- General
- Seminars
- Courses
- Registration
- Certification
- Payment and Financing
- Referral Program
- Post Graduation Support
- Corporate Training
General
Q. Who and what is db-Training?
A. Look here for the answer.
Q. How long have you been teaching?
A. db-Training has been conducting evening classes for nearly three years.
We started as a part of the Information Systems Consortium in July 1996,
and have been teaching both public evening classes and private
daytime classes ever since.
Q. Why are you teaching Oracle?
A. We started as senior level Oracle consultants, with many years of
experience on a wide variety of government and commercial contracts
in all stages of development and administration. We worked in
many different environments, but found two things to be true:
- There's an incredible shortage of Oracle programmers
- Of the people who are working in the Oracle community,
there's a shortage of well-trained developers
That's not to say that excellent Oracle programmers don't exist;
they do, and we know many of them. But they will agree with us:
much of the training out there is terrible. Many instructors
don't speak well, and if they do, they don't teach you what
you really need to know on the job, because they've never
worked there. We have, and for many, many years. But in
order to build up our consulting companies and the Oracle
community we live in, we need to train Oracle developers
that know their job well. This
is one of the major differences between db-Training and
the competition: we have a vested interest in training
you very well.
Q. Why are you ONLY teaching Oracle?
A. See the previous answer. We're simply
the best in Oracle training. If you want to learn how
to program Microsoft Excel, sorry, but you'll have to
go somewhere else. We only do Oracle.
Q. What courses do you offer?
A. Look here for the answer.
Q. Who are your instructors?
A. Our instructors are not like other instructors. They are seasoned, experienced
Oracle professionals. Each has been creating actual Oracle
database applications for at least 5 years, many have 10 or more years of
experience. You can
read more
about some of our individual instructors.
Q. When do you teach?
A. We teach public classes in the evenings, either
Mondays and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Classes start at 6:00 PM and last until 10:00 PM.
See our
class schedules for details.
Q. Where do you teach?
A. We are currently teaching in the Tysons Corner, Virginia
area. We are planning on adding locations in
the Springfield and Rockville areas soon.
Q. What's the difference between a course and a class?
A. The Oracle Developer Certification Program (ODP) is a course.
The ODP instruction that is scheduled to be taught next Monday
night is a class.
Q. Oracle Corporation's stock goes up and down. When it goes
down, does that mean that a career in Oracle is a bad move?
A. No. Believe it or not, the two issues are often unrelated.
Here's why: Wall Street is primarily interested in the
profitability of the Oracle Corporation. Oracle has made
the majority of its money by selling database products, and
has been so successful, that it's saturated the entire market
with Oracle database products. The result: Oracle Corporation
can no longer sustain their historic 60 percent profit increases
unless they branch into other businesses. As they target new
business areas, Wall Street gives either positive or negative
opinions about Oracle's new efforts, and the stock tends to fluctuate
accordingly. But the core database business has long since been
established as Oracle's area. And when some company or organization
buys the Oracle product, Oracle Corporation gets their money, but
that company or organization is just beginning to look at how to
develop an actual database application. This is when the developer
comes into the picture - after the Oracle Corporation has sold
the product and taken their profit. In summary, when Oracle
Corporation sells a database, their profit is made. But the
work of a developer is only just beginning, and has no end in sight.
Seminars
Q. Just what is a "seminar", anyway?
A. A seminar is a no-obligation presentation that lasts for one hour
and addresses the following topics:
- What it's like to be an Oracle Developer
- What the job market is like
- What the Oracle industry is like
- What our courses are like - curriculum, in-class work, etc.
- What our instructors are like - one or two are often present
- A few surprises!
Seminars do not have any sales representatives, we just want them
to be informative.
Q. How do I attend a seminar?
A. You need to register. You can register
with our online seminar registration
Q. What are the directions to your seminars?
A. When you register for a seminar, directions will be mailed
to you for your seminar. Currently, our seminars are
located in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
Q. What if I decide not to take a course after I go to a seminar?
A. No problem, we understand. Oracle is not for everyone, and we'd rather
have you realize it before you take the class. That's one of the
purposes of the seminar. But we are rather confident that those who
are serious about learning Oracle will sign up with us.
