transition from Sysadmin to data modeler or DBA?

I want to make the transition from being a generic Unix/NT sysadmin to being an Oracle person - data modeling or DBA work. Unfortunately, there's no chance of making this move where I work, and I don't know how to make the transition elsewhere. If I get another IT job, I want to be a full-time Oracle person, not a generic "mr. fixit" sysadmin with Oracle being just one of many duties. I'm ready to commit to Oracle 100%.

How do I sell myself as a database person without being one already? I've had one course in relational database technology, know a little SQL and a little PL/SQL (this is not false modesty - I know very little of either), and have read a few books on Oracle architecture, but I don't have any real Oracle production experience.

Should I enroll in a Master's degree program in IS (as opposed to CS degrees, where one might be expected to be able to design database *engines* rather than implement Oracle for business apps)? Should I find a database development certificate program? (certainly would be cheaper) Recruiters seem to only know how to place people who are already full-blown database people. They don't seem to know what to do with people wanting to make a transition, so I'm stumped. Do data modelers fall into what they're doing straight out of (undergraduate) college? I'm willing to take a junior job to re-tool.

Any recommendations for database-centric certificate programs at Universities in the warmer US states (Hawaii, New Mexico, Arizona, etc), or in Australia?

Thanks.

• Janis

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Before you buy. Received on Thu Apr 06 2000 - 00:00:00 CDT