Designed by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Series 65 is an exam and securities license required for individuals to act as investment advisers in the US.
The Series 65 exam, known formally as the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, covers laws, regulations, ethics, and various subjects important to the role of a financial adviser.
Successful completion of the Series 65 exam is designed to qualify candidates as investment adviser representatives (IARs) in their home states. As an IAR, advisors must act in a fiduciary capacity, offering investment advice to clients for a fee.
Passing the Series 65 exam, formally known as the Uniform Investment Advisor Law Exam, is the only requirement for becoming an IAR. There are no prerequisites, and candidates do not need to be sponsored by an investment firm to sit for the exam, but they need to file a Form U10 (Form U4 for brokers) and pay the $187 exam fee.
The Series 65 exam includes 130 questions that cover subjects determined to be necessary to understand in order to provide investment advice to clients. These include questions on the subjects of economics, financial markets, investment vehicles, investment strategies, analysis, and ethics.
If you are not charging a fee and you do not regularly provide advice on securities, then you most likely do not need to get your Series 65 license. Other FINRA-administered qualification examinations include the Series 3 National Commodities Futures (NCFE), Series 7 General Securities Representative (GS), and Series 63 Uniform Securities Agent State Law.
Financial professionals who have successfully passed the Series 65 exam may not act as investment advisers until licensed and registered in their state.
The Series 65 examination contains 130 multiple-choice questions. Candidates have 180 minutes to complete the exam. Candidates must get 94 of the 130 questions correct to pass (a score of 72.3%).
Test takers must schedule an exam at a qualified testing center, where they are provided with a basic four-function electronic calculator. Only this calculator may be used during the exam. Dry-erase boards and markers are also provided for candidates. No reference materials of any kind are permitted in the exam room, and there are severe penalties for those who are caught cheating or attempting to cheat.
An individual's firm can schedule a candidate to take the exam by filing Form U4 and paying the $175 examination fee. If an individual is not firm-registered, the candidate uses Form U10 to request and pay for the exam.
NASAA provides updated information on the exam's content on its website. The exam is structured as follows:
NASAA updated questions on the Series 65 exam in light of 2018 changes to the tax code. Tax-related questions appearing on the exams starting in Jan. 2019 reflect the tax code changes.
There are several resources in book form or online to help study and prepare for the Series 65 exam. Candidates are encouraged to devote between 50-70 hours to studying for the exam. Unlike many other securities exams, preparing for the Series 65 exam primarily involves memorizing rules and laws. People with good recall might require less preparation time than those who struggle with recall. Regardless, some exam sections are more challenging than others, especially for people with no background in securities.
In addition, Investopedia has reviewed several of the best Series 65 test prep courses, which you can find here.
The NASAA offers three exams: the Series 65; Series 63; and Series 66.
The Series 65 was the first exam created by NASAA back in 1989, used to evaluate the competency of individuals who wanted to engage in commission or fee-based investment advisory services, such as being a financial advisor or RIA. At the time it was launched, it focused primarily on the Uniform Securities Act, NASAA rules, and ethical practices in the securities industry.
The Series 63 was developed to qualify candidates who wished to work in the securities industry within a state and to sell investment products, such as stocks, mutual funds, variable annuities, and unit investment trusts. In other words, to execute trades rather than give out financial advice. The exam covers the principles of state securities regulations and laws, and is formally known as the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination.
The Series 66 is a newer NASAA exam that combines subject matter from both the Series 63 and Series 65, and is fittingly known as the Combined State Law Exam. Test-takers of the Series 66 must also take the FINRA Series 7 licensing exam (which is not a co-requisite of the Series 63 or 65, although many individuals will still need the Series 7 to legally operate).
If you only have a Series 65 license, you can give financial advice but you cannot sell securities, execute trades on behalf of clients, or manage portfolios. To do so, you will also need to pass the FINRA Series 7 exam, which is more intensive
No, the Series 65 license does not expire as long as you are actively working in the financial services industry. If you leave the industry for more than two years, your new employer may require you to pass the Series 65 exam again.
No. To sit for the Series 65 exam, a candidate does not require sponsorship by a member firm.
The cost for sitting for the Series 65 exam is currently $187. You'll need a passing score of 72%, but if you fail you can pay the exam fee again and retake the test after 30 days.
Yes, but you will instead need to take the Series 7 and Series 66 exams.
The NASAA does not release official pass rates, however test preparation programs estimate that the pass rate is around 65-70% of test takers.
The Series 65, officially known as the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam, is designed to test an individual's knowledge and ability to advise clients in the area of investing and to discuss general financial concepts. The Series 65 exam tests candidates' comprehension of financial concepts and qualifies them to give investment advice and charge a fee for doing so. Most state securities regulators have set the Series 65 as the minimum requirement to become an investment advisor representative (IAR).
