David Robinson has written professionally since 2000. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Meteorological Society. He has written for the "Telegraph" and "Guardian" newspapers in the U.K., government publications, websites, magazines and school textbooks. He holds an honors Bachelor of Arts in geography and education and a teaching certificate from Durham University, England.

PayPal, a subsidiary of eBay, has launched the second PayPal X Developer Challenge to encourage the development of commerce-enabled applications using its platform.

PayPal is rewarding the most innovative applications that leverage the PayPal X open global payments platform. After the success of the first Developer Challenge, the company is expanding the contest with new sponsors and more prizes: in addition to the $100,000 grand prize for the most innovative idea, PayPal is also offering $10,000 PayPal X category Awards.

“The response to our first Developer Challenge was great and we wanted to provide the opportunity to our developer community again,” said Naveed Anwar, senior director of the developer network at PayPal, San Jose, CA.

“We expanded our challenge and added key partners and X Awards to empower developers to think outside the payments box and address critical needs and wants of their consumers,” he said.

Last month, PayPal launched its Mobile Payments Library for the Android operating system, giving developers a way to integrate payments into the applications they build (see story).

Mobile payments app awards
The X Awards, issued by PayPal and its partners, will be awarded to developers who create an application or service that directly impacts its users’ daily lives in a certain category.

These include:

• Best application that leverages PayPal X’s Mobile Payments Library (available on iPhone and Android)

• Best application built by university students

• Best consumer application

• Best application that promotes cross-border commerce

• Best application that takes advantage of Yahoo’s platform

• Best application that takes advantage of eBay’s platform

In addition, PayPal is also introducing two community-based awards: the People’s Choice and the 2010 Innovate Awards.

The People’s Choice winners will be selected by the PayPal X online community and the top finalists will be invited to exhibit at PayPal X Innovate 2010.

The 2010 Innovate Award winner will be selected by attendees of the PayPal X Innovate 2010.

PayPal is trying to encourage application developers to use its APIs for payments by rewarding the best ideas.

A complete list of PayPal X APIs is also on https://www.x.com.

Developers that register for the Challenge by Aug. 4 at 11:59 p.m. PDT will be entered to win one of 10 iPads.

The winners will be announced at PayPal X Innovate 2010 on Oct. 26-27 at Moscone West in San Francisco. 

The first Developer Challenge launched at the PayPal X Innovate event in November 2009 and attracted hundreds of submissions, including the winners, Rentalic, a person-to-person rental marketplace, and appbackr, the first wholesale digital marketplace for iPhone applications. 

The grand prize winner of the current PayPal X Developer Challenge will receive an award totaling up to $100,000, including $50,000 into the winner’s PayPal account and $50,000 in waived transaction fees.

Finalists and the grand prize winner will be determined by a panel of judges that includes Roelof Botha of Sequoia Capital, Dave McClure of 500 Hats and Dana Stalder of Matrix Partners.   

“This Developer Challenge is bigger and better than last year,” said Mr. Anwar said. “We brought in important partners and expanded the prize pool.

“We’ve reduced the friction to integrating payments in apps and look forward to seeing the creative use cases and awesome integrations we know they’ll develop,” he said.

• Database technology is crucial in multiple applications and computing tasks, and certifications help demonstrate job readiness and core competencies. 
• Before pursuing a database platform certification, you should have a solid background in relational database management systems and the SQL language. 
• Valuable certifications are typically tied to specific technology companies and their platforms, such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP.
• This article is for IT professionals considering database certifications to further their careers. 

While database platforms have come and gone through the decades, database technology is still critical for multiple applications and computing tasks. IT professionals often seek database certifications to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise as they navigate their career paths and pursue professional growth. 

While database certifications may not be as bleeding edge as Google cloud certifications, cybersecurity certifications, storage certifications or digital forensics certifications, database professionals at all levels possess in-demand career skills — and a plethora of database-related jobs are waiting to be filled.

We’ll look at some of the most in-demand certifications for database administrators, database developers and anyone else who works with databases.

