Getting "qualified" Oracle advice on the web

Back when I was a student, the web was the exclusive bastion of students, professors, and scientists.  It was customary to sign your messages with your qualifications, so everyone knew if they were talking to a Professor Emeritus or some pesky research assistant.  In scientific discourse, the opinion of someone with a Masters Degree from M.I.T. generally had more qualifications than a message from someone with a B.S. from an unknown Indian university.

Insist on knowing the qualifications of any advisor

The opening-up of the web has made searching for information dangerous, and today you must find-out the qualifications of anyone who publishes technical advice.  In-person, when I'm talking to Dr. Jones I know that he has a doctoral degree, and anyone who proclaims that they are an Attorney or professional Engineer, must, by law, have the appropriate college degrees and state licenses.  But on the web, we don't know anything, especially with anonymous "experts".

What about someone who says they are a scientist?  Does that tell us anything?  Some folks caution Oracle professionals against relying on people who tell you they're experts or people that published authors. I wholeheartedly agree, you need to "trust your source" and verify their academic, scientific and research credentials!  

For Oracle, you need to check that anyone who grants themselves the title of "scientist" possesses the basic qualifications, usually an advanced college degree in a scientific discipline.  Regardless of labels, some Oracle professionals disagree about the pragmatic value of applying scientific principles to a software package:

"The scientific minutiae, however "true" they might be, would merely confuse; the bold, sweeping statement, however simplistic, will nevertheless explain, despite the bold, sweeping statement not being technically accurate.

I simplify like that every time I'm in the training room, and most times I post to c.d.o.s: but it is clearly incompatible with the pure science of Oracle espoused by the Oak Table.

There is also a danger that one gets so addicted to that sort of science that one forgets that it is, of itself, of practical relevance to a miniscule number of people"

I've noted a disturbing tendency of some Oracle "experts" to hide their background and qualifications.  Also, many of the people claiming to be Oracle scientists don't seem to understand some fundamental scientific concepts. 

Who goes there?

Whenever I engage an alleged scientist or expert in a discussion, the first thing I do is Google their academic and research background.  This gives me important insights into their mind-set, areas of computer science research, and their overall qualifications.  In my experience, all real scientists publish their academic qualifications, scientific research and whitepapers, and university teaching experience.  BTW, here is the Google syntax that I've automated (using the Google API) to quickly see a resume or C.V.:

   oracle "scientist_name_here" (CV|C.V.|vitae|resume|resume')

Knowing the qualifications of those who proclaim to be credible Oracle experts is very important.  In this world of fakers and posers, all Oracle professionals need to have strong BS radar and a quick Google search can tell you how much weight to give to the assertions of any Oracle scientist. Personally, I check for these qualifications:

• Experience at Oracle corporation - Was this person intimately involved with the internal machinations of Oracle at Redwood?  Nobody knows Oracle like the folks who built and maintain it (especially if they have source code!).
   

• Computer Science Background - What is their academic CS background?  Were they good enough to get into a respected university science program?  Were they able to compete effectively for entrance into a competitive graduate school? Does the Oracle expert have a Masters or Doctorate degree?
   

• Computer Science Research I quickly check the ACM and IEEE archives to locate all research in any scientific journals, and use Google to find all presentations and whitepapers at computer science conventions.

Ceteris paribus, I'm much more inclined to listen to Oracle professionals who publish their credentials.  Here is just a small sample of the stellar qualifications of some Oracle professionals:

• Don Bergal Co-developer of the Confio Oracle tuning tool with an MBA from Harvard Business School
   

• Dr. Tim Hall Oracle author and sponsor of the hugely popular oraclebase.com - Tim is also a black-belt in Karate and has a PhD in Molecular Genetics.
   

• Dr. Paul Dorsey Noted Oracle author, PhD, and respected UML expert
   

I'm hopeful that all self-professed Oracle scientists and experts will start publishing their academic and scientific qualifications (degrees, scientific research, achievements & awards, &c)  so that the Oracle community can give them the respect and credence that they deserve.
 

Reader Comments:

Michael Cunningham - Napa California

Nicely put, Don.

Well . . . I saw myself in your article - especially with regards to the thing about being an engineer. I learned something. As much as I give credit to those with college degrees I'm not willing to take from those without. I work with a degree holding "senior" dba. My feeling is when he got his degree he was put into the mindset of "I'm finished", "I got it", "now I'm done".

I have to work with this guy every day who does absolutely no proactive reading or research and is still stuck on 8.1.7 technology. When he has a question about or 10g he, "the senior dba", comes and asks me. I am in charge of maintaining our disaster recovery site because I "Read the F**king Manual". He was still using a technique used with version 7.3. I know there are many who don't take this "back seat" to learning after obtaining a degree (just like you, Mike Ault, Col John, and others you have mentioned). One the reasons I spend so much time on the forums learning and trying to participate is to compensate for the lack of mentorship I receive at work.

I would expect good leadership would see that as a sign of a self starter. Someone who can see where there is a need, learn it, and implement it. A college degree does not guarantee that, although it does give someone the edge over someone like me. It sounds more like a union workplace. The one with the seniority gets the promotion - qualified or not - over the less senior person who might really know his stuff.

I've been in this debate before about degrees and all I really have come up with is that I really do wish I would have completed my degree. And even without a degree I'd still hire people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, and Dave Thomas (the founder of Wendy's who got his GED at the age of 59).

I agree with you about credentials and the paper degree. I'm not, however, willing to discount the efforts of someone without the paper.

Kent Crotty - Oracle consultant