The Series 7 exam licenses the holder to sell all types of securities products except commodities and futures. Known formally as the General Securities Representative Qualification Examination, the Series 7 exam and its licensing is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Stockbrokers in the United States need to pass the Series 7 exam to obtain a license to trade. The Series 7 exam focuses on investment risk, taxation, equity, and debt instruments; packaged securities, options, retirement plans, and interactions with clients for prospective securities industry professionals. This introductory-level exam assesses a candidate’s knowledge of basic securities industry information including concepts fundamental to working in the industry.
The purpose of the Series 7 license is to set a level of competency for a registered representative or stockbroker to work in the securities industry. The Series 7 license is an essential requirement for an entry-level broker. The licensing exam covers an extensive range of financial terms and subjects as well as securities regulations.
Candidates who pass the Series 7 exam can trade many securities, such as stocks, mutual funds, options, municipal securities, and variable contracts. The Series 7 license does not cover selling real estate or life insurance products. In addition to obtaining the Series 7 license, many states require that registered representatives pass the Series 63 exam, also called the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Exam.
Since Oct. 1, 2018, Series 7 candidates are required to pass the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam as well as the Series 7 exam in order to receive the General Securities registration. According to FINRA, the SIE is an introductory-level exam that "assesses a candidate’s knowledge of basic securities industry information including concepts fundamental to working in the industry, such as types of products and their risks; the structure of the securities industry markets, regulatory agencies and their functions; and prohibited practices." If you need more information on the SIE, FINRA's SIE exam content outline provides more details.
Candidates who want to take the Series 7 exam must be sponsored by a FINRA member firm or other applicable self-regulatory organization (SRO) member firm. The member firm must file a Form U4 (Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer Form) for the candidate to be registered for the licensing exam. Non-FINRA members should use the Test Enrollment Services System (TESS) in order to register for the exam. FINRA governs the activities of securities firms and registered brokers, ensuring that anyone who sells securities products is qualified and tested.
Candidates who want to take the Series 7 exam must be sponsored by a FINRA member firm or other applicable self-regulatory organization (SRO) member firm.
The Series 7 is structured as follows:
The Series 7 exam has 125 multiple choice questions, lasts 225 minutes, and cost $300. The passing score is 72%.
Prior to Oct. 1, 2018, the Series 7 exam contained 250 questions covering five major job functions. The exam duration was six hours, had no prerequisites, and cost $305. A score of 72% was required to pass.
FINRA does not provide candidates with any physical certificate as proof of exam completion. Current or potential employers who wish to view proof of completion must access this information through FINRA's Central Registration Depository (CRD).
Completion of the Series 7 exam is a prerequisite for many other securities licenses, such as the Series 24, which permits the candidate to supervise and manage broker activities.
The hits keep coming for IBM in Massachusetts—and this one is a biggie. The company (NYSE: IBM) announced this morning it plans to acquire Marlborough, MA-based Netezza (NYSE: NZ), the business analytics and data warehousing firm, for about $1.7 billion in cash. It will be Big Blue’s 18th acquisition of a company based in the Bay State (or with significant operations here) since 2003, and the largest since Cognos in 2008, which went for $4.9 billion. The news comes on the heels of IBM’s acquisition of Boston-area companies Unica last month and OpenPages last week.
Netezza makes hardware and software used by big companies like Amazon and Nieman Marcus to combine their storage, server, and database functions in one system. My colleague Wade first wrote about the firm in July 2007, when it had its initial public offering, which netted more than $100 million. Last year, Netezza got more competitive with its product pricing and offerings and started going after a broader customer base. Its big customers now include eHarmony, Time Warner, Estee Lauder, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, United HealthGroup, and Nationwide Insurance.
The deal fits with IBM’s latest trend of acquiring companies in business analytics to expand its offerings in the field significantly. It has spent more than $12 billion to buy 23 firms in this sector in the past four years, including Cognos, Guardium, and Unica in Massachusetts. Back in 2005, it also purchased data warehouse technology maker Ascential Software for $1.1 billion.
More broadly, the move fits IBM’s strategy of acquiring existing partners, which vice president of business development Mike Loria talked about with me recently. IBM has a long history of working with Netezza (and competing with it) to make products for analyzing huge amounts of complicated data and finding trends in the data. Loria also hinted at IBM’s plans to make acquisitions to further its “smarter planet” initiative, which involves things like making data centers, energy production, and transportation systems greener and more efficient.
