n Certificatio Secrets Howard Fosdick 630 -279 -4286

n Certificatio Secrets ! Howard Fosdick (630)-279 -4286 hfosdick@compuserve. com (C) 2004 FCI 1 v. U. 1

Who Am I ? Independent Contractor: * * Hands-on DBA / SA Oracle, DB 2 UDB, SQL Server Articles, books, presentations Founder & past president - IDUG & MWDUG * hfosdick@compuserve. com Certifications: * Oracle DBA * IBM DB 2 DBA 2

Why this Talk? “Thanks, I needed that!” * In 1997 I took my 1 st cert exam * I barely passed * On my next exam I missed just 1 question * This talk tells you the “certification secrets” I discovered Please share yours too ! 3

Why this Talk? * Most certification articles are biased “Don’t mislead me!” We need OBJECTIVE information ! 4

Outline 1. How did Certification start ? 2. Why the “Sales Job” ? 3. How to make it work for you 4. Secrets to Saving Money 5. Secrets to Passing the Tests ! 6. Certs * SA * DBA 5

The Dawn of Certification … Every Vendor Joins in !! Novell Microsoft joins in Early 80 s Early 90 s Late 90 s 6

Today: Hundreds of Certs 95% Software & Hardware Vendors 5% Vendor-neutral Organizations Vendors: Sun, IBM, NP, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, CA, Red Hat, Novell, BMC, Comp. TIA, LPI, Cisco, others. . . Areas: SA, SE, DBA, Programmer, Developer, others. . . 7

They’re Selling it to You ! Software Vendors Training Firms Trade Press Publishers Contract Firms Colleges and Junior Colleges Hardware Vendors Conferences User Groups Mutual sales interest

Because Self-Interests Converge! Vendors Employees Employers want a quick way to “qualify” applicants Some use certification

The Vendors’ Real Game * Few certify with more than 1 product * IT pros promote what they know * Converts an “SA” to a “Product SA” * Creates a “hidden, ” unpaid sales force ! * Product control & manipulation Marketing Control “Buffy tells me you’re ours now. . . ” Manipulation

II. How to Make Certification Work for You ! 11

Can You Benefit ? Those with marginal credentials benefit most ! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. College grad “breaking in” Mom returning to workforce Programmer trying to become DBA Unemployed IT manager going back to technical Prove skills are current SA expanding skills to another platform Contractor “trump card” Junior person Intangible Benefits: Fun, Challenge, Satisfaction 12

Who Loses ? Those who already have the credentials You may be forced to certify if it becomes a job credential in your area ! * * Costs you Time and Money Esp. if courses are required Forces you to specialize Forces career dependency on (1) Product (2) Vendor “But I do know Oracle!” 13

“Cert Traps” Why ? • Not marketable • Require courses • Too many tests “ • Too-frequent upgrade tests (vendor control freak) • Rules change too frequently “ “ “ • Vendor de-certifies “ “ “ • (vendor revenue-generator) “ Non-transparent scoring (like SAT) “ “ “ 14 “

How Valuable are Certs ? • • Certification Magazine 2003 Survey See www. certmag. com 19, 000 IT pros worldwide How objectively are results interpreted ? 3. 2 certs / person avg survey respondent 15% avg salary increase due to cert $2, 715 avg cost to individual for each cert Cisco CCIE Comp. TIA A+ Comp. TIA Linux+ Comp. TIA Server+ HP SA 72. 5 HP SE HP Master SE IBM DB 2 DBA IBM SA LPI Key 96. 6 = $96, 600 96. 9 47. 8 52. 4 53. 1 73. 5 69. 2 78. 7 77. 4 n/a 68. 1 MS MCDBA MS MCSE Novell CAN Novell CNE Oracle DBA 65. 9 64. 0 63. 5 71. 5 Red Hat RHCT Red Hat RHCE Sun Java Dev. Sun SA UNIX 60. 6 71. 6 75. 0 70. 7 72. 8 15

How Do You Figure Out Which Certs Matter Career-wise ? • View job ads • • • Web In print (Sunday Tribune) “Community” indicators • Restricted access to web sites, other resources 16

Which Certs Are Key Career-wise? Windows MCSE Exceptions– Depending on where you work System Administrators Solaris AIX HP/UX Other Unix Linux My. SQL Others Database Administrators Oracle DB 2 SQL Server 17

Certification Costs Oracle 8 i DBA example. . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5 required tests 125 = 625 4 books w/ CDs 75 = 300 5 sample test CDs 100 = 500 2 training classes 1, 600 = 3, 200 -------$4, 625 “Here, I don’t need it. Am I smart enough to certify ? ” * Biggest single item is Classes * Time is key (study 3 to 5 weeks per test) Computerworld article pegged costs at $4 k - $10 k on 03/01 18

