Most recognized certifications for IT professionals by Oracle

Oracle offers over 200 certifications in the areas of applications, cloud, database, operating systems, enterprise management, virtualization and more. This certification guide will help you get started with Oracle’s credentials and career paths.

Oracle Corporation is a multinational company that offers a multitude of hardware and software solutions designed to simplify IT. Perhaps best known for its premier database software, the company also offers cloud solutions, servers, engineered systems, storage and more. Today, Oracle has over 420,000 customers (including all Fortune 100 companies), over 130,000 employees and generates over $38 billion in revenues.

Over the years, Oracle has developed an extensive certification program. Today, it includes 5 certification levels, spans 10 main categories and offers over 200 individual credentials. Considering the depth and breadth of the program, and the number of Oracle customers, it's no surprise that Oracle certifications are highly sought after.

Oracle Certification Program Overview

Oracle's certification program is divided into 10 main categories:

Oracle Applications

Oracle Cloud

Oracle Database

Oracle Enterprise Management

Oracle Foundation

Oracle Industries

Oracle Java and Middleware

Oracle Operating Systems

Oracle Systems

Oracle Virtualization

Additionally, Oracle's credentials are offered at five certification levels:

Associate

Professional

Master

Expert

Specialist

Most certification exams are proctored, cost $245 USD, and contain a mix of scored and unscored multiple-choice questions. Candidates may take proctored exams at Pearson VUE, although some exams are offered at Oracle Testing Centers in certain locations. Some exams, such as Oracle Database 12c: SQL Fundamentals (1Z0-061), are also available as non-proctored and may be taken online. Non-proctored exams cost $125 USD. Check the Oracle Certification website for details on specific exams.

Oracle Applications Certifications

The Oracle Applications certification category offers more than 60 individual credentials, covering over 20 products or product groups, such as Agile, E-Business Suite, Hyperion, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and PeopleSoft. The majority of these certifications are Certified Implementation Specialists for a specific application, with several Certified Expert credentials available as well. The Application certifications are geared toward individuals who have expertise in selling and implementing specific Oracle solutions.

Oracle Cloud Certifications

Oracle's newest certification category is Cloud, which covers Java Cloud as well as a number of Oracle Cloud certifications, including Oracle Database Cloud. These credentials recognize individuals who deploy applications, perform administration or deliver customer solutions in the cloud. Credentials include mostly Associate and Certification Implementation Specialists, although the Oracle Database as a Service (DBaaS) credential is at the Expert level.

Oracle Database Certifications

Certifications in Oracle's Database category are geared toward individuals who develop or work with Oracle databases. There are three main categories: Database Application Development, MySQL and Oracle Database. Certification credential levels include Associate, Professional, Expert and Master.

Note: The current version of Oracle Database is 12c, which was redesigned for cloud computing (and is included in both the Cloud and Database certification categories). MySQL 5.6 has been optimized for performance and storage, making it capable of handling bigger data sets. Whenever a significant version of either database is released, Oracle updates its certifications exams over time. If an exam isn't available for the latest database release, candidates can take a previous version of the exam and then an update exam when it becomes available.

Oracle currently offers Oracle Certified Associate (OCA), Oracle Certified Professional (OCP), Oracle Certified Master (OCM), Oracle Certified Expert (OCE) and Specialist paths for Oracle Database 12c. Because many of these certifications are highly popular within the Oracle Certification Program, we provide additional exam details and links here.

The OCA certification measures the day-to-day operational management database skills of DBAs. Candidates must pass one of the following exams as well as the Oracle Database 12c: Installation and Administration (1Z0-062) exam:

Oracle Database 12c: SQL Fundamentals (1Z0-061)

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I (1Z0-051)

Oracle Database SQL Expert (1Z0-047)

The OCP certification covers more advanced database skills. You must have the OCA Database 12c Administrator certification, complete the required training, complete a course submission form and pass the Oracle Database 12c: Advanced Administration (1Z0-063) exam.

Currently, only one upgrade path is available for the OCM Database 12c Administrator. To upgrade from OCM Oracle 9i, Oracle 10 or Oracle 11g, you must pass the Oracle Database 12c Certified Master Upgrade Exam 12COCMU. The OCM Database 12c Maximum Availability certification requires OCM Database 12c Administrator certification and successful completion of two exams:

Oracle Database 12c: RAC and Grid Infrastructure Administration (1Z0-068)

Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administration (1Z0-066)

The OCE Database 12c certifications include Maximum Availability, Data Guard Administrator, RAC and Grid Infrastructure Administrator, and Performance Management and Tuning credentials. All of these certifications take the OCP Database 12c Administrator credential as a prerequisite. Candidates can then achieve Data Guard Administrator, RAC and Grid Infrastructure Administrator or Performance Management and Tuning by passing one exam. Achieving both the RAC and Grid Infrastructure Administration and Data Guard Administration certifications earns the Maximum Availability credential.

