skills to a new level with Oracle" or something to that extent. 3. If you are good at self-study, Oracle has online learning that appears pretty reasonable ($99/month or something like that). But get yourself an Oracle installation to practice on first. 4. Quite possible to get a job with self-study and training. Passing your OCP tests will help you get that first job. After that it is nice to put on your biography when you submit papers to present at the conferences and user groups. 6. I'm not in the office today, but I'm sure someone will correct me on the title, but the two books I think are great are a. Oracle 8i dba from Oracle Press. I think that is the one that has a great example of real-life paper to database that explains things very well. b. DBA 101 by Rachel Carmichael (and others). I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but I've got a friend who is an aspiring dba so I've looked at it and he really loves it. And since I'm a big fan of Rachel's work, I have to recommend it. 8. Well, I have been working with databases for many years. But my first Oracle job was an accident. I was hired for other skills that I had and the day I started my new manager said "the Oracle DBA is leaving. You've got a lot of database experience on your resume. Want to be our Oracle DBA?" The rest is history. My advice to you is to get Oracle installed and decide on a project that you can use and maintain. I built a contact manager using an Access front-end. I kept learning new ways to improve the design and adding new features. Besides coming in very handy for job searches, it gave me something to discuss when networking and someone would hear that I worked with databases and ask what I had worked on recently. I would also recommend looking up a local user group (start at www.ioug.org and click on the User Group link). Attend and make friends. These will be your peers and if you're lucky, you may find someone that will become your mentor. They may not be in a position to hire you, but they (we) are generally connected to the pulse of the hiring market and know when someone is looking to expand or hire a replacement. They can also help you learn new things and correct any misconceptions you have. At the social portion of the event (most user groups have conversation time) find someone who has been a dba for a number of years and ask them if you can talk to them. Explain what your understanding of something is and then pay attention as they either correct you or add to your knowledge. Before you know it, you will be sitting in an interview and the interviewer will ask you to explain how to use pctfree and you will know from your conversations and testing.
Good luck. Stephen Andert Scottsdale, Arizona >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 12/31 2:00 AM >>> > Questions for a Database Administrator: 1. What is the average salary range for an entry-level DBA position? Or a position for someone who is just starting out as a DBA? 2. In a job resume, should I request an entry-level position or would that set me up for no phone calls? 3. What are some steps I should take to becoming a DBA w/ the background that I have (ie. generated databases w/ MS Access)? a) Recommended training/education in Los Angeles area? b) Where do you recommend I study & is online training valuable? 4. If I could learn Oracle software on my own through Independent study (books & reference sites), could this be sufficient enough to go about to get a job? a) Is the OCP certification necessary? b) If I took this independent study route instead of formal training from like a vocational school, would the steps to getting a job (or even my OCP certification) be the same? Or would it be more difficult without formal training? 5. What are some valuable books and resources to aid in my training? 6. How much does Oracle9i cost & would it be worth it to get since i want to learn? Are there evaluation copies out there that I can get my hands on? 7. What are the basic introductory courses/resources/training I could do to learn or get started in DBA training? 8. Basically, please list the steps you took to become a DBA (starting with education/training to job entry) and how you sould suggest I should go about starting to learn the fundamentals and then more in depth? Thank you!! I really appreciate your help!! Please, write to me @ [EMAIL PROTECTED] thanks!! smiles & happy new year 2002!!!! -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Stephen Andert INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