Indeed, Netezza’s vision and approach “aligns very well with IBM’s Smarter Planet strategy,” said Jim Baum, president and CEO of Netezza, in a statement. “Together with IBM, we are looking forward to extending our capabilities to a much broader market.”
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, after which IBM says it will integrate Netezza within its Information Management software portfolio. Netezza has about 500 employees worldwide. It competes with companies like Oracle, Teradata, and, until today, IBM.
Big Blue is gobbling up all of New England’s IT companies—or at least that’s the impression you’d get from this week’s deals news.
—IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced it will acquire Waltham, MA-based OpenPages for an undisclosed sum. The Waltham firm, whose backers include Goldman Sachs, Globespan Capital Partners, Matrix Partners, Mesirow Financial, Sigma Partners, and North Hill Ventures, makes software for managing corporate risk and compliance activities and will become part of IBM’s Business Analytics software portfolio.
—The OpenPages deal marked IBM’s 17th acquisition of a company based in Massachusetts, or with significant Massachusetts operations, since 2003. Greg gathered the details on all 17 deals, and took a look closer look at strategy behind them.
—No sooner had he done that than IBM announced an 18th Massachusetts acquisition, plunking down a whopping $1.7 billion in cash to pick up Netezza (NYSE: NZ). Marlborough, MA-based Netezza, which raised more than $100 million in its 2007 IPO, makes hardware and software that allows large corporations to combine their storage, server, and database functions in one system. IBM’s acquisition of the firm fits with Big Blue’s latest strategy of expanding its offerings in business analytics.
—Lantos Technologies, an imaging company spun out of MIT, raised $1.6 million in a Series A round of funding. Catalyst Health Ventures led the round, and … Next Page »
ISA offers a variety of resources to help you prepare for the Certified Automation Professional (CAP®) exam.
A Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge is the primary text resource for the CAP exam and provides a complete overview of all technical topics. Order the Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge.
The CAP Study Guide is a comprehensive self-study resource that contains a list of the CAP domains and tasks, 75 review Questions and Answers complete with justifications. References that were used for each study guide question are also provided with the question. The Study Guide also includes a recommended list of publications that you can use to do further study on specific domains. Order the CAP Study Guide.
A CAP review course is available in several formats as preparation for taking the certification exam. This course is offered by ISA and can also be offered at your location.
ISA also has a variety of training courses that would be helpful in preparing for CAP. Visit the Automation Professional Training page for a complete list.
Questions on the exam were derived from the actual practice of automation professionals as outlined in the CAP Role Delineation Study and job task analysis. Using interviews, surveys, observation, and group discussions, ISA worked with automation professionals to delineate critical job components to develop exam specifications to determine the number of questions related to each domain and task tested. This rigorous program development and ongoing maintenance process ensures that CAP certification accurately reflects the skills and knowledge needed to excel as an automation professional.
The following six questions were taken from the CAP exam question item bank and serve as examples of the question type and question content found on the CAP exam.
| Question Number | Correct Answer | Exam Content Outline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Domain 1, Task 4 |
| 2 | C | Domain 2, Task 2 |
| 3 | B | Domain 3, Task 3 |
| 4 | B | Domain 4, Task 7 |
| 5 | C | Domain 5, Task 5 |
| 6 | A | Domain 6, Task 2 |
Savvy, talented and knowledgeable database professionals are always in demand. This article covers some of the best, most in-demand certifications for database administrators, database developers and anyone else who works with databases.
During the past three decades, we’ve seen a lot of database platforms come and go, but there’s never been any question that database technology is a crucial component for all kinds of applications and computing tasks.
Database certifications may not be as sexy or bleeding-edge as cloud computing, storage, or computer forensics. That said, there has been and always will be a need for knowledgeable database professionals at all levels and in a plethora of database-related job roles.
To get a better grasp of the available database certifications, it’s useful to group these certs around job responsibilities. In part, this reflects the maturity of database technology and its integration into most aspects of commercial, scientific and academic computing. As you read about the various database certification programs, keep these job roles in mind:
Careful attention to these database job roles highlights two important technical issues for would-be database professionals to consider.
First, a good general background in relational database management systems, including an understanding of Structured Query Language (SQL), is a basic prerequisite for database professionals of all stripes.
Second, although various efforts to standardize database technology exist, much of the whiz-bang capability that databases and database applications deliver come from proprietary, vendor-specific technologies. Serious, heavy-duty database skills and knowledge are tied to specific platforms, including various Oracle products (such as the open-source MySQL environment and Oracle itself,) Microsoft SQL Server and IBM DB2. That’s why most of these certifications relate directly to those enormously popular platforms.
