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Bas: My name is Bas Klaassen, almost 36 years old and living in the Netherlands. I studied Economics on the university in Amsterdam, but never liked being involved in economics. I am an Oracle EBS DBA for seven years now.
In 2001 I was asked to become a functional Oracle EBS consultant, specializing in GL and AP. I worked as a functional specialist for a few months, but always wanted to be more involved in the technical part of EBS. The opportunity came that same year when it was possible to become the EBS DBA in the same company. I changed my role and haven not looked back ever since. I am also a regular Oracle DBA but for 80 % of the time I am working on Oracle EBS.
OCP Advisor: New Oracle technologies are being introduced every year. Which technologies excite you most right now?
Bas: There are so many new technologies that I cannot literally keep up with all of them. Most of the times I check new development on the database and Oracle EBS topics. Especially new integrations with Oracle EBS are very interesting. As soon something is certified with EBS, like a new database version 11g, I check it out and try to perform the upgrade. I also check the OTN page very often. to see if something new is announced. Also other blogs contain much info about new development.
OCP Advisor: You are an Oracle Certified Professional on multiple tracks. How do you prepare for the certification exams?
Bas: To prepare for the database certification exams, I just read the OCA and OCP study guides from Sybex. Those two books helped me al lot to prepare for the exam. For OCP I also used a tool from uCertify called the 'Prepkit' which has exam questions and tips. For the EBS certification, I only used my experience as there are no exam handbooks available. I took two EBS exams and both were beta exams. Because they were beta, I had to sign up quickly leaving me no time to prepare. The beta exams are cheaper then the regular exams, but contain a lot more questions than the regular exams. I passed both exams and now I am also an Oracle Expert. If you want to prepare for the exams, the admin guide is a good book to study. Also the book 'Oracle Applications DBA Field Guide' from Elke Phelps and Paul Jackson is great.
OCP Advisor: Have you benefited from Oracle Certification? What advice/tips/suggestions do you have for the certification candidates?
Bas: I do think that certification alone is not all it takes. There should always be something extra besides your experience. So, the ideal combination is being certified and your professional experience. My advice to future candidates is to make sure that you also have experience in that Oracle track you want to be certified in.
OCP Advisor: You author a very popular Oracle blog. Please tell our blog readers what topics do you discuss on your blog?
Bas: My blog (http://basklaassen.blogspot.com) is about the work as an Oracle EBS Dba. I blog about problems I encounter, or when I try something new with Oracle EBS. Other EBS DBAs can also find answers or tips to their Oracle issues. I am always glad to find someone who has had te same problem or faced the same issue as I am doing at a certain moment. When I cannot find anything on Metalink, I wonder why no one has faced the same problem. Hence, I started the blog to share my experiences. Some of the topics I discuss on the blog relate to Oracle database, Oracle EBS, Grid Control 10g, Application server and other Oracle related news.
OCP Advisor: Can you please let us know one habit that has contributed most to your professional success?
Bas: One habit that has helped me a lot throughout my career is curiosity. I always want to find out why something is not working and find ways to make it work. I am always open to evaluate new technology and try new implementation approaches even with existing products.
OCP Advisor: Thanks Bas, for taking time out from your busy schedule and chatting with our blog readers. Wish you continued success and acclaim in the coming years!
Bas: Best of luck to all OCP Blog readers for their certification exams!
It is interesting to know that one doesn't need to have technical background to become a DBA. great going
ReplyDeleteDBA skills are often learnt on the job rather than by university education. While a computer application background surely helps, many DBA experts today have orginated with diverse backgrounds. As our experts say, the common denominator has been their willingness to learn and curiosity to discover new knowledge.
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