Database Certification

Vendor Certification

Technology-based certificate programs are usually offered in one of two manners: by the developer of the software for which the customer is being certified or by an independent certification company. In the case of databases, the best certificates are usually of the first kind.

MySQL AB offers certifications³ for several different levels of skill. In ascending order of difficulty, the certifications are called Associate, Developer, DBA, and MySQL Cluster. The MySQL Cluster certification is available only for those who already hold the MySQL DBA certification.

Oracle offers several certifications⁴ along many different paths, including database software development, Linux database administration, middleware administration and development, and several types of specialized certifications for each recent version of the Oracle database software.

Microsoft has a comprehensive line of certification programs⁵ for most of their products. Developers who work regularly with SQL Server may be interested in the Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA), Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), or Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certificates. As of this writing, the MCDBA covers Microsoft SQL Server 2000, while the latter two cover Microsoft SQL Server 2005.

IBM has developed a number of certification programs for their products, including the DB2 and Informix databases. Several levels of certification are available for each product, including the DB2 Certified Database Associate, DB2 Certified Database Administrator, DB2 Certified Application Developer, DB2 Certified Advanced Database Administrator, Informix Certified Solutions Expert, and Informix Certified System Administrator solutions⁶.

Some of their other certifications are based on the integration of data management systems, like DB2 and Informix, with other products such as servers and web solutions.

The open source community tends to not value certifications as highly as the for-profit, industrial community. As a result, open source databases tend to not promote certification programs. For example, only in 2005 was there enough demand for a PostgreSQL certification program to actually create one.

The PostgreSQL Certified Engineer program⁷ relies heavily on support from Fujitsu and offers “silver” and “gold” levels of certification in the Japanese and English languages.

⁴ http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=141⁵ http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcdba/default.mspx⁶ http://www.ibm.com/certify/certs/dm_index.shtml⁷ http://osb.sraoss.co.jp/postgresql-ce/about_en.html

Database Training

There are lot of Companies, offer training software and other materials for certain certifications, and related literature can always be found at chain booksellers, like Barnes & Noble and Borders. Many community colleges also offer certification-based curriculum, which is designed to prepare students for the completion of one or many certifications over a broad range of topics.

Using the Material

The best training for any sort of certification or degree, of course, is to actually use the material being covered. In database education, the most important part of the learning process is becoming familiar with the intricacies of the database platform. Most modern database companies offer trial or free versions of their software, and they offer the software for use on many operating systems. Why not install a database platform on your personal computer and invent your own homework assignments?