DBA Certification Benefits? Advice?

[Ryan Gagliano]

Hello. I am curious if anyone knows how beneficial a DBA certification is
for an individual. Come March of this year, I will be laid off due to a sale
of my current division and will need to start looking for another job fairly
soon (there is a retention bonus that I cannot pass up so I am staying until
March). I have been looking for a job in the New York/New Jersey area,
although I have only been browsing and not doing any hard pushing as of now.
I have not seen many jobs that require a DBA certification but do you think
this would help? I am sure it would but to what extent is my question?



The problem is I only have 2 years of experience with a mortgage company
doing tasks that a typical Data Analyst and Database Administrator perform,
although I have a System Administrator title. I even saved the company
$100,000 last year alone by discovering a glitch while doing some analysis
that several people before me did not notice; this alone nearly gains the
company $1 million over the life of these loans. I know this is something
exceptional but I do not have this on my resume and don't even know if it
should be on my resume.



I even asked to have my title changed and my boss agreed but the President
said no. The other problem is I currently live in the South and worry that
employees will hold this against me. Come April, I do have a friend who I
will live with in New York and plan to use his address on my resume to
hopefully help me with this issue. I have only heard back from 2 jobs in the
New York area and applied to numerous positions. I know that I am a hard
worker and a very quick learner but these days everyone claims to have these
qualities. The way I see it, you either have it or you don't.



So I am writing to see if I should spend the money to become certified.
Being that I only have a System Administrator title and 2 years of
experience, I figured this could potentially help me, although I am not
sure. Has anyone been hired strictly because they are a DBA? I know this
does not guarantee me a job but would it help my chances? Is it worth it?



In the same sense, I am only 9 credit hours away from being qualified to
take the CPA exam. I am sure this would be a much better
qualification..although I do not want to sit out of work while working for
this.



Is there anything else I can do to help my chances?



I would appreciate any advice or criticism from anyone!



Thank You,



Ryan

[DA Morgan]

Post by Ryan Gagliano
Hello. I am curious if anyone knows how beneficial a DBA certification is
for an individual. Come March of this year, I will be laid off due to a sale
of my current division and will need to start looking for another job fairly
soon (there is a retention bonus that I cannot pass up so I am staying until
March). I have been looking for a job in the New York/New Jersey area,
although I have only been browsing and not doing any hard pushing as of now.
I have not seen many jobs that require a DBA certification but do you think
this would help? I am sure it would but to what extent is my question?
The problem is I only have 2 years of experience with a mortgage company
doing tasks that a typical Data Analyst and Database Administrator perform,
although I have a System Administrator title. I even saved the company
$100,000 last year alone by discovering a glitch while doing some analysis
that several people before me did not notice; this alone nearly gains the
company $1 million over the life of these loans. I know this is something
exceptional but I do not have this on my resume and don't even know if it
should be on my resume.
I even asked to have my title changed and my boss agreed but the President
said no. The other problem is I currently live in the South and worry that
employees will hold this against me. Come April, I do have a friend who I
will live with in New York and plan to use his address on my resume to
hopefully help me with this issue. I have only heard back from 2 jobs in the
New York area and applied to numerous positions. I know that I am a hard
worker and a very quick learner but these days everyone claims to have these
qualities. The way I see it, you either have it or you don't.
So I am writing to see if I should spend the money to become certified.
Being that I only have a System Administrator title and 2 years of
experience, I figured this could potentially help me, although I am not
sure. Has anyone been hired strictly because they are a DBA? I know this
does not guarantee me a job but would it help my chances? Is it worth it?
In the same sense, I am only 9 credit hours away from being qualified to
take the CPA exam. I am sure this would be a much better
qualification..although I do not want to sit out of work while working for
this.
Is there anything else I can do to help my chances?
I would appreciate any advice or criticism from anyone!
Thank You,
Ryan

It may well depend on where you are located in terms of country and
region. In my part of the U.S., the Pacific Northwest, an OCP and $2.00
will get you a latte' at Starbucks.

