In today’s tight job market, gaining more skills and education can be a distinct advantage. For those in the computer or information technology field, choosing the right education program is the first step in that process.
"Computer science and technology is always changing, so people in this field need to really think about where they want their career to go in five or 10 years. Today’s skills may not necessarily be marketable in the future," said Doug Darke, continuing education instructor at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta and senior database administrator with Verizon.
"I believe that Oracle skills are a safe bet and a good investment," Darke said.
Oracle is one of the largest software companies world, and "if someone is good at what he does, he’ll find a job with those skills. I haven’t heard of too many Oracle people being unemployed for very long," he said.
Oracle is a company that developed a relational database-management system used by small businesses and large corporations to manage and organize company data.
"Earning the certifications to become an Oracle administrator can enhance your career," Darke said.
Darke will teach a series of three Oracle Database 11g courses on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. this summer and fall through Southern Polytechnic’s continuing education department. They include Introduction to SQL (July 10 to Aug. 7), Administration Workshop I (Aug. 21 to Sept. 25) and Administration Workshop II (Oct. 9 to Nov. 6). The courses will also be offered two nights a week starting on Sept. 13.
The tuition for each 35-hour course is $1,405.
Students practice hands-on skills in a computer lab environment.
"The progression for someone who wants to be an Oracle administrator is to first learn to program using SQL, then learn how to use databases and finally become skilled enough to create and manage databases," Darke said.
In the first course, students learn the powerful SQL (Structured Query Language) used for organizing, querying, warehousing and manipulating large data sets.
"The Administration I workshop will teach participants how to install Oracle software and create an operational database," Darke said.
Students learn the Oracle architecture and how its components work and interact with each other. They also learn how to manage a system, monitor performance, and provide database security.
"They’ll become familiar with all the tools used to manipulate and monitor data," he said.
The Administration Workshop II course is geared toward teaching methods used to back up and recover data with RMAN, SQL and Flashback technology. Students learn techniques to manage and improve performance of some of the industry’s most advanced information systems, including the Oracle database for multilingual applications.
"The goal of a database administrator is to keep the database as close to 100 percent operational as possible at all times. Knowing how to back up and recover data is essential to the job," Darke said.
After taking the first two courses, students can sit for two national exams to become an Oracle Certified Associate. After the third course, they can take the exam to become an Oracle Certified Professional. The certifications tell potential employers that job candidates have the knowledge and skills for the job.
"I’ve enjoyed being a database administrator for two reasons. One is that the job is challenging; the other is that it’s fairly high-paying," Darke said.
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, computer network, systems and database administrator jobs are projected to grow much faster than most occupations between 2008 and 2018, with more than 285,000 new positions projected to be on the horizon. The median annual salary for database administrators was $69,740 in 2008.
For information, call Greg Scott at 678-915-7386 or go to http://oce.spsu.edu.
— AJC Jobs on Twitter:
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
