So, why should we consider commercially accredited qualifications as opposed to traditional academic qualifications taught at schools and Further Education colleges? With the costs of academic degree's becoming a tall order for many, alongside the IT sector's recognition that vendor-based training most often has much more commercial relevance, there has been a dramatic increase in Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA accredited training courses that supply key solutions to a student at a much reduced cost in terms of money and time. They do this through honing in on the particular skills that are needed (alongside a relevant amount of related knowledge,) as opposed to going into the heightened depths of background 'padding' that computer Science Degrees can often find themselves doing (to fill up a syllabus or course).

The crux of the matter is this: Commercial IT certifications provide exactly what an employer needs - the title says it all: as an example - I am a 'Microsoft Certified Professional' in 'Planning and Maintaining a Windows 2003 Infrastructure'. So employers can look at the particular needs they have and which qualifications are required to perform the job.

The characteristic profile of a database administrator or developer is somebody who is very exact, is very well disciplined and thorough, and can work well both alone or together with a small team. The work routinely involves reporting to company managers, & as such good communication skills will be essential. Managing business Databases can be quite a responsible position - and safety and security is continually becoming a larger subject in this field. Commercial discretion will be imperative, & a substantial amount of trustworthiness & personal integrity will be asked for by the business. Professionals from accounting and business roles tend to make excellent DBAs, and in many cases the position is a stepping-stone to a much more advanced status within the business hierarchy.

Internationally, the leading database systems are 'Oracle' and Microsoft 'SQL' Server. The more mature System 'Oracle' can still be found in many large organisations. Nevertheless, the majority of business Databases and virtually all Databases on the net now utilise the SQL-Server system. Obviously, as 'SQL' Server is owned by Microsoft, the company has incorporated it into all of its programs & platforms. For anyone planning to become commercially qualified therefore, it's the natural path to consider. The previous database program 'Microsoft Certified Database Administrator' ('MCDBA') has now been succeeded with the 'Microsoft Certified IT Professional' ('MCITP') and the 'Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist' ('MCTS'). The 'MCITP' DBA qualification incorporates the MS 'SQL' Server 2005 edition, because it'sstill the most popular version in the commercial world. The later SQL-Server 2008 continues to be in it's early days. Similar to various other Microsoft certifications, several 'MCTS' modules precede the final MCITP accreditation.

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