Please shed light on the MCDBA

[sipho]

I am 24 years old, having recently completed 2 degrees - A Bachelor's degree in Commerce (University of South Africa), and an Associates Degree in Computer Information Technology (Networking Emphasis). I am currently completing a course in VB6.0 - I have been following a few of these threads, and wanted to get some advice from the "top of the tree" - since at this time I work on a Help Desk, but want to position myself for a career in Database Administration and Programming.
I have compared several DBA certifications, and see the MCDBA (2000 Cert, not SQL7)as a place to start (in terms of affordability). Tell me about marketability.. how to position myself, what your advice in terms of career strategy over the next three years, and what experience to look for.

 

[jwdcfdeveloper]

For salary information concerning MCDBAs go to

http://www.igscorp.net/mcdba.htm,

or

http://www.mcpmag.com/

. These sites give good general info about what you can do with your new found certification, as well as some numbers (the first site offers info more pertinent to what you are requesting). In addition, if you know Microsoft products, you will almost always be able to find a job. As far as positioning yourself see if you can get some "real life" experience coding and putting together a database (i.e. help out with a project at your job, offer to do a web site for a small company, not-for-profit, etc.). This will give you the opportunity to have something tangible besides your certifications to show when you go for an interview. Remember, no matter how many certifications you have, you need to have some experience to back them up, because not every problem you encounter will be in the certification test. Good luck in your endevors.