Does anyone know the best book to study for the IBM DB2 9 Fundamentals certification (Exam 730). Does anyone out there have this certification? Does it help to secure employment if you have it? Any opinions would be grateful.

Check Amazon for the DB2 certification guide. I have never seen it, but I hear it makes a good reference book. Fundamentals certification is not worth much, you will need the others also. As far as getting a job, experience is regarded before certification, but without experience, certification will help.

Andy

It is hard to say whether the DB2 Fundamentals Certification will help get you a job as a DBA. It shouldn't, unless you also pass the test to get certified as a DB2 DBA, but many people who do hiring and resume screening are idiots.

As far as preparing for the Fundamentals test, try the sample exams (the cost is worth the price). You should learn as much about SQL as you can (DML, DDL, DCL), and learn the basics of what DB2 products (including DB2 Connect) are available on different platforms and what each is used for.

Passed 730 exam last week. Studing for 731 now. I am using db2 certification books by Roger Sanders. He participated in creating questions for 730 and 731 exams. Excellent book - good format, all explanations, control questions with answers, exam sample questions at the end.

The only thing the books do not mention is DECFLOAT data type. This data type probably was added in db2 v9.5 and it is in the exam 730.

You can see more abt exams on:
IBM: Test 000-730: DB2 9 Family Fundamentals

Regarding employment it all depends on the country. Currently there are no DB2 DBA positions in Canada. I guess crisis is taking its toll

It isn't any better in US either. I have been wanting to switch but there isn't anything where I live. When i search some of the popular job websites, i only see SQL Server DBA and Oracle DBA requirements....i am hoping things will catch up by end of the year.

Everyone with solid knowledge of SQL plus some reading on the various DB2 products wil be able to pass the Fundamentals. It is really only the basis for other certificates and by itself not worth that much, I'd say.

Everyone with solid knowledge of SQL plus some reading on the various DB2 products wil be able to pass the Fundamentals. It is really only the basis for other certificates and by itself not worth that much, I'd say.

MAXCAGENTS and MAXAGENTS dbm cfg params are deprecated in v9.5, but they are mentioned in the certification book (Roger E.Sanders).

I noticed DECFLOAT data type was in exam 730 though it was not in the book. I guess it was introduced in v9.5 but the book is for v9.

Do they change exam questions according to the current version?

MAXCAGENTS and MAXAGENTS dbm cfg params are deprecated in v9.5, but they are mentioned in the certification book (Roger E.Sanders).

I noticed DECFLOAT data type was in exam 730 though it was not in the book. I guess it's because it was introduced in v9.5 but the book is for v9.

Do they change exam questions according to the current version of DB2?

I did not mean to brag that I passed the 730 exam. Do not diminish my achievement though

end of what year? 2012?

If depends on the role ... If you are a new entrant to the industry and looking for entry level positions, certification will be helpful to demonstrate that you have grasped the fundamentals and put in effort to learn something new.

If you have previous experience of DB2, then the certification may provide a bit of boost to your profile.

If you have experience with other database products (say Oracle, Sybase, MySQL etc), then DB2 Certification may help to secure employment in a multi-database environment.

But, on its own, obtaining certification is not of much help. And 730, as someone has already said, is too fundamental to be of any use employment-wise (sorry MarkhamDBA )

Confident?????

absolutely, if what happened in the movie 2012 does not happen in reality