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Oracle Changes Certification Requirements

Posted by michael on from the sheepskin dept.

micromoog writes "Oracle announced today that all new candidates for the Oracle Certified Professional certification must now pass an instructor-led course in addition to passing the four exams previously required. They claim demand from the industry for hands-on experience; however, this move will bring Oracle an extra $2000/class for physical classes, or $1500/class for online classes. Previously, someone with knowledge of Oracle could get certified for nothing more than the cost of the four exams ($500 total). There was no warning or grace period. This seems to me like a simple cash grab on a captive audience."

2 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. Oracle feels vulnerable. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you remember, it was exactly this behavior that began the sinking of Novell. This kind of extortion is an early indication that the company feels vulnerable. I don't know why they feel vulnerable, but they know, and they are showing it.

    1. Re:Oracle feels vulnerable. by JetScootr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For one, I can understand the need to have a human at least look over a certification candidate once during the process. I'm a living example of this. In the 1980's I joined the Air Force, and took their most difficult avionics course. It was called "Inertial and Radar Navigation Systems". I was on the honor roll the whole time I was at Keesler AFB, Biloxi MI. I graduated at top of my class - 94.6% average. This class was a mix of everything - analog computers, digital, radar, lasers, gyroscopes, spherical and inertial space navigation, FM and AM, etc.
      I got into the field and couldn't fix a damn thing. Why? cuz I understood the theory and the math, which were standardized tests, but Couldn't turn that into the knowledge of "If the light blinks wrong and the direction points consistently 15 degrees west of where it should, what's wrong with the 'capacitive tachometer'?"
      A human instructor could have spotted my theory-to-practice problems with hardware. I'm all digital and software now, damn good at it, but The USAF's standardized tests miss read me.

      --
      Pavlov wouldn't be so famous if he'd used a can opener instead of a bell.