It is brutal but it sounds good to me. I think a lot about being successful as a DBA is to be able to read lots of documentation, understand documented concepts, and apply them to real-world tasks. This ability, along with (as many others have mentioned) interest in Oracle and databases in general, will go a long way towards succeeding as a DBA. On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 10:26 AM, Maris Elsins <elmaris@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Hi all, > > I've been involved in training new DBAs. The company I used to work for > usually hired 6-8 students simultaneously (from computer science studies) > and the target was to keep 1 of 3 (and it was not easy to reach this goal). > The method we applied allowed us to understand who's capable of being a > good DBA in ~3 months and this is what we did: > * Start with reading concept guide, give guidance on where the > documentation is, discuss the most important topics. > * Assign a mentor for each DBA, so the DBA can ask questions immediately > if anything is not clear > * Give each DBA a sandbox VM and a long list of tasks like: install a DB, > create a hot backup, create a cold backup, restore from each backup, > install a patch, install a patchset, duplicate the database, create a SQL > query to fetch some data from the sample schemas (describe what to > extract), create a PL/SQL procedure to i.e. receive value as an input and > create a table named as the input variable, use exp and expdp to export > data and import them in another database. Add more tasks as you go, make > tasks more complicated by adding extra requirements if they are too easy > > This might sound a bit brutal, but I think, the DBA has to be able to > survive the situation where there is much unknown information, be able to > search the documentation and the internet for potential solutions and > figure out how to apply the solutions that are found for the specific task > they have been given. With this approach it's quite easy to see who is > interested in DBAs' work, is capable of troubleshooting issues and > understanding the documentation. And in fact ones who were not capable of > this usually could be identified in 1-2 months time > > Maris Elsins > > On 4 Feb 2014 15:03, "Ric Van Dyke" <ric.van.dyke@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > Hi Jeff, > > > > As I always joke "Everyone really wants to be a DBA!" J The interest > is the key, seems like he is someone worth investing in. > > > > > > > > - Ric > > > > > > > > From: Jeff C [mailto:backseatdba@xxxxxxxxx] > > Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2014 1:12 AM > > To: Ric Van Dyke; oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > > > Subject: Re: training for new DBA's > > > > > > > > Hi Rick, > > > > I agree that classroom training is the best. But at this point I just > need to find out if this person has the potential to be a good DBA. I need > to give him some stuff to read and practice on and then test him. He is > showing a lot of interest which is good. > > > > > > > > On Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 12:56 PM, Ric Van Dyke <ric.van.dyke@xxxxxxxxxx> > wrote: > > > > >> Consider that you want your trainee to succeed, but s/he may not want > to be a DBA in 6 months or a year ... have your time and company money been > totally wasted? > > > > > > > > Gee, then why train anyone eh? Seriously LACK of training can be just > as much a deterrent on retention. Giving good training on a regular bases > is likely to keep folks around not the opposite. > > > > > > > > Being in the education world as I am, I believe in classroom training, > next online and then very last self-training like books and CBT type. > Books and CBTs are excellent for refresher or "feature" type training. > (Like, how to I use virtual columns?) But to learn something "new" it's > quite hard to do with that style of training. > > > > > > > > I know from personal experience when I was a neophyte DBA that just > taking 2 DBA/SQL classes back then shot me way up the curve. I had been > struggling for 18 months or so before my first class. Sure the databases > "worked" but wow! Once I had some formal training things really got going > much better and I had a much better idea of what to even look at. > > > > > > > > Training might appear to be expensive, but ignorance is far more. > > > > > > > > > > > > +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ > > > > Ric Van Dyke > > > > Education Director > > > > Hotsos Ltd. > > > > > > > > Hotsos Symposium March 2-6 2014 > > > > Make your plans to be there now! > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto: > oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Wayne Smith > > Sent: Monday, February 03, 2014 2:48 PM > > To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > > > > > Subject: Re: training for new DBA's > > > > > > > > Wow, I think I disagree with just about every response here, except for > the need of sandboxes. (Sorry!) > > > > I think you should look at what you need from your new DBA(s). > > > > DBAs come in all shapes, interests and skills, as will your would-be DBA > trainee(s)s. Figure what your company needs from its DBAs and this(these) > DBA(s) in particular. Make a plan for each one that will get them > functional, useful and independent as quickly as possible with a plan of > skill development over the coming months, with a look at progress and needs > every 3-6-12 months. > > > > Consider that you want your trainee to succeed, but s/he may not want to > be a DBA in 6 months or a year ... have your time and company money been > totally wasted? > > > > Cheers, Wayne > > > > > > > > On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 6:11 PM, Jeff C <backseatdba@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > We are looking at training a new DBA from scratch (hiring from within) > and I am looking for any opinions on where/how/what to train this person > on. I was thinking of starting with just basic SQL and relational database > design then onto some pl/sql. After that move on to dba stuff. > > > > Is there any good free or cheap places to get this kind of training? > > > > And how would you test a very beginner candidate to know if they would > be a good fit for this position. Any questions or tests I good give them? > What would you look for? > > > > > > > > This is new to me as I have been mainly the lone dba for years and also > trained on the job. > > > > Thanks for any input. > > > > > > > > Jeff > > > > > > > > >