[Taysha]

Post by DA Morgan

Post by Ryan Gagliano
Hello. I am curious if anyone knows how beneficial a DBA certification
is for an individual.

It may well depend on where you are located in terms of country and
region. In my part of the U.S., the Pacific Northwest, an OCP and $2.00
will get you a latte' at Starbucks.

Daniel,
So are you saying that only OCP's can get latte's at "Starbucks"?
Or latte's only cost $2 for OCP's?

Good Luck,
Avi.

[DA Morgan]

Post by Taysha

Post by DA Morgan

Post by Ryan Gagliano
Hello. I am curious if anyone knows how beneficial a DBA
certification is for an individual.

It may well depend on where you are located in terms of country and
region. In my part of the U.S., the Pacific Northwest, an OCP and $2.00
will get you a latte' at Starbucks.

Daniel,
So are you saying that only OCP's can get latte's at "Starbucks"?
Or latte's only cost $2 for OCP's?
Good Luck,
Avi.

Starbucks is an Oracle shop located here in Seattle. The $2.00 gets you
the latte. The OCP won't get you a job at Starbucks.

[Van Messner]

It depends on who you ask. I do contract work and my last three contracts
have been at Fortune 200 companies. Each contract has lasted 1.5 - 3 years.
And in each case the company pre-screened DBA applicants by eliminating
those who weren't Oracle certified. You can argue whether or not that is
fair or even a good idea - but that is what those companies did and still
do.
However, in your case you also have to weigh whether the time spent getting
certification would be better used in your job search. Both actvities can
chew up a lot of hours.

Post by Ryan Gagliano
Hello. I am curious if anyone knows how beneficial a DBA certification is
for an individual. Come March of this year, I will be laid off due to a sale
of my current division and will need to start looking for another job fairly
soon (there is a retention bonus that I cannot pass up so I am staying until
March). I have been looking for a job in the New York/New Jersey area,
although I have only been browsing and not doing any hard pushing as of now.
I have not seen many jobs that require a DBA certification but do you think
this would help? I am sure it would but to what extent is my question?
The problem is I only have 2 years of experience with a mortgage company
doing tasks that a typical Data Analyst and Database Administrator perform,
although I have a System Administrator title. I even saved the company
$100,000 last year alone by discovering a glitch while doing some analysis
that several people before me did not notice; this alone nearly gains the
company $1 million over the life of these loans. I know this is something
exceptional but I do not have this on my resume and don't even know if it
should be on my resume.
I even asked to have my title changed and my boss agreed but the President
said no. The other problem is I currently live in the South and worry that
employees will hold this against me. Come April, I do have a friend who I
will live with in New York and plan to use his address on my resume to
hopefully help me with this issue. I have only heard back from 2 jobs in the
New York area and applied to numerous positions. I know that I am a hard
worker and a very quick learner but these days everyone claims to have these
qualities. The way I see it, you either have it or you don't.
So I am writing to see if I should spend the money to become certified.
Being that I only have a System Administrator title and 2 years of
experience, I figured this could potentially help me, although I am not
sure. Has anyone been hired strictly because they are a DBA? I know this
does not guarantee me a job but would it help my chances? Is it worth it?
In the same sense, I am only 9 credit hours away from being qualified to
take the CPA exam. I am sure this would be a much better
qualification..although I do not want to sit out of work while working for
this.
Is there anything else I can do to help my chances?
I would appreciate any advice or criticism from anyone!
Thank You,
Ryan

[Tesserae]

I'm of the opinion that once you choose to go down the path of
competing in a commodity market (OCP is a commodity), you send a clear
message that you see yourself as defined by those boundaries. It may
get you a job or 2, and, for that matter, it might keep you in
market-rate contracts ad infinitum. My advice is to see it for what it
is, move past it quickly, and de-emphasize the importance of it over
time as you build a real resume.