Hello all. I have a degree in finance/accounting and have been working in that field for 9 years. I want to branch out into IT because computers and tech are more of an interest to me.

I like working with the small database I created in Access and was thinking my background in finance would make me marketable as a DBA because I am already familiar with what the end users are looking for in their data and can better understand their needs.

What would be the best program to start with that would give me the widest access to employment opportunities? Is Oracle the most widely used? Is it difficult to just jump right into Oracle without starting with something else?

Do you think I would be turned away because I don't have an "IT" degree even though I would have the proper knowledge of Oracle?

Any feedback from you guys would be appreciated.

Thanks

Moving to tools because this will get NO response where it is. And I don't know where else is better... Modulators - feel free to move elsewhere.

Long and short is - Access and Oracle are whole oceans apart. Apples and Pears. If you want to make money then Oracle but there is far more to it than that.

pootle flump ur codings are working excelent.

You don't need a degree to do anything in this day and age. It helps if you ever want to be in a management position, but then it doesn't really matter all that much what your degree is in... just that you have one. Unless you are a CEO... then it matters.

If you have a mind for structure, organization, the importance of data integrity and the ability to stare at a mostly white, grid type screen for hours and hours on end... then database IT might be right up your alley. Access code is not the same as Oracle, Access makes a whole lot of shortcuts to major pieces of code you are going to need to learn if you want to work with Oracle databases from the backend standpoint.

My suggestion is to take a Oracle class, possibly a beginning SQL code type training course to see if you can follow along and if it clicks with you. If you have a computer at home, go here;

http://www.oracle.com/technology/sof.../xe/index.html

And download the Oracle express edition for whatever OS you have on your machine and see if you can make heads or tails of it. There may be good tutorials out there on the web on how to create a small database so that you can play around in it and teach yourself some coding.

Overall, IT is not a hard field to get around in... but you have to click into it. Some people end up having the ability, and some people never get it.

I hope this helps, and good luck to you.