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Question of the week
Follow up to last week's CertAdvisor
Select questions & answers
Share your cert-experience
How CertAdvisor answers questions


Question of the week

Q1) Can I start from Ground Zero and become an Oracle DBA? Is any prior knowledge of programming required? Should I first take a course in Oracle developer? (From Familiadc) 

ANS) Yes, you can start from ground zero and become an Oracle DBA. You do not require previous programming experience. The Oracle DBA track consists of five exams, and one of them is Introduction to PL/SQL. Regardless of whether you will be creating database objects or not, anyone working with Oracle should have at least a basic working knowledge of PL/SQL. In fact, this exam is common to both the DBA and Developer track. You do not need to take developer classes before becoming a DBA. We would recommend that you take the Oracle DBO (Database Operator) exam, which gives you an overview of what a DBA would do.

Follow up to last week’s Cert Advisor

Q2) Which prominent vendor-neutral Network Security certificates are available for networking professionals? (Bill_Mufson)

ANS) Some of the prominent vendor-neutral Network Security certificates are: 

CISSP and SSCP
International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc (ISC)² offers two certification examinations: the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and the Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP). 
http://www.isc2.org/examinations.html

CIW Professional certification
Prosoft Training offers CIW Security Professional exam (1D0-470) as one of the series of Master CIW Administrator certificate.
http://www.ciwcertified.com/certifications/mcasa.asp?comm=home&llm=1

ICSA, ICSE and ICSP
ICSA Labs, a division of TruSecure Corporation, has created three industry certifications for network security professionals: ICSA Certified Security Associate (ICSA), ICSA Certified Security Expert (ICSE), and ICSA Certified Security Professional (ICSP).
http://www.trusecure.com/html/secsol/practitioner.shtml

Select question(s) & answer(s)

Q3) Which certificate authorizes me to teach MS Office? What are the required courses? (From Donclark)

ANS) The Microsoft Office User Specialist Authorized Instructor credential is for individuals who are or want to become trainers for various Microsoft® Office applications such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint® and Microsoft Project 2000.

To become a MOUS AI you need to: 
*Pass a minimum of 2 expert–level MOUS certification exams (or core-level exams for Microsoft PowerPoint®, Microsoft Access, or Microsoft Outlook®) 
*Provide documentation of instructional credentials 
*Provide a course outline for each Microsoft Office application on which you plan to deliver instruction 
*Sign MOUS AI program agreement 
*Pay a $50 application-processing fee
*For details please visit:  http://www.microsoft.com/trainingandservices/default.asp?PageID=mcp&PageCall=instructor&SubSite=cert/mous

Share your cert-experience

Should middle age career changers return to college? N. Dawood, Rob Elder and Wade Hoffarth respond to Gary Pelline’s last week’s cert-experience.

N. Dawood: I struggled more for less 

”I have been in IT field for last 14 years. When I started working with computers back in 1986, I was just in High School. As I was pretty busy with my work, I never bothered to get a bachelor degree. 

But later, as Gray’s student did, I struggled more but got less in return. The lack of a college degree kept me away from promotions and pay rises at work, and even forced me to work under newcomers who were less experienced but had a college degree. 

This situation made me join a part-time degree course. My employer promoted me immediately when I completed my graduation."

Rob Elder: No stumbling block

”I am a middle age career changer without a college degree. After spending 25 years in food business, I am currently an MCT, working full time for a large training school for a salary in excess of 65K. I also run my own consulting firm on a part time basis. I've been in the IT field since 1998.

The lack of a college degree was not a stumbling block for me. However, I did struggle a bit due to lack of experience in IT as many HR recruiters refused to recognize my self-employment as bona fide qualification…
But I managed, as I knew how to package and promote myself to employers. 

Many skills I had acquired from my previous field, proved to be useful in my new career. For instance, I used to do a lot of hiring for my previous companies, and knew that many times, the content of a prospective employee's answer to a question wasn't as important as nature of his or her response and ability to think on feet.

I got my current job, as I knew how to prepare the resume and behave in an interview. These subjects are covered in many good books that are widely available. I often see this trait in my students. The value of certifications in this context is that they help a candidate to get that all-important interview call. But it still is only part of the package...”

Wade Hoffarth: Combine certificates with degrees 

”I am a certified network administrator, who at 31, returned to school and at 36, graduated with AAS in network management. I attended night school for each consecutive semester of those years, and managed to maintain a high GPA, which helped secure scholarships and grants, and thus eased the financial burden of college expenses. 

While my employer did not contribute to this effort, I still felt it was necessary. Certainly anyone who has worked in a professional atmosphere will tell you that management usually respects a college graduate a little more than an IT certified individual. The doors to corporate America are often closed to those without college degrees. Fair or not, certification is not always the name of the game…

I obtained A+ certificate and was able to take several courses towards MCSE through college, as part of my degree track. (I could have gained MOUS as well). I finished MCSE through a non-college provider and though I didn't take the actual coursework at school, I was still awarded college credit. Through college classes I also acquired adequate knowledge to pass Network+. 

Many colleges combine this type of real world training with their degree tracks today; I highly recommend that those in similar situations should pursue this option and achieve both certifications and degrees, instead of choosing to obtain only one or the other.

…This also eased my burden at school and cut one year off my projected graduation date. I was able to manage this as a single father, with a full time day job, by negotiating with my employer to at least allow me to leave 2 hours early 2 days per week and making that time up by doing an occasional "dial-in" work. 
In terms of salaries, I gained little sequential increases as each of my certificates ‘qualified’ me to apply for higher ‘value’ jobs. However, after I earned my degree, many new opportunities, which were previously not available to me as a ‘non-qualified’ candidate, became available. 

I have actually enquired from my prospective employers during "question and answer" type interviews on the value they placed on graduation as opposed to certification. For them a degree indicates commitment and an ability to see things through on a long-term basis. Certified professionals are seen as opportunity seekers, though in a positive manner. Further, certified professionals are regarded as goal-oriented individuals, who have demonstrated an ability to advance professionally. “

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