It’s important to note that NoSQL databases – referred to as “not only SQL” and sometimes “non-relational” databases – handle many different types of data, such as structured, semi-structured, unstructured and polymorphic. NoSQL databases are increasingly used in big data applications, which tend to be associated with certifications for data scientists, data mining and warehousing, and business intelligence. Although there is some natural overlap, for the most part, we cover those certs in our annually updated “Best Big Data Certifications.”
Before you look at our featured certifications in detail, consider their popularity with employers. The results of an informal search on several high-traffic job boards show which database certifications employers look for most when hiring. Though these results vary from day to day (and by job board), such numbers provide a useful perspective on database certification demand in current job listings.
|
Certification |
Total |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
IBM Certified Database Administrator – DB2 |
463 |
607 |
845 |
747 |
2,662 |
|
Microsoft SQL Server database certifications** |
1,661 |
1,955 |
1,259 |
1,373 |
6,248 |
|
Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL Database Administrator |
205 |
342 |
182 |
142 |
871 |
|
Oracle Database 12c Administrator |
235 |
295 |
695 |
214 |
1,439 |
|
SAP HANA |
101 |
150 |
84 |
80 |
415 |
*See our complete methodology for selecting top five certifications in the “Best Certifications” series.
**Combined totals for MCSA: SQL Database Administration (540), MCSA: SQL Database Development (569), MCSE: Data Management and Analytics (640) and MTA: Database (503).
If the sheer number of available database-related positions isn’t enough motivation to pursue a certification, consider average salaries for database administrators. SimplyHired reports $86,415 as the national average in the U.S., in a range from $60,960 to over $128,000. Glassdoor’s reported average is somewhat higher at $93,164, with a top rung for experienced, senior DBAs right around $135,000.
Now let’s look at the details of our top five database certification picks for 2020.
IBM is one of the leaders in the worldwide database market by any objective measure. The company’s database portfolio includes industry standard DB2, as well as IBM Compose, Information Management System (IMS), lnformix, Cloudant and IBM Open Platform with Apache Hadoop. IBM also has a long-standing and well-populated IT certification program, which has been around for more than 30 years and encompasses hundreds of individual credentials.
After redesigning its certification programs and categories, IBM’s major data-centric certification category is called IBM Data and AI, which includes a range of database credentials: Database Associate, Database Administrator, System Administrator, Application Developer and more. It’s a big and complex certification space, but one where particular platform allegiances are likely to guide readers straight to the handful of items that are relevant to their interests and needs.
Database professionals who support DB2 (or aspire to) on Linux, Unix or Windows should check out the IBM Certified Database Administrator – DB2 certification. It’s an intermediate credential that addresses routine administration, basic SQL, and creation of databases and database objects, as well as server management, monitoring, availability and security.
This certification requires candidates to pass two exams. Pre-exam training is recommended but not required.
|
Certification name |
IBM Certified Database Administrator – DB2 11.1 (Linux, UNIX and Windows) |
|---|---|
|
Prerequisites and required courses |
None required; recommended courses available |
|
Number of exams |
Two exams: IBM DB2 11.1 DBA for LUW (exam C2090-600) (60 questions, 90 minutes) plus DB2 11.1 Fundamentals for LUW (exam C2090-616) (63 questions, 90 minutes) |
|
Cost per exam |
$200 (or local currency equivalent) per exam ($400 total). Sign up for exams at Pearson VUE. |
|
URL |
|
|
Self-study materials |
Each exam webpage provides exam objectives, suggested training courses and links to study guides for sale through MC Press. Click the exam Preparation tab for detailed information. You can also visit the Prepare for Your Certification Exam webpage. |
SQL Server offers a broad range of tools and add-ons for business intelligence, data warehousing and data-driven applications of all kinds. That probably explains why Microsoft offers database-related credentials at every level of its certification program.
Microsoft has taken significant steps over the last year to change its certification program from technology-focused to role-centric, centered on the skills one needs to be successful in specific technology jobs. With these changes in mind, Microsoft now identifies four job tracks in its certification program: Developers, Administrators, Solution Architects and Functional Consultants. You will find a wide variety of skills and technologies within each of those categories, but we’ll concentrate below on the company’s SQL Server certifications.
The MTA program includes a single database-related exam: Database Fundamentals (98-364). This credential is ideal for students or as an entry-level cert for professionals looking to segue into database support.