Joe SA “Hidden” Cost = Upgrade Tests 1 Upgrade Test per Release Solaris 9 Solaris 8 Solaris 7 Upgrade tests costs Time and Money 19

Secrets to Reducing Your Costs -- Don’t take Classes YES vendor required? NO You’re stuck Consider them NO product experience? YES Save your money • Get employer to pay • Find cheaper Cert. 20

Secrets to Reducing Your Costs 1. Employers pay for “Employee Development” they can quantify. “The world is ours!” Download vendor’s website sales pitches to sell them! 2. Get them to: 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. (1) Pay for Classes or Exam fees (2) Time at work (3) Product access/practice Get free product access (download or via employer) Vendors offer free online Practice Tests Take “Beta Tests” Free testing at conferences, user groups, etc. Lots of free cert info online www. cramsession. com, www. certmag. com, www. certcities. com, the vendors… 21

How To Take the Tests • See vendor website • • Prometric at www. prometric. com Vue at www. vue. com • • Pay by credit card Go to a Testing Center on test day/time You show 2 forms of picture ID They give you a PC PC program gives you the test Most are multiple-choice (some adaptive) You end the test or screen freezes if time runs out You get immediate PASS/FAIL plus printout • • Some tests tell you how well you did with topic analysis 22 Others are like the SAT and give you no info!

What Percent Pass Each Test ? 75% Pass Rate (est. ) Sources: DB 2 Magazine, Cert. Magazine, LPI, IDUG, Red Hat, etc. 60% 65% 70% 55% LPI Red Hat Microsoft Oracle IBM 23 Pass Rate relates inversely to Trivia Ratio

Wisdom ! Secrets to Passing the Tests Steps to Certification: 1. Check vendor website * Rules * Freebies, study materials, etc. 2. Study a Cert Book (Written on the test you’ll take) boom ! 3. Hands-on Experience 4. Practice Tests (Do not rely on vendor’s practice tests) Skip a step and your chances of a pass plummet ! 24

Secrets to Passing the Tests * Vendor owns their tests (quality control, difficulty) Understand their policies and the lay of the land before proceeding! * Flunk rates are 1 in 2 to 1 in 4 …therefore… * You must study specifically for the test you want to pass * It does not matter what you know or can do… You must memorize the trivia ! * Memorizing product-specific technical trivial is key ! Little correspondence between passing tests and your effectiveness on the job 25

Secrets to Passing the Tests * Many vended “Practice Tests” give you a huge edge Example: 50 50 questions, Practice Test gives you 5 answers to the questions, Practice Test gives you 5 key answers hardest questions this almost guarantees passing to the hardest questions – – this almost guarantees a pass ! * MCSE – buy Transcender Oracle – buy Self. Test * Plug into the online community for the test you’ll take => Spend 2 hours surfing to get info before you spend 3 to 5 weeks preparing per test Psyche out the test before you take it ! 26

III. SA Certifications 27

Market Share Trends The “Big 3” Server OSs * Unix * Linux * Windows The “Big 3” Unixes * Sun Solaris * IBM AIX * HP HP/UX 28

Number of Tests Required --- Standard SA Certs. Number of Tests 2 1 Solaris 9 AIX 5 L HP/UX Comp. TIA LPI Linux+ Level 1 29

Sun Solaris Certification Solaris Security Solaris Certified Administrator --- or --optionally 2 tests @$150 each Solaris Network Certification: Questions Pass: Time: (minutes) Cost: Solaris Certified Admin I- $150 II- $150 57 58 64% 65% 105 Solaris Security $150 60 60% 90 Solaris Network $150 64 70% 105 30

Sun Solaris Certification • Sun also offers Java Developer, other certs • Web-based practice exams for all tests • Solaris 9 Upgrade test: $100, 41 questions, 68% to pass, 60 minutes • Website: http: //training. sun. com/US/certification • Secrets to passing – • Buy Exam. Cram 2 study book w/ questions • and/or the QUE Training Guide 31

AIX Certification Typical System Administrator path… AIX System Administrator 1 test $120? Advanced Technical Expert 3 tests Fuller Explanation… Advanced Technical Expert --- or --AIX System Administrator HACMP Certified --- or --32 p. Series Systems Support P 690 Technical Support

AIX Certification Tests to Pass: Prereqs: Tests You Take: Number of Questions: AIX System Administrator 1 none 191 62 PSeries Systems Support 1 none 199 72 HACMP Certified Certification: 1 191 or 199 187 50 P 690 Technical Support 1 191 or 199 195 68 Advanced Technical Expert 3 191 or 199 Your choice 233/4/5/6, 187 or 195 Varies 33

IBM AIX Certification • IBM offers many related certs • Web-based practice exams for all tests • Website: http: //www-1. ibm. com/certify • Details on each test at: http: //www-1. ibm. com/certify/tests/info. shtml • Secrets to saving money – • IBM offers many free downloads for studying (Redbooks, manuals, articles, etc) 34

