Hiya folks (yet another noob!)

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Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site, having stumbled upon it while trying to sort my life out!

I'm 29, and have pretty much drifted through life the last 7 or 8 years without realising it. I started a BSc Information Systems degree in 2004, and just found it to be nothing like I was expecting (mounds and mounds of theoretical learning, relatively little actual computing content), and as a result, have given it very little effort. As of today, it still remains incomplete, and while I do intend to finish it (for personal pride if nothing else), I highly doubt I will get any decent kind of job solely on the strength of a mediocre degree from a notoriously substandard university.

I've been thinking for a while about getting some IT certifications to help improve my prospects, but I'm not really sure which, and would appreciate some advice from others on the matter. One I have previously considered is the Oracle DBA certification, since the databases module I did was one of the few that I actually enjoyed. But I have been told that there is less demand these days, and I wouldn't want to waste time on an exam that ultimately won't get me anywhere. This seems as good a place as any to get the kind of advice and direction I'm seeking, so all responses most welcome


Omi.

 

Hello & Welcome to CF.

 

Hi welcome

I agree with what Ken has said.

 

Hi and thanks for your response. Just to clarify, I just wanted some general information to help make my mind up, rather than to have my mind made up for me. DBA was just a consideration, due to me having enjoyed studying a small element of databases and SQL. As of yet, I'm still undecided as to what area of IT I wish to go into, mainly because I don't fully know all the areas available (if that makes sense lol). A lot of these training institutions just offer the training for all these certs without really stressing the need for experience, giving the impression that anyone can just turn up, learn the criteria, and be on their way to an IT career. Also, I wanted an idea of what kind of certs are in demand in today's marketplace, as I'm aware that a lot of people are just doing them, and not really getting anywhere with them after

 

Hi & welcome to CF

NB

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

Welcome!

Oracle's not gonna do you any good at this stage of your budding IT career, because no employer will hire someone to administer a production database with no real-world IT experience.

As far as the area of IT you want to go into... you don't really have to decide the narrow-focus specialization you want to go for right at this moment... you only have to decide whether you want to go down the track of being a 1) techie/admin guy, 2) programmer/codehead guy, or 3) Web designer guy. In each case, you'll start at the bottom and work your way up over time, gaining valuable real-world experience as you go.

Once you've chosen your track, we can help start you in the right direction. If you have any questions, we're here to assist!