Upgrade Paths for Oracle 9i Certified Professional Administrators

Oracle 10G was released in 2004 and Oracle 11G in 2007. The average time between releases for Oracle is a bit over three years, so Oracle 12c is already overdue. However, there are still a number of Oracle Certified Database Administrators that have not upgraded their 9i certification. Keeping your Oracle certifications up-to-date helps to maintain your awareness regarding the current capabilities of the Oracle database, and it also helps to keep your skills relevant. IT professionals that do not continually add to their knowledge as technology changes will soon find that they have been left behind.

As a general rule, having an Oracle certification on your resume adds to your value. I've seen in my own career that this is the case. However, a resume with very dated certifications can give a bad impression. In addition to my Oracle certifications, I am a Certified Netware Engineer (you can guess how old that is) and a long-since expired Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. I no longer display either of these certifications on my resume or LinkedIn page. Neither has any relevance to today's computing environment. Keeping them on my resume would give the impression that I am unaware of that. Once Oracle releases 12c, having 9i as the most recent Oracle certification on your resume may produce more negative results than positive ones.

That said, I have to assume that most of the people reading this article are both 9i certified and are actively considering upgrading. When upgrading from 9i, one of the biggest questions is whether to first upgrade to 10G and then to 11G, or to upgrade directly to 11G. The two upgrade paths available are:

Upgrade in steps:

1Z0-040: Oracle Database 10g: New Features for Administrators
1Z0_050: Oracle Database 11g: New Features for Administrators
Upgrade directly:

1Z0-055: Oracle Database 11g: New Features for 9i OCPs
There are advantages and disadvantages to each option. The pros and cons of upgrading in steps are:

Cons

It doubles the cost of the exams.
It doubles the cost of the study materials.
It doubles the amount of time you'll spend studying.
Oracle 10G is eight years old and the number of companies using it is declining rather than increasing.
Pros

Being certified in an unbroken string of releases helps to project a continuous association and familiarity with the Oracle database.

There are still a number of companies using Oracle 10G, so being certified in it broadens your job prospects.
By contrast, the pros and cons of upgrading directly to 11G are:

Cons

If you upgrade directly from 9i to 11G, you can never pick up 10G if you decide later that you would like to.
There are more study materials available for the 1Z0-040 and 1Z0-050 exams than for the 1Z0-055 exam.
Pros

The upgrade to 11G can be done faster and cheaper.
There is no one-size-fits-all right or wrong answer between the two options. You have to consider your own situation in choosing one of the upgrade paths. I would recommend upgrading to 11G soon. Anyone who has invested the time, energy, and money in obtaining their certification as an Oracle Certified Professional DBA should get the maximum benefit from it. The Oracle 10G was released in 2004 and Oracle 11G in 2007. The average time between releases for Oracle is a bit over three years, so Oracle 12c is already overdue. However, there are still a number of Oracle Certified Database Administrators that have not upgraded their 9i certification. Keeping your Oracle certifications up-to-date helps to maintain your awareness regarding the current capabilities of the Oracle database, and it also helps to keep your skills relevant. IT professionals that do not continually add to their knowledge as technology changes will soon find that they have been left behind.

As a general rule, having an Oracle certification on your resume adds to your value. I've seen in my own career that this is the case. However, a resume with very dated certifications can give a bad impression. In addition to my Oracle certifications, I am a Certified Netware Engineer (you can guess how old that is) and a long-since expired Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. I no longer display either of these certifications on my resume or LinkedIn page. Neither has any relevance to today's computing environment. Keeping them on my resume would give the impression that I am unaware of that. Once Oracle releases 12c, having 9i as the most recent Oracle certification on your resume may produce more negative results than positive ones.

That said, I have to assume that most of the people reading this article are both 9i certified and are actively considering upgrading. When upgrading from 9i, one of the biggest questions is whether to first upgrade to 10G and then to 11G, or to upgrade directly to 11G. The two upgrade paths available are:

Upgrade in steps:

1Z0-040: Oracle Database 10g: New Features for Administrators
1Z0_050: Oracle Database 11g: New Features for Administrators
Upgrade directly:

1Z0-055: Oracle Database 11g: New Features for 9i OCPs
There are advantages and disadvantages to each option. The pros and cons of upgrading in steps are:

Cons

It doubles the cost of the exams.
It doubles the cost of the study materials.
It doubles the amount of time you'll spend studying.
Oracle 10G is eight years old and the number of companies using it is declining rather than increasing.
Pros

Being certified in an unbroken string of releases helps to project a continuous association and familiarity with the Oracle database.
There are still a number of companies using Oracle 10G, so being certified in it broadens your job prospects.
By contrast, the pros and cons of upgrading directly to 11G are:

Cons

If you upgrade directly from 9i to 11G, you can never pick up 10G if you decide later that you would like to.
There are more study materials available for the 1Z0-040 and 1Z0-050 exams than for the 1Z0-055 exam.
Pros

The upgrade to 11G can be done faster and cheaper.
There is no one-size-fits-all right or wrong answer between the two options. You have to consider your own situation in choosing one of the upgrade paths. I would recommend upgrading to 11G soon. Anyone who has invested the time, energy, and money in obtaining their certification as an Oracle Certified Professional DBA should get the maximum benefit from it. The way to do that is to keep the certification current.

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 Oracle certification guides for several exams, including 1Z0-050 and 1Z0-055.way to do that is to keep the certification current.

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 Oracle certification guides for several exams, including 1Z0-050 and 1Z0-055.