HP/UX Certification Typical System Administrator path… HP/UX Certified System Administrator (CSA) 1 test $100 (2 hours, 80 Qs) HP/UX Certified System Engineer (CSE) 2 day course with on-site exam $1, 300 plus travel • HP offers many related certs for SA’s • • Tru 64, Open. VMS, etc. Website: www. hp. com/go/certification 35

Linux SA Certs Vendor Neutral -- Fragmented mess ! -- No dominant cert Vendor Specific Comp. TIA Linux+ 1 test -- lightweight Red Hat RHCT, RHCE Required courses -- Expensive ! -- 40% fail ! LPI 6 tests In 3 levels -- 50% fail ! Suse IBM others. . . 36 -- fragmented market

Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Level 1 Level 2 2 tests @$100 each • • 2 tests @$100 each Level 3 2 tests @$100 each Vendor neutral 2 Tests per Level @ $100 per test No expiration Level 3 tests are in development Website: www. lpi. org Extreme trivia challenge Complex passing algorithm Only 50%+ pass -- by design ! 37

Comp. TIA Linux+ 1 test $145 (90 minutes, 94 questions, complex pass algorithm) • Vendor neutral • Comp. TIA is known for A+ (popular for PC support technicians) • Server+, Network+, Security+, others • All are 1 Test each @ $145 • Linux+ covers hardware ! • Website: www. comptia. org 38

Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) 4. 5 day course includes ½ day hands-on test • Expensive ! Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Required course includes test ($900 -> $3000 per course plus travel) (Average is > $2000) • Failure rate is between 37% and 42% • If the course is any good, you’d think you’d pass ! Source: Failure Rate from Red Hat website 03/15/04 • Website: www. redhat. com/training/certification 39

Microsoft MCSE 7 tests @$125 each “I feel like a hamster on the wheel…” • An important cert to have if you support Windows servers • • • MS makes frequent program changes MS de-certifies those who don’t upgrade on their schedule Windows 2000 -> Windows 2003 requires two upgrade tests Trivial pursuit style questions Adaptive testing ? ? ? Website: www. microsoft. com or www. microsoft. com/trainingandservices/ • Secrets to passing – Buy practice tests from www. transcender. com Buy Microsoft’s MCSE Training Kits 40

IV. DBA Certifications 41

Market Share Trends The Big “ 3” Databases Other 15% Oracle 34% Sources: Gartner, Dataquest, IDC, FCI IBM 34% Microsoft 17% 42

Marketability by Platform Windows Server ORACLE 40% MS 50% Sources: Gartner, IDC, Dataquest, FCI Other 40% ORACLE 60% Other 10% Mainframe DB 2 > 90% Unixes i. Series Other 10% DB 2 > 90% 43

Number of Tests Required --- Standard DBA Certs. Plus 1 required course 4 Number of Tests 2 MS SQL Server 2000 Oracle 9 i OCP IBM V 8 44

Oracle DBA OCA (Associate) 1 test @$90 1 test @$125 OCP (DBA) 2 tests @$125 each Plus 1 course OCM (Master) 2 courses Plus 1 test • OCP is the most marketable DBA cert • • • OCP is the “standard” DBA certification Oracle offers many other related certs OCP course requirement is new in 9 i release 2 OCM is expensive -- few will pay this Download Oracle trial copy free Website: www. oracle. com or www. oracle. com/education/certification/index. html • Secrets to passing – Buy practice tests from www. selftestsoftware. com 45 Buy Jason S. Couchman’s book with practice tests

IBM DB 2 DBA You choose z/OS or LUW Database Associate 1 test $120 Database Administrator Advanced Database Administrator 1 test $120 • IBM offers many other DB 2 -related certs • Website: www. ibm. com or www-1. ibm. com/certify/certs/db_index. shtml • 75% pass rate • Secrets to saving money - • Free downloadable GUI test prep materials from IBM ! • Free testing at IDUG (www. idug. org) • Free DB 2 trial copy download • Secret to passing – use IBM’s free courseware 46

Microsoft DBA MCDBA 4 tests @$125 each • • Only 1 cert -- requires passing 4 tests Can re-use Passes from other MS certs Only 2 of the tests must be on SQL Server ! Only worth it for “Windows professionals” Microsoft may de-certify Download SQL Server trial copy free Website: www. microsoft. com or www. microsoft. com/trainingandservices/ • Secrets to passing – Buy practice tests from www. transcender. com Buy Microsoft’s SQL Server Training Kit 47

Certification Websites www. cramsession. com www. certmag. com www. certcities. com Vendor website for the product your interested in Check users group websites 48

? ? questions. . . ? ? ? ? 49