Microsoft offers several SQL-related credentials at the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) level:
There is one SQL database credential at the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert level: Data Management and Analytics. This certification has the MCSA as a prerequisite (a list of valid items follows in the table) and then requires passing one elective exam.
|
Certification name |
MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Administration |
|---|---|
|
Prerequisites and required courses |
No prerequisites: MTA: Database Fundamentals MCSA: SQL Server 2012/2014 MCSA: BI Reporting MCSA: SQL 2016 BI Development MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Administration MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Development MCSE Data Management and Analytics prerequisites (only one required): MCSA: SQL Server 2012/2014 MCSA: SQL 2016 BI Development MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Administration MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Development MCSA: Machine Learning MCSA: BI Reporting MCSA: Data Engineering with Azure Training courses are available and recommended for all certifications but not required. |
|
Number of exams |
MTA: Database Fundamentals: One exam
MCSA: BI Reporting: Two exams
MCSA: SQL Server: Three exams
MCSA: SQL 2016 BI Development: Two exams MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Administration: Two exams MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Development: Two exams MCSE: Data Management and Analytics: One exam (from the following)
All exams administered by Pearson VUE. |
|
Cost per exam |
MTA: $127 (or equivalent in local currency outside the U.S.) MCSA/MCSE: $185 (or equivalent) per exam |
|
URL |
www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/certification-overview.aspx |
|
Self-study materials |
Microsoft offers one of the world’s largest and best-known IT certification programs, so the MTA, MCSA and MCSE certs are well supported with books, study guides, study groups, practice tests and other materials. |
Oracle runs its certifications under the auspices of Oracle University. The Oracle Database Certifications page lists separate tracks for Database Application Development (SQL and PL/SQL), MySQL (Database Administration and Developer) and Oracle Database (versions 12c, 12c R2, and 11g, and Oracle Spatial 11g).
MySQL is perhaps the leading open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Since acquiring Sun Microsystems in 2010 (which had previously acquired MySQL AB), Oracle has rolled out a paid version of MySQL and developed certifications to support the product.
A candidate interested in pursuing an Oracle MySQL certification can choose between MySQL Database Administration and MySQL Developer. The Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator (OCP) credential recognizes professionals who can install, optimize and monitor MySQL Server; configure replication; apply security; and schedule and validate database backups.
The certification requires candidates to pass a single exam (the same exam can be taken to upgrade a prior certification). Oracle recommends training and on-the-job experience before taking the exam.
Most Oracle DBMS credentials require candidates to attend authorized training classes to qualify for the related exam, but MySQL (and Sun-derived) credentials often do not. Oracle certifications also represent a true ladder, in that it is generally necessary to earn the associate-level credentials first, professional-level credentials second and master-level credentials third, culminating with the expert level.
Oracle Database 12c R2 is the latest version, which includes enhancements to Oracle Database 12c. Oracle 12c certifications are currently offered at the associate, professional and master levels.
A Foundations Junior Associate certification (novice level) is also available for Oracle Database 12c, as are three specialist designations: the Implementation Specialist, the Oracle Database Performance and Tuning 2015 Certified Implementation Specialist, and the Oracle Real Application Clusters 12c Certified Implementation Specialist.
Available expert-level credentials include the Oracle Certified Expert; Oracle Database 12c: RAC and Grid Infrastructure Administrator; Oracle Database 12c Maximum Availability Certified Expert; Oracle Certified Expert; Oracle Database 12c: Data Guard Administrator; Oracle Certified Expert; and Oracle Database 12c: Performance Management and Tuning. Oracle still offers 11g certifications as well.
Note: Although premium support for Oracle 11g Database ended on Dec. 31, 2014, extended support lasts until December 2020, so it’s probable that Oracle Database 11g will remain in use for the short term.
We focused on requirements for Oracle Database 12c certifications. One important consideration is that Oracle 11g is forward-compatible with Oracle 12c, but Oracle 12c is not backward- compatible with the prior version. Because Oracle 12c is a newer version, IT professionals with Oracle 11g certifications should consider upgrading their 11g credentials.
