In 2007, I began my journey to pursue the Oracle Certified Master (OCM) certification. It took me two years of dedicated preparation before I took the 10g OCM exam. During this period, I worked as an Oracle DBA for a foreign bank in Shanghai. The system I maintained were very stable, leaving me with ample time to prepare for the exam during office hour. I didn’t take any formal training courses. Instead, I relied on studying official documentation and repeatedly do self-designed labs based on exam topics. This meticulous approach allowed me to hone my skills comprehensively. My dedication paid off when I successfully passed the challenging exam on my first attempt, earning the coveted certification, and significantly improving my proficiency in Oracle database management.
As a memento for passing the 10g OCM exam, I received a waistcoat from Oracle.
A decade later, I upgraded my Oracle certification from 10g to 12c. Upon passing the 12c OCM certification, I was given a jacket as the commemorative gift.
I went on to get my 19c OCM certification in 2023, marked by receiving a backpack.
It’s worth noting that the luggage tag adorning the backpack is not for OCMs but is exclusive to Oracle ACEs.
Preparing for the exam forces you to learn all the features of the Oracle database. You must familiarize yourself thoroughly with the manuals. During the exams, which are conducted in an environment cut off from the internet, the manuals served as the sole reference aside from your memory. Navigation within the manuals is limited to the main index, precluding the use of search engines.
The following screenshot shows a list of my Oracle certifications on the certview.oracle.com website.
Yuan Yao, An Oracle ACE's Blog 
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