OCM 12c - The Saga

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I decided to write this article to tell all the saga from the planning to the results of the OCM 12c Certification Exam that I did last month. So, with this, maybe I can inspire other people to try to get a OCM credential too! =]

Well, shortly after I passed the OCM 11g in November 2015, Oracle made OCM 12c available. Initially I had determined that I would only start to think about it at least a year later (by the end of 2016), but I had to postpone that planning since I joined Enkitec Team and my work load increased considerably =D.

When it was March 2017, I really decided to invest in that OCM idea and started by first writing the study plan on my site to serve as a guide. Some days later I did the OCM 12c Workshop that was with the instructor and proctor of Oracle Branislav Valny, in my opinion the best of Oracle. He is very good, didactic and professional! And the workshop is highly recommended to be acclimated with the style of the exam.

I did the Workshop between April 24th and 28th and set the goal to start my studies in mid-May! At the beginning of May, I've scheduled the exam for August 14th in Reading (UK) for some reasons like the ticket prices, exam price and time zone (+4 in relation to RJ - Brazil). I bought the flight tickets and the exam... however, I could only finish preparing the VMs to really dedicate myself into the studies in early June! The whole time I had to practice started to be short!

I had 2 full months to study and practice the 26 topics of the 4 skillsets of the upgrade test. There is a part of my site exclusively dedicated to it, putting together as a guide all topics and what to study in each! For more information click here.

My goal was to go through all the skillsets at least a 4x in order to fix them well. During June and July, I tried to dedicate between 3 to 4 hours during the night imagining all the possible questions and methods to perform the activities... I had some unforeseen work load during those 2 months (like traveling to a client in Lima - Peru for 1 week, teaching 12c New Features for 1 week to a team in the India data center and preparing my presentation to Brazil OTN Tour Event, to mention a few) that reduced my already short study time. However, by the end of July I felt I was prepared enough. The time I used for each skillset varied a lot... the whole Data Guard skillset, for example, I could do in "only" 6 hours while the entire RAC section took me at least a week.

In the evening of August 10th (it was a Thursday), I left Rio de Janeiro to the United Kingdom with my wife, that came with me to give all the support that I needed. I had a 4 hours layover in New York. We arrived in London only on Friday night and caught a bus to Reading-UK, the city where the exam would take place. The bus travel was quick, it took not more than 1 hour. Arriving in Reading train station, we walked to the hotel which was a 15 minutes walk! The name of the hotel is "Premier Inn Reading Central", highly recommend and very well located by the way.

I fall asleep when I arrived! I had 2 days of rest (Saturday and Sunday) to adjust my jet lag (as I said, +4 hours) and relax the head. I did not study anything during these 2 days and they were really to relax. I had headache during the first full day possibly for having had a so long flight.

I reserved the Saturday to take a walk around the city that is basically university town. Reading is an awesome place! We went to "The Oracle" mall and walked through the streets (funny is that everything there resembles Oracle, as if it owned the city).

On Sunday we went to Stonehenge (about 2 hours by train) to get to know the place and get a sublime positive energy from the ETs =].

I also took the opportunity to go to the exam site on Sunday and know the region and the route to avoid any unforeseen events on the following day! By the way, there is a park with a very nice leisure area in front of Oracle, we stayed there the rest of the afternoon watching families picnicking, animals on the lake and the sunset...

On the day of the test I had a bad night because of anxiety but I could sleep... I put 3 alarm clocks (paranoid? maybe). I took the breakfast in the hotel and left to the Oracle Education Center where the exam would take place, the taxi took less than an hour to get there with the traffic and I was about 40 minutes early when I've arrived. I got there 7:50 and the exam started at 8:30. The building only opened at 8:00, I stood waiting in the doorway, it was cold out there.

There I was with 7 more people to take the test, none of us from UK, I was the farthest. There were people from Russia, Switzerland, Poland, Holland... I do not remember all...

Everything that happens between the moment I enter to take the exam and I leave the site I cannot comment as I signed an NDA in Oracle... Sorry... What I can say is my personal opinion that the exam is really difficult (more than I expected). Considering the comments of the guys that were there with me, it was clear that it is considered "normal" not to pass on the first attempt... the approval rate may be around 30% (accounting those who are doing for the 2nd/3rd/4th time).

The problem is that the investment for a Brazilian is really high and I would hardly get another opportunity both financially and vacation to be able to retake it...

After I left, I returned with the guys who took the test with me on an Oracle bus that led to the Reading train station. I walked back to the hotel, tired as if I had run a half-marathon... I felt fatigue in the legs, in the head and my thoughts were still in the exam. I concentrated in forgetting about it and waiting for the result that would come in a few weeks, what matters is that I did my best!

I met my wife who was cheering for me! It makes a lot of difference to have someone by your side to support you in everything. I realize that since I was alone in OCM 11g. That evening we went to a pub to have some beers to celebrate the completed challenge (regardless of the results that I would only know in 2-3 weeks). What matters again is that I did my best... and I was desiring a lot to drink a beer as I stayed for 1 week away from any alcohol =]

Since the investment to take this exam was high, mainly because of the flight tickets, I've decided to extend out stay and only come back on the next Sunday. We have spent the remaining days of vacation doing tourism in London! The rest of the trip in London is beside the point of this article, but was perfect to forget about everything. Finally, I will now have my night time back after daily work to relax and have some hobby other than OCM!

OCM is not something simple ... it's something that really requires time, determination, dedication and self-challenge, but that in the end worth a lot, independent of the results! We evolve and learn during our studies and this in the end is main point of it.

I hope that by telling a little of my saga I encourage many others to try and challenge themselves for the same! And may the next challenge come!

UPDATE:

After 29 days of waiting, I'm happy to announce that now I'm officially an OCM 12c!

Thank you to all who participated directly and indirectly in this achievement.

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