Oracle Certification Guide Overview and Career Paths
Oracle has developed an extensive certification program, and it includes six certification levels that span across nine different categories. With over 200 individual credentials, these are certifications that are highly sought after.
What is An Oracle Certification Program?
The Oracle Certification Program helps to certify candidates on skills and knowledge related to any and all Oracle products and technologies. These credentials are granted to the individual by passing the exams given to them as well as any other training or performance-based assignments. This all depends on the level of certification they’re going for. The six certification levels are Junior Associate, Associate, Professional, Master, Expert and Specialist. The nine primary categories of credentials are Oracle Applications, Oracle Cloud, Oracle Database, Oracle Enterprise Management, Oracle Industries, Oracle Java and Middleware, Oracle Operating Systems, Oracle Systems and Oracle Virtualization.
Pathways to Oracle Associate Certifications
In order to get the Oracle Associate Certifications, it requires you to pass two tests in order to become an OCA. When you achieve this, you get work in junior database management as either a team member or application developer.
The examination itself tests your ability to create, maintain, retrieve and edit the data in a database. It also helps to demonstrate your SQL programming skills too.
Oracle Applications and Cloud Certifications
With more than 60 individual credentials across 13 products or product groups, the majority of these certifications are for specific applications, and there are various certified expert credentials available. The Oracle application certifications are aimed at individuals who have expertise when it comes to selling and implementing Oracle’s solutions.
Oracle’s newest certification category is the Oracle Cloud. This covers Java Cloud too as well as other Oracle Cloud certifications. These fall into seven sub-categories and help recognize the individuals who deploy applications and perform administrative services. It also recognizes those who deliver customer solutions when it comes to the cloud.
Oracle Database Certifications
When it comes to Oracle Database certifications, they’re aimed at those individuals who wish to develop or work with Oracle databases in particular. There are three categories to this which are Database Application Development, MySQL and Oracle Database. It’s worth knowing that whenever a significant version of the database is released, Oracle will update it’s certifications accordingly and over time. So even though earlier certifications of MySQL are still available to take, the new MySQL 5.7 is likely to be the more appropriate one to take.
Oracle Enterprise Management Certifications
With the Oracle Enterprise Management Certifications, this gives candidates the opportunity to put their skills to practice when it comes to application, database, middleware and storage management. It helps certify the candidate’s expertise when it comes to physical, virtual and cloud environments. It also helps to certify them in design, installation, reporting and much more when it comes to an Oracle Enterprise Manager.
The Importance Of Oracle Certification For Career Growth
Like with many certifications, having them is better than not having them when it comes to growth in your own career. With Oracle’s incredible expanse when it comes to the certification program, it can only help to create plenty of opportunities for those professionals who are looking to work with Oracle technologies, or already do and want to show that the work they do is validated through certification.
In terms of the career paths, they can tend to vary depending on the Oracle products you’re working with, but the main job roles would usually be administrators, architects, programmers and developers and those who implement the products. Any company that is using Oracle Database, Cloud, Linux or Solaris needs to have the qualified administrators to help monitor and troubleshoot solutions for these products. Not only that but they need to also have those who can help deploy and maintain them too. With certifications like the above, it will offer many different opportunities for career advancement for anyone who goes for them. FieldEngineer helps connect businesses with freelance engineers and having the certifications can be a real help when it comes to getting spotted.
Oracle Training & Resources
If you’re looking at achieving one of the many certifications available, then there’s an extensive library that Oracle has in terms of exam preparation materials that are worth taking advantage of. You can take a look at the Oracle University website to get the help needed. It’s best to look at what certification path you want to take first and then follow the links to the required exam so that you can find all the relevant materials needed to pass.
