Re: Best way to learn Oracle?

jonathan.conway_at_gmail.com wrote:
> G'day folks!
>
> I've been in I.T. for a while, but web development isn't so lucrative
> nowadays.
>
> I'm very interested in learning Oracle as well as doing some Oracle
> exams.
>
> Can anyone point me in the right direction as far as books, websites,
> etc.? Based on your own experience learning Oracle?
>
> Thanks
>
> JAC
You may be confused at this point by the posts talking about dba. Don't even bother doing the dba route, you want to follow the development advice (like from Mark, hpuxrac and Noons). I think there is a growing market for those who know both Oracle development and web development stuff. This newsgroup is dba-centric.

So you want to go to otn.oracle.com and look at developer stuff there. Also, look for Application Express (htmldb), and download Oracle XE. "Oracle" is a broad subject with many pieces, your first job might be sorting through them all.

After you've been in the pool a few years, then you may have an idea whether you want to go the dba route, as it then exists. Don't be taken in by the certification hype, unless you can get someone else to pay for it or are in an environment where it explicitly makes a difference (such as government).

It will also help greatly if you take a formal database class that teaches such concepts as normalization and relational theory. Those are the most important concepts to get your head around, you may have to unlearn a lot of bad mental habits depending on how you got to where you are now (I've seen COBOLers and MS net admins never even get the relational mindset).

When it comes down to it, the most important thing for getting specific jobs is to be able to demonstrate the skills in demand. To keep the career going, you must have a range of skills and be able to quickly adapt to what's hot. To do that, you need a strong grounding in the fundamentals. You make your luck.

See also http://www.dbaoracle.net/readme-cdos.htm

jg

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