Courses
Q. Do you teach full life-cycle?
A. Yes. We not only teach the theory of the full software development
life cycle, we take the students through the the process of developing
a real world application in the classroom, from the initial data modeling exercises
all the way through to the development of a completed complex functional
system.
Q. Do your courses require homework?
A. Yes. Here's why it's a good thing.
Q. Do you offer certificates upon graduation?
A. Yes, we offer two:
- Certificate of Attendance. Come to at least 90 percent
of the classes, and you will receive this certificate.
- Certificate of Completion. If you have received a
Certificate of Attendance, and you have passed our
formal
tests
we proctor, you will earn a
Certificate of Completion.
Q. What are your tests like?
A. After each module, we test students with a multiple choice
test. Each test is open book, designed to ensure you have
learned and are able to apply the information taught in
class and in the textbooks.
Q. Do I have to pass the tests?
A. Yes. A passing grade is 80 percent. If you do not pass
the test, you will have a second chance. The second test
is different from the first. The second test is a
take-home test, and you will have 7 days to complete it.
Registration
Q. How do I register for a class?
A. Once you've selected a class, you must fill out an
Enrollment Agreement form, and sign it. You must
also provide payment to secure your seat in
class. (See
Payment and Financing.)
Q. How far in advance do I need to register?
A. It's hard to say. The sooner the better, as our classes
generally fill up fast. If you have any concerns about
the availability of a particular class, you can contact
registration via email at
admissions@databasetraining.com.
There are
other ways to contact us.
Q. What if I decide to cancel after I register?
A. Once you have enrolled for a class, if you decide to cancel
before the class begins,
you are entitled to a refund for any payments already
made, minus a processing fee. You
will have no further obligation.
Certification
Q. What is "Oracle Certification", and do I need it?
A. Oracle Certification has meant different things to
different people.
- Oracle Corporation used to offer a series of courses
that, if you paid your money and attended, would result
in your being declared "certified". While there are people
who attended thoses courses, worked hard, and learned a lot,
there unfortunately were a number of people who barely
attended, didn't pay attention, and were "certified"
anyway. This version of "certification" wasn't recognized
by the industry as being worthwhile.
- Recently, Oracle Corporation has begun a formal testing
program, similar to the MCSE, CNE, CNA, and other
certification tests that have existed for years. As
all of the mainstream certification tests, Oracle's
is independently proctored (by the Sylvan Learning
Center), and consists of a series of
multiple-choice examinations.
The first discipline that Oracle created tests for
was Database Administration. In late 1998, Oracle Corporation
added an Oracle Developer certification.
Unfortunately, multiple choice examinations by themselves
have never been useful in determining a person's ability
to actually do the work. Ask anyone who's read a computer
book, then tried to create programs, and they'll tell you -
reading doesn't teach you anywhere near enough.
There simply isn't a substitute for
doing the actual work.
- db-Training offers our own certification that we
believe is the most relevant and meaningful for
the Oracle professional. It combines the best
of all worlds - testing to demonstrate an understanding
of the concepts, real-world software development to
demonstrate your ability to actually create Oracle
database applications. Our certification demonstrates
that you have worked through the software development
life cycle to create a functioning Oracle database
application, and along the way, passed some tests
to show your throrough understanding of the concepts
behind your work.
It's the perfect one-two punch
that nobody else offers.
Q. How important is certification in the Oracle business?
A. It’s becoming increasingly important. As the IT market grows more competitive,
anything you can do to make yourself stand out is helpful. While it’s still possible to be
very successful in the business without it, certification can help you more today that a
few years ago. Our curriculum is intended to prepare students for the corresponding
certification tests in the appropriate area of study, be it Database Administration,
Oracle Developer, etc. For more information, please see What is "Oracle
Certification", and do I need it?".