What to know about database roles and certifications

To get a better grasp of available database certifications, it’s helpful to group these certs around job responsibilities. 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: 

• Database administrator (DBA). A DBA is responsible for installing, configuring and maintaining a database management system (DBMS). The job is often tied to a specific platform, such as Oracle, MySQL, DB2 or SQL Server.
• Database developer. A database developer works with generic and proprietary application programming interfaces (APIs) to build applications that interact with a DBMS. Like DBA roles, database developer positions are also often platform-specific.
• Database designer or database architect. A database designer or architect researches data requirements for specific applications or users and designs database structures and application capabilities to match.
• Data analyst or data scientist. A data analyst or scientist is responsible for analyzing data from multiple disparate sources to discover previously hidden insights, determine the meaning behind data, and make business-specific recommendations.
• Data mining or business intelligence (BI) specialist. A data mining or BI specialist focuses on dissecting, analyzing and reporting important data streams, such as customer, supply chain and transaction data and histories.
• Data warehousing specialist. A data warehousing specialist assembles and analyzes data from multiple operational systems (such as orders, transactions, supply chain information and customer data) to establish data history, analyze trends, generate reports and forecasts, and support general ad hoc queries. 

These database job roles highlight two critical issues to consider if you want to be a database professional:

1. You need a solid general background. First, a background in relational database management systems, including an understanding of Structured Query Language (SQL), is a fundamental prerequisite for database professionals of all stripes. 
2. There’s a focus on proprietary technologies. Second, although various efforts to standardize database technology exist, much of the whiz-bang capability that databases and database applications deliver comes 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. Most of these certifications relate directly to those enormously popular platforms. 

Did you know? NoSQL databases — called “not only SQL” or “non-relational” databases — are increasingly used in big data applications associated with some of the best big data certifications for data scientists, data mining and warehousing, and business intelligence.

Best database certifications

Here are details on our five best database certification picks for 2022.

1. IBM Certified Database Administrator — DB2 12

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 the following:

• IBM Compose
• Information Management System (IMS)
• Informix
• Cloudant
• IBM Open Platform with Apache Hadoop

IBM also has a long-standing and well-populated IT certification program that has been around for more than 30 years and encompasses hundreds of individual credentials. 

After redesigning its certification programs and categories, IBM now has a primary data-centric certification category called IBM Data and AI. It includes a range of database credentials: 

• Database Associate
• Database Administrator
• System Administrator
• Application Developer 

IBM’s is a big and complex certification space, but one where particular platform allegiances are likely to guide readers toward the handful of items most relevant to their interests and needs. 

Database professionals who support DB2 (or aspire to) on IBM’s z/OS should check out the IBM Associate Certified DBA — Db2 12 certification. It’s an entry-level exam that addresses routine planning, working with SQL and XML, security, operations, data concurrency, application design, and concepts around database objects.

This certification requires candidates to pass one exam. Pre-exam training and familiarity with concepts, or hands-on experience, are recommended but not required. 

IBM Certified Database Administrator — DB2 facts and figures

Did you know? IBM’s certification offerings are among the best system administrator certifications IT professionals can achieve.

2. Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure offers a broad range of tools and add-ons for business intelligence. Azure is a cloud computing platform for application management and Microsoft-managed data centers. Microsoft certifications include various Azure offerings based on job role and experience level.

Microsoft’s certification program is role-centric, centered on the skills you need to succeed in specific technology jobs. Because Azure has such a broad scope, Azure certifications span multiple job roles. However, specific certifications exist for the following positions:

• Data Analysts
• Data Engineers
• Data Scientists
• Database Administrators 

There are also certifications for learners at different experience levels. 

For those looking to take their Azure knowledge to the next level, the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals certification is the perfect place to start. This certification is for beginner database administrators interested in using Azure and mastering data in the cloud. It offers foundational knowledge of core concepts while reinforcing concepts for later use in other Azure role-based certifications, such as those listed below: 

• Azure Database Administrator Associate
• Azure Data Engineer Associate
• Data Analyst Associate 

Azure Data Fundamentals certification facts and figures

3. Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator 

Oracle runs its certifications under the auspices of Oracle University. The Oracle Database Certifications page lists separate tracks depending on job role and product. 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. 

If you’re interested in pursuing an Oracle MySQL certification, you can choose between MySQL Database Administration and MySQL Developer. 

The Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator (OCP) credential recognizes professionals who can accomplish the following tasks:

• Install, optimize and monitor MySQL Server.
• Configure replication.
• Apply security.
• 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.

Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator facts and figures

Did you know? According to Oracle, approximately 1.8 million Oracle Certified professionals globally hold certifications to advance their networking careers and professions to validate their IT expertise. 

4. Oracle Database SQL Certified Associate Certification

For individuals interested in working in the Oracle environment who have the necessary experience to become a database administrator, Oracle’s Database SQL Certified Associate Certification is another top Oracle certification and an excellent starting point. This exam encompasses an understanding of fundamental SQL concepts that individuals must grasp for database projects. 

By earning the certification, individuals demonstrate that they have a range of knowledge in core SQL concepts:

• Familiarity with queries, data modeling, and normalization
• Strong base understanding of the underlying SQL language
• An ability to create and manipulate Oracle Database tables 

This certification also requires candidates to pass a single exam. While Oracle does not specify any prerequisites, the company does state candidates should have familiarity working with the command line. 

Oracle Database SQL Certified Associate Certification facts and figures

5. SAP HANA: SAP Certified Technology Associate — SAP HANA 2.0 SPS05

SAP SE has an extensive portfolio of business applications and analytics software, including cloud infrastructure, applications and storage. The SAP HANA platform’s foundation is an enterprise-grade relational database management system that can be run as an appliance on-premises or in the cloud. The cloud platform lets customers 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’re featuring the SAP Certified Technology Associate — SAP HANA cert because it aligns closely with other certifications we’ve highlighted and is in high demand among employers, according to job board surveys. 

This certification ensures database professionals can install, manage, monitor, migrate and troubleshoot SAP HANA systems. It covers the following skills:

• Managing users and authorizations
• Applying security
• Ensuring high availability 
• 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 $2,760. 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 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 status and provides information on maintaining their credentials.

SAP Certified Technology Associate facts and figures

Tip: To broaden your skill set, consider pursuing the best sales certifications to better sell and implement various IT solutions, including databases.

Beyond the top 5 database certifications

Additional database certification programs can further the careers 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, well-known vendor-neutral database certifications exist, including the following: 

• ICCP certifications. The Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) offers its unique Certified Data Professional and Certified Data Scientist credentials. Learn more about ICCP certifications from the ICCP website.
• Enterprise DB certifications. EnterpriseDB administers a small but effective certification program with two primary certs: the EDB Certified Associate and the EDB Certified Professional. 

These are some additional certifications: 

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.

Key takeaway: Pursuing additional database certifications can be helpful for professional development if you already work with these platforms or plan to work with them in the future. 

Job board search results

Before pursuing certifications, consider their popularity with employers to gain a helpful perspective on current database certification demand. Here’s a job board snapshot to give you an idea of what’s trending.

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 $91,949 as the national average in the U.S., ranging from $64,171 to over $131,753. Glassdoor’s reported average is somewhat lower at $84,161, with a top rung for experienced senior DBAs right around $134,000.

Choosing the right certification

Choosing the best IT certifications to enhance your skills and boost your career can be overwhelming, especially as many available certifications are for proprietary technologies. While picking a database certification can feel like locking yourself into a single technology family, it is worth remembering that many database skills are transferable. Additionally, pursuing any certification shows your willingness to learn and demonstrates competence to current and future employers. 

Ultimately, choosing which certification to pursue depends on the technologies you use at work or would like to use at a future employer.

Jeremy Bender contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. 

Final exam Schedule

The matrix is a grid of predetermined exam times for those classes that meet at regular block times during the semester. The day and time of the first class meeting during the week determine the date and time for each exam. Courses that meet outside the normal university block scheduling will be scheduled within the time block that best fits the schedule without creating conflicts for students

Exam times are as follows:

• 8 – 11 a.m.
• 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
• 3 – 6 p.m.
• 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

While exam blocks are three hours long, the genuine length of the exam is determined by the instructor.

If examination days are postponed because of weather conditions, the first make-up day is documented on the academic calendar.

