Re: So what if 8i is outta support ?

From: DA Morgan <damorgan_at_x.washington.edu>
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2004 21:35:44 -0700
Message-ID: <1098765287.748220@yasure>

Robert wrote:

> "DA Morgan"
>

>>Last week I was interviewing PL/SQL developers. No one whose experience
>>was 8i (and not 9i) was even considered. Next week I begin interviewing
>>DBA candidates. Those whose primary experience is 8i won't get past
>>having their resumes tossed into the recycling.

>
>
> First thanks for all the great responses!
>
> wow that was a bit extreme, imo.
> DBA - that's a different story.
> But re PL/SQL - please tell me what's SO DIFFERENT btw 8i/9i and 10g
> that warrants this kinda drastic filtering approach ?
>
> I'd happily take a seasoned 8i pl/sql guy who has read Tom Kytes books
> over any 10g-certified-up-the-wazoo guy.

I want people that are so into and interested in what they do that they keep their skills current. I want people that when a problem is presented aren't going to write V7 code in the database because they are unfamiliar with sorted hash clusters, with regular expressions, with bulk collection, with DBMS_STATS, with associative arrays, with DBMS_XPLAN. Could I teach people these things? Of course. That's what I do at the university. But when I hire people to go to a client site they need to operate indepently. They need to be aware of many possible solutions. I don't want to see cursor loops unless there is a compelling reason to use them. And those whose previous experience is 8i, by and large, are still asking what happened to server manager and where are the rollback segments. Consider how many years it has been since 9i hit the market? How incurious must you be to not have experience with it? I doesn't need to be experience with your employer ... we all know that an employer may well stay with what works and is paid for if it is stable. But on your own? Not having done that to me is a black mark.

And to those that think I am some geek sitting in front of a computer learning Oracle all day ... you couldn't be more wrong: I have a life. And a 50' ketch that I take out sailing spring, summer, and fall. Scuba tanks on the boat and skis just waiting two more weeks for a bit more snow at Crystal or Mt. Baker. Life is for the living ... live it! But that doesn't mean not keeping your skills up to date.

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
University of Washington
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace 'x' with 'u' to respond)

Received on Mon Oct 25 2004 - 23:35:44 CDT