Payment and Financing
Q. How much are your courses?
A. Look here for the answer.
Q. Do you accept credit cards?
A. Yes. We accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.
Q. Do you offer financing?
A. Yes. We have two incredibly flexible packages.
One is called the
Technology Training Loan Program,
and the other is from
Sallie Mae.
Q. What if I decide to cancel after I register?
A. Look here for the answer.
Q. What are Tuition Units?
A. Look here for the answer.
Referral Program
Q. What is the referral program?
A. If a graduate refers someone who takes our Oracle Developer Certification Program,
then the graduate will receive a check for $100.
Q. When do I get a referral check?
A. You get your check after we've received full payment for the course,
and the student has completed the course.
Q. Is there a limit to the number of referral checks I can get?
A. No! We're happy to send you as many referral checks as we can!
Q. If two people refer each other, will they both get referral checks?
A. No. Two people cannot refer each other, but one can refer the second -
meaning the second can put on his or her form "Referred by the first",
and the first will get the check. And if the first agreed to split the
money with the second, that's fine with us. Also, the second can refer
a third, the third can refer a fourth, etc. But it has to go "in line",
not "in a circle".
Post Graduation Support
Q. Do you have any job placement assistance programs?
A. No. We cannot promise
you a job. We say this up front because there are, unfortunately, some
companies that make that promise, and we believe it's ridiculous. There
are many factors that contribute to a hiring decision, and technical
skills are only one of them. So while we cannot guarantee anyone a
job, we can guarantee that we will work with passion to equip you
with the technical abilities you need. Having said that,
we offer a program called the WorkPath® Program to
assist you with job placement.
Q. Do you promise that your students will get jobs?
A. As confident as we are in our Oracle training program,
we nevertheless cannot promise anyone a job. Anyone who
does is misleading you. There are far too many variables
when it comes to a hiring decision, and many of them are
up to you, not us.
What we do promise you is an opportunity.
We commit to providing extensive
resume distribution assistance through our unique
WorkPath® Program.
Q. What is your job placement rate?
A. We don't do formal job placement, and we keep on statistics on
the jobs of our graduates. However, we do keep in touch with
students through our Annual Picnics and other gatherings of
the Oracle community. Our experience is that given the current
demand in the market, and the quality of our training, our
students have done well in the job market. But again, we do
not keep any formal statistics on job placement.
Q. What is the WorkPath® Program?
A. The WorkPath® Program is a service that is
offered to students of the Oracle Developer Certification Program.
It is only available to non-corporate students only, i.e.,
students whose fees are paid
by their employer are not eligible for the program. In the
WorkPath® Program, db-Training provides
counseling to students in resume formatting, something that
is rather unique in the IT community. Next, participating
students submit their resumes
halfway through the course, and db-Training will distribute
their resumes on behalf of the students to the list of
WorkPath® Companies. These are companies who
have hired db-Training students in the past, and have come
back for more. These are also companies who have asked
to be added to the list. ALL COMPANIES ARE DIRECT
HIRES, not recruiters, "headhunters", or placement firms.
The result: the best opportunities for the students
with the fastest turnaround and the best salary
opportunities with no middle man, including us: once
we distribute your resume, we provide you, the student,
with a list of those companies and points of contact,
then we step back and let you negotiate directly with
them.
Q. How can I enroll in the program?
A. You must be a non-corporate student of the Oracle Developer Certification Program.
In other words, students whose costs are paid for by their
employer are not eligible unless their employer specifically
authorizes it. All other students are automatically enrolled at no expense to them.
Q. How many participating companies are active in the WorkPath® Program?
A. There are approximately 60 companies involved. The list is constantly
changing and growing, however.
Q. Can I just have the list of companies in the WorkPath® Program?
A. No. It is a benefit to students, first of all. Second, we're protective
of our WorkPath® Companies, recognizing that they jealously
guard the students they've already hired, and don't want to open up that
information to corporate raiders.
Corporate Training
Q. Do you do corporate training?
A. Yes.
Contact our corporate office for more information.
Q. What are Tuition Units?
A. These are a method by which companies may make bulk purchases
of courses on behalf of their employees.
Contact our corporate office for more information.
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