Offered in various career fields and skill sets, Oracle certifications are intended for information technology professionals seeking recognition of their competency in areas including the maintenance, repair, installation and management of Oracle products. With an emphasis on database management, the Oracle Corporation is an international computer company that produces hardware and software systems. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, California. Many Oracle certification areas are focused on database management and the company’s products related to it. Students may receive Oracle certifications in three stages: Oracle Certified Associate, Oracle Certified Professional, and Oracle Certified Master. Each stage requires examinations students must pass two exams to qualify for Oracle Certified Associate status. Additional exams are required for higher levels of certification in specific areas. Students may receive certification in a wide range of computer science fields, which Oracle divides into the following areas: Applications, Database, Industries, Java and Middleware, Operating Systems, Systems, and Virtualization.
Those who already hold IT positions might look into Oracle certification in order to showcase workplace proficiency in application or database installation, repair or maintenance for specific Oracle products. Students must achieve the certifications in order, beginning with the Oracle Certified Associate designation and working up from there. The Oracle Certified Professional exams cover more advanced topics and require several skill sets to be tested. For the Oracle Certified Master designation, students must complete two Oracle classes in-person or online, have several years work experience, and pass an exam covering many complex topics.
Oracle offers online classes in each of the disciplines in which it offers certifications; length of program varies by interest area. For most training modules, students take online classes in a specific order, and may take them individually, or with a cohort of classmates. Class offerings range from basic to advanced, and students may choose a more general subject area, or take classes on highly specified areas of the Oracle product market. Students should be knowledgeable of the job area they want to enter, and follow an Oracle training and certification path that fits that job path. A high school diploma is a minimum requirement for many of the certification programs, though some may require additional training or work experience in information technology. Additionally, many schools offer training programs intended to prepare students to take and pass Oracle exams. These programs do not in themselves deliver an Oracle certification, but are instead intended to provide education and training adequate for a successful exam performance. An associate degree program in computer technology would provide background. Suggested undergraduate level degree programs include: Bachelors in Computer Information Systems, Bachelors in Database Management, and Bachelors in Technical Management. Master’s-level programs include: Information Systems Management, and Network and Communications Management. Though students may receive certification from the school itself at the completion of a training program, this does not double for the Oracle process. Those students would still need to complete and pass all Oracle-issued tests required for the specific certification they seek.
After completing the exams required for Oracle certification, IT professionals might be eligible to look for positions in database management, applications development and installation; computer programming; and systems administration. Job qualifications will depend heavily on the type of Oracle certification pursued. In the Industries classification, a student might be certified in communications, health sciences, insurance, retail, tax applications, or utilities. In the utilities field, Oracle certification might assist in winning a position in customer care and billing applications management. Salaries and careers available to those with Oracle certification vary by the level attained and the chosen profession. According to Payscale.com, salaries for information technology jobs in the United States have been rising steadily since 2009. Among the possible fields someone with Oracle certification could work in are database administrator, applications developer and systems administrator.