DB2 Certification

I have some questions about DB2 certification.

1. Are the DB2 V8 exams still available, specifically in the Toronto area? I
went to the certification portion of the IBM website and it took me to a
site for Thomson Prometrics who seem to be administering the certification
exams these days. I couldn't find any information about DB2 certifications
anywhere, let alone in the Toronto area. Basically, the website seems to be
geared towards specific companies who do their certifications via Thompson
Prometrics and I can't find any information on how someone who _isn't_ an
employee of their clients can get certified. I've tried emailing them at
their contact address but have had no response after several days. Does
anyone know where I can find information about certification exams in the
Toronto area in 2008? I'd like to know which exams are available, what they
cost, how long they take to write, what the minimum passing score is, where
I can find sample exams for that exam, etc. etc. If anyone can help me find
this information, I'd greatly appreciate it!

2. If a student goes through "DB2 Universal Database V8 for Linux, UNIX, and
Windows Database Administration Certification Guide", I understand that this
is good preparation for the V8 exams, specifically exams 700 and 701. Now,
what if the student takes the V9 certification exams, rather than the V8
exams? In other words, has DB2 changed much in V9 or will a student who is
reasonably well-versed in V8 do fine on a V9 exam?

3. Am I correct in believing that the exam numbers for V9 are different than
for V8? For instance, Exam 700 was for V8 DB2 Family Fundamentals but I
suspect DB2 V9 Family Fundamentals is exam 730. Does anyone know where I can
find the complete list of V8 and V9 certifications?

--

Rhino

re: DB2 Certification

This should be your starting point:
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/education/
Further comments inline.

rhino wrote:Choosing "Take an exam at Prometric" will bring you here:
http://www.prometric.com/IBM/default.htm

- Choose "Locate a Testing Center"
- Choose "Locate A Test Site"
- Select "Canada" and "Ontario" in the dropdown boxes and hit Next
Here you will get an overview of product areas for which certifications
are available.
(It starts with "IBM Information Management")
Just hit Next again.
- Here you will see the Exam Selection page
(http://www.register.prometric.com/Exam.asp)
You have to look for codes 000-700 & 000-701 for version 8
or codes 000-730 & 000-731 for version 9
Just pick one and hit Next again
(Notice they all have a Net Price of 150.00 USD)
- Now you will get the "Available Test Sites" page, where you will see
52 test sites are available in Ontario, 8 of them in Toronto.
When you are ready to take a test, you can schedule an appointment here.
I visited the European IDUG early this month, where I had the opportunity to
try one or more certification exams for free.
Although I don't have any experience in v9, I decided to try the v9
Fundamentals (on the very first day of the conference).
I did pass without much of a problem. Later that week, I decided to also try
the DBA exam for v9 (000-731).
Unfortunately I missed it (by only 1 or 2 answers..), in retrospect mainly
due to:
- not preparing very well (didn't have access to the preparation material
during the conference)
- lack of knowledge at certain aspects of the exam.
While I scored 15 out of 16 for the Server Administration section, I
didn't do so well on others.
These were mainly related to either XML questions or "newer" SQL questions
I wasn't familiar with.
(My current job is more SysAdmin rather then DBAdmin)

On the starting page I gave you, you will find links to prep material, that
I think you shoukd worh through.
I'm sure with enough preparation, focusing on some new aspects you are not
familiar with yet, you should be able to pass the exams.
And even when you fail the first time, you will get better insight in your
weak spots so you can work on those for the next try.
Correct: 700 --730, 701 --731 and so on.
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data.../roadmaps.html

HTH

--
Jeroen

re: DB2 Certification

"rhino" <No.offline.contact.please@anonymous.comwrote in message
news:fi7g8q$lq2$1@news.datemas.de...You need to select "For Test Takers" on the to of the Prometric website and
follow the links. You will select IBM since you want to be IBM certified.
All the exams are computerized, so they are available all the time at any
test site (unless the test is withdrawn). There are 8 test sites in Toronto
and a total of 52 in Ontario. The DB2 V8 exams appear to still be available.
If you are an expert in DB2 V8 you might be able to pass the V9 exam without
any knowledge of V9, but you are going to miss some quesitons over and above
ones you would miss if you took the V8 exam. But if you study the new V9
features and the syntax to operate them, you would helping yourself out a
lot.
The exam numbers are different. The V9 numbers are 730 and 731.

re: DB2 Certification

"The Boss" <usenet@No.Spam.Please.invalidwrote in message
news:47475fb0$0$229$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl...THAT is the mistake I made! I didn't see anything about DB2 and I couldn't
click on any links in the table so I thought they didn't have any DB2
certification exams. There didn't seem to be any point in clicking Next when
they didn't seem to have any DB2 exams!
Thank you VERY much for clearing up the use of the website to me! I really
appreciate your taking the time to give me the details!
At $150/exam, I really don't want to have to retry the exams very often!
Still, how many times can you retry the exams? Do you need to wait for a
fixed period before you can retry the exam? Do you get a graded copy of the
exam back whether you pass or fail? If it takes more than once to pass the
exam, is your final score an average of each attempt or do you just get the
highest score?

Do prospective employers know how many attempts it took you to pass the
exam? Do prospective employers know what mark you got or just that you
passed? For example, will they know that you squeaked through with a 62 or
that you aced the exam with 99%?

Also, do you need to take the exams in a specific sequence? For example, can
you take 701 before you take 700 or do you have to take 700 first?
Yes it does!! Thanks VERY MUCH, Jeroen!!

--

Rhino

re: DB2 Certification

"Mark A" <nobody@nowhere.comwrote in message
news:WoJ1j.803$L%6.106@bignews3.bellsouth.net...Thanks for your answers, Mark!

--

Rhino

re: DB2 Certification

"rhino" <No.offline.contact.please@anonymous.comwrote in message
news:fi8ie4$7jn$1@news.datemas.de...Bragging rights are "relative." The exams contain difficult questions IMO.
Even if you are an expert, on about 30- 40%of the questions you will
probably only be able to narrow down the correct answer to 2 choices. If you
score above 80 that is above average for people who pass the exam, but it
may not appear so great to someone who is not aware of the difficulty of the
tests.

That is why the passing score is fairly low. This technique of difficult
questions with a low pass score is designed to weed out people who have not
actually used the product (and only have book knowledge).

You will get a printout (embossed with the Prometric Seal IIRC) of your
score if you want to show someone (I am guessing you will not).