|
Certification name |
Oracle Database 12c Administrator Certified Associate (OCA 12c) Oracle Database 12c Administrator Certified Professional (OCP 12c) Oracle Database 12c Administrator Certified Master (OCM 12c) Oracle Database 12c Maximum Availability Certified Master |
|---|---|
|
Prerequisites and required courses |
OCA 12c: Training recommended but not required OCP 12c: OCA 12c credential and one training course required; complete course submission form OCM 12c: OCP 12c or 12c R2 credential and two advanced training courses (must be different from the course used to achieve the OCP); complete course submission form; submit fulfillment kit request Oracle Database 12c Maximum Availability Certified Master: Three credentials
Oracle training: Classes typically run 2-5 days; costs range from $1,360 to over $5,580. |
|
Number of exams |
OCA 12c: Choose one exam from the following:
OCP 12c: One exam: Oracle Database 12c: Advanced Administration (1Z0-063) (80 questions, 120 minutes) OCM 12c: One exam: Oracle Database 12c Certified Master (12COCM), a two-day, performance-based exam Oracle Database 12c Maximum Availability Certified Master: None |
|
Cost per exam |
OCA 12c: 1Z0-071and 1Z0-062 cost $245 each. OCP 12c: 1Z0-063, 1Z0-082 and 1Z0-083 cost $245 each OCM 12c: 12COCM costs $2,584; contact Oracle for pricing/availability of upgrade exam. Oracle Database 12c Maximum Availability Certified Master: None Note: Prices vary by geography. |
|
URL |
|
|
Self-study materials |
Each Oracle certification exam webpage lists exam subjects as well as recommended training courses, seminars and practice tests. A variety of self-study guides are available on Amazon. Oracle Database certification candidates benefit from student manuals, labs and software provided as part of class offerings. |
SAP SE has a large portfolio of business application and analytics software, including cloud infrastructure, applications, and storage. The foundation of the SAP HANA platform is an enterprise-grade relational database management system, which can be run as an appliance on premises or in the cloud. The cloud platform enables customers to build and run applications and services based on SAP HANA.
SAP offers a comprehensive certification program, built to support its various platforms and products. We chose to feature the SAP Certified Technology Associate – SAP HANA cert because it aligns closely with other certifications in this article and is in high demand among employers, according to our job board surveys. This certification ensures that database professionals can install, manage, monitor, migrate and troubleshoot SAP HANA systems. It covers managing users and authorization, applying security, and ensuring high availability and effective disaster recovery techniques.
SAP recommends that certification candidates get hands-on practice through formal training or on-the-job experience before attempting this exam. The SAP Learning Hub is a subscription service that gives certification candidates access to a library of learning materials, including e-learning courses and course handbooks. The annual subscription rate for individual users on the Professional certification track is $3,048. This online training program is designed for those who run, support or implement SAP software solutions. Though this may seem like a steep price for online training, you will likely be able to pass any SAP certification exams you put your mind to by leveraging all of the learning resources available to SAP Learning Hub Professional subscribers.
Typically, SAP certifications achieved on one of the two most latest SAP solutions are considered current and valid. SAP contacts professionals whose certifications are nearing end of life and provides information on maintaining their credentials.
|
Certification name |
SAP Certified Technology Associate – SAP HANA (Edition 2016) |
|---|---|
|
Prerequisites and required courses |
None required Recommended: SAP HANA Installation & Operations SPS12 (HA200) course ($3,750) |
|
Number of exams |
One exam: SAP Certified Application Associate – SAP HANA (Edition 2016), exam code C_HANATEC_12 (80 questions, 180 minutes) |
|
Cost per exam |
$552 |
|
URL |
https://training.sap.com/certification/c_hanatec_12-sap-certified-technology-associate—sap-hana-edition-2016-g/ |
|
Self-study materials |
The certification webpage includes a link to trial questions. SAP HANA trade books and certification guides are available on Amazon. The SAP Help Center offers product documentation and a training and certification FAQs page. The SAP Learning Hub (available on a subscription basis) provides access to online learning content. |
Besides the ones mentioned in this article, other database certification programs are available to further the careers and professional development of IT professionals who work with database management systems.
While most colleges with computer science programs offer database tracks at the undergraduate, master and Ph.D. levels, there are few well-known vendor-neutral database certifications. The Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) is part of this unique group, offering its Certified Data Professional and Certified Data Scientist credentials. Find out more about ICCP certifications here.
EnterpriseDB administers a small but effective certification program, with two primary certs: the EDB Certified Associate and the EDB Certified Professional. PostgreSQL was the fourth-ranked relational database management system in October 2019, according to DB-Engines.
Credentials from Google, MarkLogic, Teradata and SAS may also be worth considering. All of these credentials represent opportunities for database professionals to expand their skill sets – and salaries. However, such niches in the database certification arena are generally only worth pursuing if you already work with these platforms or plan to work for an organization that uses them.
Ed Tittel
Ed is a 30-year-plus veteran of the computing industry, who has worked as a programmer, a technical manager, a classroom instructor, a network consultant, and a technical evangelist for companies that include Burroughs, Schlumberger, Novell, IBM/Tivoli and NetQoS. He has written for numerous publications, including Tom’s IT Pro and GoCertify, and is the author of more than 140 computing books on information security, web markup languages and development tools, and Windows operating systems.
