DB/DBA related certification

TheDoc

Hi all,

I'm currently looking around for some part-time degrees or related courses for Database/ DBA related material.

I'm currently in full time employment, and as part of ongoing development I've identified Databases as an area where I can get certification/education and bring real value to my company. We have a gaping hole when it comes to Db stuff.

I'm pretty much self taught, and over the course of the last year a lot of DB stuff has come under my remit, which is fine, but I'd love to get myself proper recognised degrees/certification in this area. Not only will it help improve my immediate income, it will be handy down the line to have some CV related proof that I can work with Databases.

My department head agrees that it's an area that would bring value, and would happy to review a proposal I submit, with the company covering expenses.

I've been looking around and can't find anything DB specific. While I'm probably at the intermediate stage , I wouldn't mind starting from scratch incase .

Basically any advice or direction on any DBA/DB related courses would be great.

As I said I'm in fulltime employment, 4 years working in application support and related areas, and have a level 8 degree relating to business information systems. I'd be looking in the Dublin area.

sheroman01

I'm in the exact same boat right now. What course/certs did you do in the end?

SBG387

Do you need to find a course where it is an in-person, instructor-led training course or have you considered online options?

When I worked in corporate IT, I know people looked down on the notion of doing an online course for €xxx rather than paying €xxxx for an in-person event held in Dublin. The thought process was: If my company is happy to pay for something, then surely the €xxxx course is more valuable!

However, my experience is that in-person course will not be tailored specifically for your needs and your experience levels. You may find training companies who will have a Beginner course and a separate Intermediate course and then one or more Advanced courses. Each course will be 2-5 days long.

Perhaps I've had bad luck but in most in-person technical courses that I've attended, up to 60-70% of the material on each course will probably be of little use to you and after 3-4 days sitting in a training room thinking about your next tea break (where you'll get free lukewarm tea and soggy biscuits), you'll get demotivated (i.e. you'll start surfing the net!).

On the opposite end of the scale, some material may be absolutely what you need to learn but the in-person training schedule does not give you the time to stop, dig deeper and really get into the heart of the material. You will tell yourself you will spend a bit more time on this particular topic after the course. You will write it in your course notes. And you will not look at these course notes again.

If you look online, you will probably find a lot of options in the DB / DBA area. Many will have very low price points but this is not always an indication of low quality. Look at the content they say they cover, look at testimonials, look for money-back guarantees.

Worst-case scenario, they will cover exactly the same material as the in-person event covers. But if 70% of the material is no use to you, at least you can click FAST FORWARD on the online course rather than have to sit through the on-site trainer waffling on while you look at the latest cute cat video online.

Do you want a piece of paper at the end to prove you had the ability to stay seated for 2-4 days and to prove your company wanted to invest €xxxx in your professional development?

Or, do you want to spend 2-4 days on a number of online courses that will cover far more material, enabling you to learn at exactly the pace you need (and rewind or dig deeper online into a specific topic as needed)?

Just a thought..