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Home -> Community -> Mailing Lists -> Oracle-L -> RE: How to break into DBA/Systems work without going broke doing
And usually the more DBA is knowledgeable - the more s/he is open to answer questions. I have one friend (she is a developer, never did any DBA work, went to Cancun for a week with Oracle course materials and passed OCP tests in couple of weeks after that). She asked their DBA about values of some of the parameters and 10 Minutes after that read access to parameter file was revoked. One of variation of this is not to give access to v$ views etc.
Alex Hillman
-----Original Message----- From: Jeffery Stevenson [SMTP:jeff_at_mpv.com] Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 1:00 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: How to break into DBA/Systems work without goingbroke doing
I started out as a Pro*C developer and helped out our help desk on rotation when our product was released. This was the help desk that fielded all the questions that the administrators out at all the sites needed help finding answers to...kinda like this list (well except that I couldn't pick and choose which questions I would answer). :) Anyways, since I did such a wonderful job helping the admins get their problems resolved, they asked me to help our DBA team out by developing utilities to ease the burden of managing and propagating changes to the 1250 Oracle v6 instances we had. Then one day the boss of a friend of mine (who I had been helping with some Oracle problems he had run into) called and asked if I would be interested in helping with their current project of migrating mainframe apps to Oracle...and after all the hassle of getting me over to his organization, I became the primary DBA and Developer2000 person. As for becoming a DBA and easing the transition, one way is to become friendly with any DBAs you know (preferably where you work at or at least nearby)...show interest in what they do and see if they'll show you stuff. Ask them if you can sit in when they do a reorg late at night or over the weekend (well, if you can't sacrifice your salary, then you generally have to give up some time). Don't ask too many questions or get in the way...just watch and take notes (and then try it on your own on a test box somewhere which will answer most of the questions anyways, but if you still have questions, you can ask them about it now and get better responses because there isn't any crunch-time pressure involved). Network and chat with DBAs all around about Oracle stuff and when they go to hire a new DBA you just might have a chance that they remember you and might give you a call to see if you're interested. Despite appearances sometimes, we're mostly a friendly lot. :) Jeffery Stevenson Chief Database Geek Medical Present Value, Inc. Austin, TX -----Original Message----- Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 10:31 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L it? OK, now I have to ask a question. How did you(general) break into the DBA business? I'm not currently a DBA, I've installed a few development instances with the help of the NT dbassitant, tried looking for work as a DBA a couple of years ago, then realized how much I didn't know and in many ways was glad I didn't get a job as a DBA. Now, I'm playing 8.1.5 on Solaris, but really, I'm not cutting my salary in half in order to break into the systems side of the house, so how does a person move from development to systems without going broke in the process? PS - I have some ideas, but I'm curious about your ideas. Dan -----Original Message----- Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 11:11 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Cherie, OK, point well taken, so "silver bullet" would translate into "the one item that will succeed when no other does", "magic formula". And, no he never did say he had an OCP, but he did say he was taking a "course" to get his OCP. To me having an OCP certificate without any experience is totally meaningless. All it tells me is that you can memorize information and take a test. It does not tell me that you'll hold up in a crisis or that you really understand the consequences of your actions. That experience speaks volumes more. Now someone with a number of years experience AND an OCP certificate is a different matter altogether. Consequently my question, are new people looking at the OCP as the gateway into a position that they could not otherwise get? BTW: I'm not trying to either criticize or "brow beat" Xing. If that impression has been left, then I apologize. He asked a question, similar ones I field in house each day, and he was given an answer that is similar to the ones I hand out to my developers although I'd have given him the page number too and a whole lot less trash than Xing has gotten from this list. In my mind that is sufficient to the purpose. Now if that creates additional questions, a much longer dissertation on the results is in order. Dick Goulet ____________________Reply Separator____________________ Author: Cherie_Machler_at_gelco.com Date: 3/29/2001 6:35 AM Dick/Lee/Joe, I'm not trying to defend him but unless I have not yet recieved a post in my mail, Xing never said he had an OCP. Plus, Lee, I think you may need to define "silver bullet". It probably doesn't translate for people who don't use English as a second language. Cherie Machler Gelco Information Network (really too busy this morning migrating a database to be sticking my nose where it doesn't belong) dgoulet_at_vicr.com_at_fatcity.com on 03/29/2001 08:00:45 AM Please respond to ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com Sent by: root_at_fatcity.com To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com> cc: Lee & Joe, While I do agree that is possible one should try to figure these things out, and this really is a simple one, there does come a time when asking for help is appropriate. In this case Lee's answer is very much so. As far as taking an OCP course, that does torque my jaws. Over the last two years we must have had 10 people looking for a job who's only mention of Oracle on their resume is that they have their OCP certificate. Needless to say, not a one of them has been invited in for an interview. I'll ask the question that's been bugging me for some time, Xing, do you think this is some kind of "silver bullet" to getting a job? Dick Goulet ____________________Reply Separator____________________ Author: "Joseph S. Testa" <teci_at_oracle-dba.com> Date: 3/29/2001 4:05 AM Lee, i'm with you 200%, oh and for the original addressee(and others) if you can't figure out what the heck that simple pl/sql block is doing(or where to figure it out), then quit diluting the OCP worthiness, people who study just to take the OCP and have no experience just go to further the waste of paper that the certificate is printed on. :) joe lerobe - Lee Robertson wrote:
>
> Xing,
>
> Have a look at the documentation, specifically, Application
Developers
> Guide, section dealing with "Using Procedures and Packages".
>
> No disrespect intended but sometimes, certainly for questions such
as this,
> you will learn a heck of a lot more by digging around in the docs,
and
> reading (and working out) the answer for yourself. That is
certainly my
> experience. You will also fell encouraged to delve further and
learn more
> about other packages etc. Hope my pointer will help you.
>
> To the rest of you - I know it would have been quicker to write
down the
> answer to Xings question, but what will he have learned about the
general
> syntax ??
>
> Regards
>
> Lee
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Sent: 29 March 2001 07:05
> To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
>
> Hi DBAs and SAs,
>
> Can someone tell me what is this ORACLE PL/SQL Script all about,..
> Ya... I know I have to read alot, my OCP course will start next
month.
>
> BEGIN
> dbms_utility.analyze_schema ( '&OWNER', 'ESTIMATE', NULL, 5 ) ;
> END ;
> /
>
> Thank you
>
>
-- Joe Testa http://www.oracle-dba.com Performing Remote DBA Services, need some backup DBA support? For Sale: Oracle-dba.com domain, its not going cheap but feel free to ask :) -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Joseph S. Testa INET: teci_at_oracle-dba.com 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: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (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). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: dgoulet_at_vicr.com 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: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (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). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: Cherie_Machler_at_gelco.com 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: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (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). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: dgoulet_at_vicr.com 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: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (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). _____________________________________________________________________ This e-mail message has been scanned for the presence of all known computer viruses by the MessageLabs Virus Control Center. However, it is still recommended that you use local virus scanning software to monitor for the presence of viruses. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Dasko, Dan INET: Dan.Dasko_at_cdicorp.com 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: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (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). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Jeffery Stevenson INET: jeff_at_mpv.com 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: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (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).
-- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Hillman, Alex INET: Alex.Hillman_at_usmint.treas.gov 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: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (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).Received on Thu Mar 29 2001 - 13:32:45 CST
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