Earl Follis
Earl is also a 30-year veteran of the computer industry, who has worked in IT training, marketing, technical evangelism, and market analysis in the areas of networking and systems technology and management. Ed and Earl met in the late 1980s when Ed hired Earl as a trainer at an Austin-area networking company that’s now part of HP. The two of them have written numerous books together on NetWare, Windows Server and other topics. Earl is also a regular writer for the computer trade press, with many e-books, whitepapers and articles to his credit.
By the time you finally submit a payment for an online purchase, chances are good that the seller knows quite a bit about you. Your browsing history reveals all sorts of clues: your interests, which advertisements you’ve been exposed to, and even basic demographics like your probable age range and gender. Just the operating system you use can send significant signals about the prices you’ll tolerate—researchers recently demonstrated that a variety of sites routinely charge more to shoppers using Macs or Android devices.
By comparison, when you make a purchase in a physical store you may as well be anonymous (unless you use a loyalty or membership card). Amongst the unignorable success of companies like Amazon and Alibaba and the exponential growth of e-commerce in general, it’s easy to forget that 75 percent of retail sales still take place in physical stores. And those stores are eager to know just as much about their in-store shoppers as they do about their online shoppers—if not more.
The keys to understanding shoppers in the offline world are emerging location technologies that can show how you and your phone move through the world. Retailers have begun using location-based, context-aware advertising and marketing campaigns to attract shoppers to their stores. And then, once potential customers are inside, indoor location networks can take over and help them make additional sales.
Local advertising used to be pretty basic—circulars sent by mail to certain neighborhoods, say, or maybe inserts and coupons in the local newspaper. But once location-sensing phones became commonplace, advertisers realized that they could be used as a more personalized platform for local advertising. Early location-based services were mostly focused on targeting promotions to specific geographic areas—when you entered an area, you might see that a discount was available at a nearby business. But over time, the advertising technology has evolved to become much more sophisticated. By analyzing your past locations and movements, and comparing them with other data, mobile advertisers can now create complete “geo-behavioral profiles.”
Basically, “where you’ve been tells us who you are,” says Alvaro del Castillo, the CEO of SONATA, a Spain-based company that provides location- and context-aware advertising for globally coordinated campaigns. SONATA mostly serves ads through mobile apps in which users have opted-in to sharing location data. On phones, latitude and longitude coordinates can be even more revealing than browser-based cookies. If SONATA’s system detects that a user has been at the airport for each of the past three Mondays, says Castillo, “we can guess that you’re a business traveler, and our predictive analysis tells us you’ll probably be there again on another Monday.” So in addition to targeting ads to customers who are currently near a store, SONATA can also reach customers who are likely to be near that store in the near future, based on their past behavior.
Once a customer is inside, however, GPS coordinates are no longer very useful—they’re not precise enough to determine what aisle a shopper is in or what type of products they’re browsing. In fact, exact physical coordinates are much less interesting “than whether they’re in the shoe department or not,” explains Sima Nadler, IBM’s worldwide research lead for retail. To address this need, Nadler invented IBM Presence Zones, a system that helps transform raw location data into contextually defined areas that are actually useful for businesses. That way, “if you want to run reports about all shoe departments, you don’t have to worry about the different XYZ-coordinates in each store,” says Nadler.
Presence Zones are compatible with several different customer-detecting technologies. One approach is to use multiple Wi-Fi antennas to detect nearby smartphones and triangulate their location. This “anonymous mode” doesn’t store any personal information about individual phones (“there’s no way to go back and figure out who the person is,” says Nadler), but is useful for analyzing aggregate customer behavior, because it can track user movement without requiring someone to opt-in or download a store’s app.
But to provide personalized in-store services, retailers do want to be able to identify individual users. “Once you actually walk into the store, we can check you in and check for promotions,” explains Jonathan Wall, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Index, a startup focused on providing physical stores with the same sort of customer data that they get online. In this case, stores often turn to proximity-sensing Bluetooth location systems like Apple’s iBeacon, which send a short-range wireless signal that can be picked up only by nearby phones that have a compatible app installed. When a phone moves within range, the system might send a push notification to a shopper’s phone, with a promotion or message specific to that area of the store.
Marc Freed-Finnegan, Index’s other co-founder and its CEO, believes that such location-aware messages and apps can provide an in-person shopping equivalent of the “other items you might be interested in” or “frequently bought together” sections of e-commerce sites, which are known to generate substantial extra revenue.
Location-aware apps can also save stores money by reducing the number of salespeople necessary. “Retailers have to be conscious of fixed costs, like floor space and staff members,” says Peter Christianson, the director of product marketing at Retailigence, another technology company that helps stores connect their digital marketing efforts to in-store sales. A hardware store, for instance, “might have an app that will give directions to in-store product locations, provide reviews, and suggest complementary products,” he says. “A lot of people look to employees to assure them that they’re making a good purchase so they don’t have buyer’s remorse,” and seeing contextual social reviews can serve the same purpose.
