I don't personally rate the OCP, I think it's another means for Oracle Education to generate more revenue. I also think the Oracle products have actually got easier to use over the years and if you understand the principles of Oracle Forms3 then it shouldn't take too long to pick up the newer versions of forms. It maybe worth buying a few Oracle books, specifically Oracle8 Complete Reference and then get hold of software (e.g. Oracle8 RDBMS and the Developer products (Forms, Reports)) and play around with it.

If you definitely want to do the OCP then I think you'll need some practical experience as well.

As a last resort check out

Hello,

If you want to look at oracle training try QA Training they do thier own Oracle courses and also Oracle Certification.

If your prospective employers like a peice of paper to prove stuff then offical oracle courses and exams are the best, But for "Real world" skills then QA's own curriculum may be better.

They also do Web based Oracle courses!

Look in the Oracle Zone or Search for Oracle courses. There is a full description of the courses, flow charts etc and you can book/buy online.

Lee

I've got to agree with you about the paper certificates especially with regards MCSEs http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/frown.gif

Not saying all MCSEs are crap, but the whole course is designed to "Learn The Book" (which of course you have to buy http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/rolleyes.gif ) & o/side experience is not tolerated.

Had an installation done of MS Exchange & IIS & if it wasn't in the proceedural list, then they didn't have a clue (3x MSCEs http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/eek.gif ). The terms "imagination" & "initiative" were lacking I think.

Rant over & apologies to efficient MCSEs out there http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/smile.gif

Well I've been made redundant from my job.

Time then for a career change back into development. As I've got some Oracle development skills (6 years ago, forms v3 etc) I thought this would be my best bet considering the current jobs market in S.Wales.

I was wondering if anyone has done the OCAD / OCP courses by using the CD-ROM training stuff? Do you think I can pick up Oracle 7/8 stuff by bying the CBT CD-ROMS?

Any help or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Buf.

Its one of those things where there isnt a clear cut answer.

we have OCP staff in our company and non-OCP staff doing the same jobs. Those who hold the exam aren't necessarily any better at what they do.

I'm not a lover of certified exams cos I meet too many idiots who think they know it all because they have a piece of paper - there is no substitute for experience imho.

However, saying that...some jobs may require an OCP, or offer bonuses which makes it worthwhile. Then its clearly worth doing !

OCP dummy tests can be downloaded from oracle's website.

Not wanting to put a dampener on it, but things have *really* moved on since forms3 ! My advice would be to get into the dba perspective - there is less change in the core functions of the database than in the toolsets.

Lee,
I totally agree with you when you say "there is no substitute for experience".

Stan,
Thanks for the book recomendation, now where can I get hold of some software?? http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/biggrin.gif

GranTurismo and Puff, thanks for your comments. Hey GT - are you on some sort of commission then. http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif

I'm hoping that my 11 years of experience will carry some weight in the job market. However if my CV said I was "currently studying for OCP" blah blah..it would probably make me look more suitable for an Oracle position. That's the only reason I'm considering OCP stuff at this stage.

Cheers,
Buf (looking for a job with company scooby provided) http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/smile.gif