The three Certified Implementation Specialist certifications focus on Oracle Database 12, Oracle Real Application Clusters 12c and Oracle Database Performance and Tuning 2015.

Oracle Enterprise Management Certifications

The Enterprise Management certifications cover Oracle Application Testing Suite and Oracle Enterprise Manager.

The Oracle Enterprise Manager Application Quality Management 11g Certified Implementation Specialist certification is for professionals who use Oracle's Application Quality Management tools. You must pass one exam (1Z0-529) to obtain this certification.

The Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c Certified Implementation Specialist exam (IZ0-457) covers more management functions (for applications, databases, middleware, systems and storage in various environments). In addition, it covers architecture, installation and deployment, implementation and support, reporting and extensibility.

Oracle Foundation Certification

Oracle Foundation certifications include the Oracle IT Architecture Release 3 Certified Architecture Specialist and the Project Lifecycle Management Certified Implementation Specialist. The Architecture certification recognizes senior-level IT architects who plan, design, develop, document and deliver solution architectures and can map products to appropriate solutions. The Project Lifecycle Management Implementation Specialist certification aims at project managers with the right mix of people skills and team management expertise to run Oracle implementation projects. In both cases, candidates must pass a single exam.

Oracle Industries Certifications

Oracle Industries is another sizeable category, with nearly 25 individual certifications focused on Oracle software for the communications, health services, insurance, retail, tax and utilities industries. All of these certifications are Certified Implementation Specialists for the various Oracle industry products, which means they identify individuals who are proficient in implementing and selling industry-specific Oracle software.

Oracle Java and Middleware Certifications

The Java and Middleware certifications are spread across several subcategories, such as Business Intelligence, Cloud Application, Data Integration, Identity Management, Java, Middleware Development Tools and more. Java and Middleware credentials represent all levels of the Oracle Certification Program -- Associate, Professional and so on -- and include Java Developer, Java Programmer, System Administrator, Architect and Implementation Specialist.

The highly popular Java category has certifications for Java SE (Standard Edition), Java EE (Enterprise Edition) and Java ME (Micro Edition). Most of the Java certifications that require a prior certification accept the corresponding Sun certification as well as the Oracle one.

Oracle Operating Systems Certifications

The Oracle Operating Systems certifications include Linux and Solaris. These certifications are geared toward administrators and implementation specialists.

The Linux 6 certifications include OSA and OSP Linux 6 System Administrator certifications as well as two Oracle Linux Certified Implementation Specialist certifications. The generic Specialist cert is for partners only, whereas the Linux 6 Specialist is open to all candidates. Each of them requires a single exam.

The Solaris 11 certifications include the OCA and OCP System Administrator certifications as well as an Oracle Solaris 11 Installation and Configuration Certified Implementation Specialist certification. The OCA and OCP Solaris 11 System Administrator certifications identify Oracle Solaris 11 administrators who have fundamental knowledge of and base-level skills with the UNIX operating system, commands, and utilities. As indicated by its name, the Implementation Specialist cert identifies intermediate-level implementation team members who install and configure Oracle Solaris 11.

Oracle Systems Certifications

Oracle's Systems certifications include Engineered Systems (Exdata, Exalogic and Exalytics), Servers (Fujitsu and SPARC) and Storage (Pillar Axiom, StorageTek, Sun Flash and Sun Storage). The majority of these certifications are geared toward individuals who sell and implement one of the specific solutions. The Exdata certification subcategory also includes an Oracle Exadata X3 Expert Administrator certification for individuals who administer, configure, patch and monitor the Oracle Exadata Database Machine platform.

Oracle Virtualization Certifications

The Virtualization certifications cover Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and Oracle Virtual Machine (VM). They are all Certified Implementation Specialists, which means they recognize individuals who sell and implement Oracle VM solutions. Candidates should be well versed in virtualization technologies and architectures, server pools, high availability, best practices and troubleshooting.

The Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure 3 Certified Implementation Specialist Certification (exam 1Z0-559) focuses on the Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and Sun Ray products.

The Oracle VM 3.0 for x86 Certified Implementation Specialist Certification is geared toward the intermediate-level team member who is proficient in installing OVM 3.0 Server and OVM 3.0 Manager components, discovering OVM Servers, configuring network and storage repositories and more.

Oracle Training And Resources

It's not surprising that Oracle has an extensive library of exam preparation materials. Check the Oracle University website (education.oracle.com) for hands-on instructor-led training, virtual courses, training on demand, exam preparation seminars, practice exams and other training resources.

A candidate's best bet, however, is to first choose a certification path and then follow the links on the Oracle website to the required exam(s). If training is recommended or additional resources are available for a particular exam, Oracle lists them on the exam page.