But location-based “triggers,” explains Nadler, don’t have to be limited to self-serve apps on a customer's phone. For some types of stores, the technology can be used to make existing employees more effective. High-end retailers like Neiman Marcus have found that when a customer shops with the same salesperson three times, they spend almost 10 times more than a customer who shops with a random salesperson, says Index’s Wall, “So how do you use technology to capture some of that for lower-margin, mid-range stores?” One solution is to provide employees with location-enabled devices that tell them not only where customers are in the store, but what they’re likely looking for and what they’ve bought in the past. Wall imagines that a common greeting of the future might sound something like, “My tablet says you might enjoy these other products.”
Stores realize that not all shoppers are eager to share their movements and be bombarded with personalized messages or sales pitches whenever they’re near or inside a store. With in-store beacons, “there’s a fine line between being useful, pushing the next promotion at the right time, and being annoying,” says Christianson. “And if you annoy your customers,” he says, “they’ll either delete the app or turn off notifications.” So many retailers are proceeding cautiously—a common approach is to start with customers who are already enrolled in a loyalty program, as they’re more likely to opt-in to location services in exchange for discounts or perks.
The key to gaining customer trust is to provide them with real value, says Nadler, who is part of a group working on industry-wide standards for location permissions. “What we have seen is that where there is benefit, people are more than happy” to share location data, she says, but when there’s no benefit, they’re not. While many people still have a general aversion to location tracking, the popularity of other apps like Open Table and Uber have helped increase the number of people who are comfortable with sharing their locations. SONATA’s Castillo says that the current methods of granting permissions—Android devices, for instance only ask once per app—also need to be improved. “We need an opt-in and opt-out mechanism for users to pick when they want to be localized, and when they don’t,” he says, which would give users more control over their privacy and reduce general skepticism.
And with retailers' growing stores of data, they have a priority to make sure it's secure for their customers. So in parallel with Nadler's work on Presence Zones, IBM has been helping retailers harden their data security as well as offer cloud services and platforms to securely manage sensitive data.
Stores may well make mistakes as they experiment with new location technologies, but the benefits are likely to be worth the bumps and bruises they acquire along the way. Retail needs to change, says Freed-Finnegan of Index, and “I think retail will change.” Several years ago, analysts were predicting the death of brick-and-mortar stores, says Nadler, but “I think the retailers who understand how to leverage both online and offline sales are the ones who will win.”
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Olivia says it doesn’t matter how you do your practice exams, as long as you do them and learn from them.
October 28 - Biology
October 31 - Psychology
November 8 - Chemistry
November 9 - Physics
November 10 - Environmental science
Voulgaris’ biology tips:
Ben Ostermeyer scored a 50 in VCE psychology in 2021 and received a premier’s award.
When Ben Ostermeyer, 18, was studying for his 2021 VCE exams, he was in and out of lockdown. It meant a lot of his study groups were online.
Ostermeyer, a former student of Whitefriars College in Donvale, scored a 50 in psychology and earned himself a premier’s award in the subject. He’s now studying speech pathology at the Australian Catholic University.
He leaned on his teachers, his friends and his mother to drill content before doing practice exams.
“I got other people involved. I studied with my mates and my mum and went through the content togther,” he says.
He did about 10 practice exams altogether, the first few of which he did open-book style to identify areas he needed to focus more on, before progressing to closed-book exams.
Although he didn’t use a timetable to study, Ostermeyer did make sure he did all his practice exams at the same time they were scheduled: 10am.
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The psychology exam includes multiple choice, short-answer questions and an extended-answer question. He says it was good to experiment with completing the different sections at different paces.
“In the exam, I found I spent more time on the multiple choice. In my practice exams I was flying through the multiple choice. I would recommend trying to do them at different paces,” he says.
He also recommends spending time studying research methods – hypotheses, independent variables and experiments.
“Just get in there, have a crack at it. I was little bit nervous. I was pretty confident going in because I put in a lot of work, so I knew that would put me in good stead.”
Both students advise getting a good night’s sleep before the exam and taking time to relax, whether that’s by listening to music, doing puzzles or exercising.
Voulgaris says to remember that there are many pathways into your future career. “I’m at uni now. It’s a completely different landscape. No one cares what my ATAR was,” she says.
“I’m doing bio-med. You can do the same path through science. There are always options. You aren’t looking at it as a score that evaluates yourself. It’s just another tool to get where you need to go.”
Tips from assessors from previous science exams:
PHYSICS
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
CHEMISTRY
PSYCHOLOGY
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