lol... I don't remember seeing that particular DBCC statement on the MCITP exam questions either, although they check to make sure you know how to defrag indexes or data, even if you don't know how to view fragmentation. 🙂 I suppose they don't expect you to know every available DBCC statement although I am little surprised that a DBA might not know that particular one.

While I agree that there are probably many "certified" DBA's out there that cannot do or understand some common maintenance tasks, this does not automatically nullify the education that might be obtained in the pursuit of a certification. Yes, obviously, experience provides the best instruction in how to be a DBA but you might be shocked to know how much "basic" information and functionality is unknown to DBA's with over 10 years experience because they rely solely on their job experience and never bother to take a class or pursue a certification because they are already "in the trenches" so what could they possibly gain?

I was recently surprised by 2 DBA's in one of my SQL Server 2008 implementation classes who had never heard of partitioned tables on multiple drives and the benefits of using them (as well as several other features of SQL Server that have existed since 2005). They immediately went back to work, implemented them and raved about the dramatic resulting increase in performance in their queries. And they each had over 15 years of experience. I would certainly say they know much more than I do overall because of their "trench" experience but no one knows everything and certainly much can be learned by taking classes and becoming certified. But certification is not the END. It is part of the means to become more knowledgeable and prove some level of knowledge in a given technology, kind of like going to college and getting a degree. I don't believe that certifications prove that you have reached the end of the highway and are at the top of the heap, just that you have been educated on most of the basic tools and methods to do the job well. Obviously, many DBA's, especially ones that frequent forums, are interested in knowing and doing everything to become an amazing technician. But don't discredit a method of learning and verifying your education that may add something to your arsenal of tools or your resume. If certifications were truly worthless, my inbox would not be full of job offers looking for certified technicians.

And don't forget the people skills, the most deficient area for most technicians 🙂 This alone has produced more return business with my clients than any awesome skills I have displayed. I have not found a certification for that one yet...

KILL 51!!!