Comparing Study Materials for Oracle Certification Exams
When studying for an Oracle Certification test, there are many different sources that you can use. Which one is the best to use is less about the source than the person doing the studying. Someone who has never used Oracle needs different materials than an experienced Oracle DBA. In order to pick the right study materials, you must consider your knowledge level and what you expect to gain from them.
Sources of study material will have a certain degree of focus on the test. That focus will range from none at all to a total focus on the exam topics. It may seem that materials that focus completely on the exam are the best ones to use, but this is not always the case. Oracle certification tests are designed to cover a broad range of topics, but they do not cover everything an Oracle professional needs to know for their daily work. If you already know how to do the day-to-day work for the given skill being tested, focusing completely on the test topics is likely a good idea. However, if you ar
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e using the certification as a means to learn a new skill, focusing just on the test topics is liable to leave you with gaps in your knowledge. As an example, several study sources for a particular test: "1Z0-052: Oracle Database 11g: Administration I" are listed below in order from least focused to most focused. Most Oracle certifications will have a similar set of resources available.
Oracle Documentation
The Oracle documentation consists of dozens of manuals. While you can be confident that every single question on a certification exam can be answered somewhere in the documentation, using it as a study source is a very time-consuming process. 1Z0-052 will have information spread among the Administrator's Guide, the Installation Guide, the Concepts Manual, the Net Services Administrator's Guide, the Performance Tuning Guide, and more. Despite the fact that it is slow, this is one of the most rewarding methods of studying for the test because of the familiarity you'll gain about the documentation in the process.
Third-party Books
For almost any certification topic, you can find a book on the subject that is not focused specifically on the exam. An example of this would be "Pro Oracle Database 11g Administration (Expert's Voice in Oracle)". This book is about Oracle database administration, but is not focused on the 1Z0-052 certification. It will, however, cover a significant amount of the material that will be tested. While it is not a good idea to use a book like this as your only source when studying for a certification, using it in addition to other sources will provide you with a more well-rounded knowledge base in the end. Since these books are directed towards the topic being tested, the information they cover will tend to be considerably more focused than the documentation.
Oracle Certification Books
There are several books written expressly for this exam. An example is "OCA Oracle Database 11g Administration I Exam Guide (Exam 1Z0-052)." By their very nature, these books will focus on covering the exam topics in considerable detail. By the same token, they will ignore for the most part any subject that is not a topic of the exam. Books such as this make it easier to locate the information you need to know for the certification. By reducing the time you spend searching for information on the test topics they can drastically reduce the time required to become ready to take the exam.
OCP Study Guides
Study Guides are a further distillation of the information covered by the tests. Study guides tend to be like Cliff Notes for the exam and won't cover the information in nearly as much detail as Oracle certification books. This can be both good and bad. The facts will stand out more in the guides, but without as much context they can be more difficult to understand. As with the books, they can reduce the study time required to prep for an exam -- especially for individuals that already have experience in the subject being tested. Study guides by their nature are focused completely on the exam topics.
When you are pursuing an Oracle certification, take the time to find out what materials are available. Try to get a feel for what they offer and what you need. Almost any of the options out there can prepare you sufficiently to pass if you are diligent in your studying. Don't schedule the exam until you are really confident the you are comfortable with the topics provided by Oracle Education. Good luck on tWhen studying for an Oracle Certification test, there are many different sources that you can use. Which one is the best to use is less about the source than the person doing the studying. Someone who has never used Oracle needs different materials than an experienced Oracle DBA. In order to pick the right study materials, you must consider your knowledge level and what you expect to gain from them.
Sources of study material will have a certain degree of focus on the test. That focus will range from none at all to a total focus on the exam topics. It may seem that materials that focus completely on the exam are the best ones to use, but this is not always the case. Oracle certification tests are designed to cover a broad range of topics, but they do not cover everything an Oracle professional needs to know for their daily work. If you already know how to do the day-to-day work for the given skill being tested, focusing completely on the test topics is likely a good idea. However, if you are using the certification as a means to learn a new skill, focusing just on the test topics is liable to leave you with gaps in your knowledge. As an example, several study sources for a particular test: "1Z0-052: Oracle Database 11g: Administration I" are listed below in order from least focused to most focused. Most Oracle certifications will have a similar set of resources available.
Oracle Documentation
The Oracle documentation consists of dozens of manuals. While you can be confident that every single question on a certification exam can be answered somewhere in the documentation, using it as a study source is a very time-consuming process. 1Z0-052 will have information spread among the Administrator's Guide, the Installation Guide, the Concepts Manual, the Net Services Administrator's Guide, the Performance Tuning Guide, and more. Despite the fact that it is slow, this is one of the most rewarding methods of studying for the test because of the familiarity you'll gain about the documentation in the process.
Third-party Books
For almost any certification topic, you can find a book on the subject that is not focused specifically on the exam. An example of this would be "Pro Oracle Database 11g Administration (Expert's Voice in Oracle)". This book is about Oracle database administration, but is not focused on the 1Z0-052 certification. It will, however, cover a significant amount of the material that will be tested. While it is not a good idea to use a book like this as your only source when studying for a certification, using it in addition to other sources will provide you with a more well-rounded knowledge base in the end. Since these books are directed towards the topic being tested, the information they cover will tend to be considerably more focused than the documentation.
Oracle Certification Books
There are several books written expressly for this exam. An example is "OCA Oracle Database 11g Administration I Exam Guide (Exam 1Z0-052)." By their very nature, these books will focus on covering the exam topics in considerable detail. By the same token, they will ignore for the most part any subject that is not a topic of the exam. Books such as this make it easier to locate the information you need to know for the certification. By reducing the time you spend searching for information on the test topics they can drastically reduce the time required to become ready to take the exam.
OCP Study Guides
Study Guides are a further distillation of the information covered by the tests. Study guides tend to be like Cliff Notes for the exam and won't cover the information in nearly as much detail as Oracle certification books. This can be both good and bad. The facts will stand out more in the guides, but without as much context they can be more difficult to understand. As with the books, they can reduce the study time required to prep for an exam -- especially for individuals that already have experience in the subject being tested. Study guides by their nature are focused completely on the exam topics.
When you are pursuing an Oracle certification, take the time to find out what materials are available. Try to get a feel for what they offer and what you need. Almost any of the options out there can prepare you sufficiently to pass if you are diligent in your studying. Don't schedule the exam until you are really confident the you are comfortable with the topics provided by Oracle Education. Good luck on the test.
Matthew is an experienced DBA and developer. He holds Oracle DBA Certifications for releases 7, 8i, 9i, 10G and 11G; and Oracle Expert Certifications for SQL and Application Express. He is the author of several Oracle certification guides, including one for 1Z0-052: Adminihe test.
Matthew is an experienced DBA and developer. He holds Oracle DBA Certifications for releases 7, 8i, 9i, 10G and 11G; and Oracle Expert Certifications for SQL and Application Express. He is the author of several Oracle certification guides, including one for 1Z0-052: Admini