Final "Common" Exams

Common Finals will need to be applied to all sections of a course not to individual instructors. For courses that are scheduled within the finals matrix, the timing of the final exam will be determined immediately (by the location in the matrix). For courses requesting a common final, scheduling will not be available until late mid semester. Treatment of course conflicts for common finals will follow current set of priorities (courses with large enrollments will be scheduled first).

Common exam Finals must be approved by the chair and the dean of the college and submitted to the Registrar's office. A multiple‐section course that has chosen to give a "common" final exam will be assigned to a common exam block. Students who are scheduled for two common exams at the same time should check with their instructors to see which exam has priority.

Course Examination Policies

Faculty are not required to administer cumulative final examinations and should assess their students as appropriate to their discipline and course content. Faculty who opt to administer final examinations must do so at the time and place specified by the Registrar's Office. Deadlines or due dates for final take-home examinations or final papers may not be earlier than the time that the Registrar's Office has scheduled the final examination for the course in question (although instructors may opt to allow such examinations or papers to be submitted early). Note: If an academic program requires that students take final examinations for accreditation purposes, faculty are expected to adhere to the requirements of their accrediting organization.

For any course with a final exam during the exam period, no hour-examination (or major paper or project) shall be administered or due during the last five academic days of the semester unless the college dean has allowed an exemption.

Examination Conflicts

In the event that a student has three (or more) finals scheduled on the same exam day, the student has the right to ask that a make up exam (or exams) be scheduled to reduce the number of exams in a given day to two. Under these circumstances, required courses take priority, so the student should make every effort to arrange the make-up exam for a non-required course with the respective instructor. Likewise, in the event that a student has two finals scheduled in the same exam period, the required course takes priority; the student should schedule a make-up exam for the non required conflicting course with the respective instructor. If for any reason a mutually agreeable solution between the student and the instructor cannot be achieved, the student should see his or her college dean immediately.

Final Exams for Hybrid and Virtual Class Sections

Exams (including final exams) for fully virtual classes should be administered virtually, as that is the modality which students selected. Exceptions to hold on-campus exams require deans' approval.  An email (noting the approval) should be sent by email to: scheduling@uml.edu so that the exam location may be updated – exceptions are subject to room availability. If approved, faculty must indicate the alternate exam format in their course syllabus and accommodate students who are unable to attend in-person exams.

If a class section is hybrid (includes both an in-person meeting and either an online or virtual meeting pattern), then the final exam will be assigned as in-person, but the instructor may request the final exam to be virtual/online depending on the modes of instruction of the hybrid section. Hybrid courses also include courses that have more than one component with different modes of instruction (i.e., the lecture portion is virtual, but the recitation is in-person) and the instructor may decide whether or not the final exam is in-person in this scenario as well. Any requests for final exam updates should be sent by email to: scheduling@uml.edu.

CAT 2020 exam On November 29; 10 Key Points On exam Format

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is scheduled for November 29. CAT is a national level entrance exam for admissions to postgraduate management programmes, or MBA programmes, offered by several management institutes in the country. The exam conducting body has released guidelines to ensure that the admission test is held smoothly. The two-hour CAT 2020 exam will consist of questions from three sections -- Verbal Ability and memorizing Comprehension; Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning; and Quantitative Ability.

Multiple choice questions are perhaps the easiest to complete - you simply put a cross in a box - however, the questions often have two answers that could, at first glance, be correct. Don't make the mistake of memorizing the first answer and thinking this is correct without checking all the others.

If it says 'Tick one box', you must tick one box. If you leave it blank or tick two or more boxes you will get zero marks. These multiple choice questions will not start with command words like 'Describe...' or 'Explain...'. They will be written in the form of a question like 'What...?' or 'Why...?'.

There will be more multiple choice questions on the Foundation paper.

These questions have been written by Bitesize consultants as suggestions to the types of questions that may appear in an exam paper.

CBSE Class 12 exam date and its format will be announced on this date

The Central Board of Secondary Education will announce the CBSE Class 12 exam dates on June 1, government sources told NDTV. The major entrance exams for undergraduate engineering and medicine - JEE Main and NEET - will be held as well, the same sources said. While the Central Government is inclined to hold the Class 12 board exams, it has left state governments to decide on their own school boards.