My OCM 11g Journey

My OCM badge

OCM was my BIG dream 😁. I had heard about OCM in 2005 and always dreamed to become OCM. Honestly, I was dying to become Oracle Certified Master.

I setup my mind to sit for OCM 11g exam in 2013. I had attended all pre-requisite course from Oracle University and prepared for almost four years, till 2017. Most of the times during my preperation I got a lot of frastruatations. I had no idea at all what to practice after reading each Oracle documentation. I had 3 work week at that time so I spent plenty of time reading entire oracle documentation word by word. But I did not have any list of activity to practice. My preperation was like 1 step forward and 2 step backward. I was able to prepare just 1% in entire four years. 

My Amazon Shipping confirmation email.

I was desperately searching for any reference book with list of activity for each skillset. I had read reviews about few OCM books and came to know that those books had not helped people. In mid 2016, I heard about the book "OCM 11G" -by KARMAN AGJAYEV A. I did not read a single review about the book but ordered the book from Amazon. I don't know how I decided to purchase a book that costs around 8000 in my currency, may be my sixth sense insist to do that. Though it took around 3 months to reach the book to my desk, purchasing it was one of my best decision I had made ever.

Me with OCM 11g book.

For me the book is like a good map. In real, it does not matter how good the map is, mountaineer has to reach summit himself. In contrast, whatever skill the mountaineer has, without a good map he is half prepared to reach summit. So good book, work experiences and dedication of an examiner are core components to pass OCM. I am not marketing this book, but literally this book is awesome and  helped me a lot. The best part of the book is a list of activities to practice, Oracle document reference and in-depth explanation with solid and clear examples. I enjoyed a lot reading this book. Thank you Karman for writing such an awesome books. 

Email from Oracle Certification Program after I passed exam.

Finally it happened, on the 19th December, 2017 I received email from Oracle that I passed OCM. I am very thankful to my friends in Banglore: Posh Kanta Pandey, Harihar Paneru and Ajay Acharya. They are good people who had supported me a lot during my exam preparation. Without them it was not possible at all. I stayed with them for entire 2 months for the exam. Guys! you are rockstars. Thank you once again. I like to thank my family, friends and everyone who helped me to pass OCM exam.

A page from my notebook.

Following are few tips I found useful during my exam.

• Prepare exam as you do prepare for College exam. Write important point in paper and read them repeatedly. 
• Good Typing skill is important. Accuracy is more important than words per min. Signup  for free in https://play.typeracer.com and do at least 50 type challenges every day. 
• Good Skill to navigate Oracle Documentation. Download Oracle documentation offline. Install web server, Apache and start navigating it without Search feature.
• Practice on Linux machine, Forget Windows. If possible install Linux on your workstation. Version of Linux should match version specified in URL http://education.oracle.com.
• Practice with normal USB keyboard. Not a fancy and bluetooth ones
• At least 15 days leave prior to exam. Relax and prepare well. Don't get panic.
• Linux tips and tricks to save time. Linux short cuts for copy/paste and others.
• Linux text editor skills. Prepare for vim.
• Mentally prepare to become OCM. You should believe it before You have it.

A regret 😞

I am extremely sorry for posting this post 2 years late. I must post it immediately after exam. I am really a badass, always wait for a right time. I was unknown, The right time is right now, that's why it is termed as present, a gift to human mankind. So guys don't wait for right time, do it now.