<p>I am really into Oracle and Networking but because of my age, its really hard to get a job/internship/apprenticeship involved in those fields. I was wondering if Java and Oracle DBA certifications will look good on my application.</p>
<p>Sure will. But I would look into .NET. It is in much higher demand at the moment.</p>
<p>Certification doesn't really matter if you don't make a lot of money with it. It's very easy to get certified in anything because the certification exams are a joke. You can even order a guide book that has very similar practice questions.</p>
<p>I know but its the only way I can prove to colleges that I'm showing interest in those fields...</p>
<p>you could put together some sort of independent project that could also show your interests. that seems like a much more useful direction than getting certifications.</p>
<p>well Im going to train for certification exams with my dad. but we will also work on some projects and ill be sure to explain those for MIT. do u know how I can do that?</p>
<p>Essay and interview are your best bets.</p>
<p>"Sure will. But I would look into .NET. It is in much higher demand at the moment."
I ignored this earlier until my question could be answered...
.NET might be more demanding but is fairly easy to learn once I have the others down (like java)</p>
<p>What I'm about to say, take with no offense at all, but certification exams are BS.</p>
<p>Certs are crap because the tests are ridiculously easy.</p>
<p>There are a FEW certifications which mean something, like the CCIE is a decent cert, but the others are crap. CCNA and most other cisco certs mean nothing.</p>
<p>What does certification in Java and Oracle mean? That you know Java? That you know Oracle? Learn them and use them to develop something. Write something neat in Java that you think is a cool project to work on. Write a JVM for java in java. Do something cool, and then talk about that in your app instead of how you passed the certs.</p>
<p>Certs can be useful, I guess, but I can't stand seeing people running around with certs and then using them to prove their knowledge of something. It's like one of my music teachers who is completely incompetent and keeps on yelling at us about how she has a Masters in Musicology from some tiny college in Vermont when we ask her a question.</p>
<p>Again, no offense. By all means, go for the certs, but they are not the knowledge-proving thing you think they are. It's just another exam.</p>
<p>The CCIE I like because it's not just a written exam. Stick me in a room with a perfectly working network. Break something. Ask me to fix it? That's a certification. Heh.</p>
<p>Hmm true. I will be describing some of the projects I will work on/have worked on. so i guess adding the fact that Im certified wont hurt right? ;)</p>
<p>No, I was just basically trying to say don't let that fool you into thinking you're done learning :).</p>
<p>One never stops learning, for then they're dead, heh. It's my problem with most of America, but that's neither here nor there.</p>
<p>Why don't you tell us about what projects you are working on. Maybe we can give you suggestions. </p>
<p>I have compiled a list of the few projects I've done that I have on my computer at the moment:</p>
<p>Chess Processor: Fully functioning chess engine and chess gui written in C++. Implements alpha beta, and soon transposition table.</p>
<p>Graph: I'm porting the TI 83 to an applet. Right now I have the console to work on. Includes variables(any size, implemented with hashmap), user functions, system functions, etc. Java</p>
<p>Rubiks: Only 1/4th done. I kinda stopped because I need more time to do it(maybe next summer). C++</p>
<p>Sentient Machines: My ISEF/Siemens project C++</p>
<p>Neuron: Still in the thinking stage, but basically a simulation of maybe 1000 neurons(def not in realtime). I won't be taking a strict bio view, but I will be trying to employ certain characteristics of cellular automata(ie the Game of Life). C++</p>
<p>Multiview: A project in C# that lets you compare points that are n-dimensional, aswell as n-dimensional functions(will be merged with graph applet at some point).</p>
<p>From my experience, a good project is one that is:
1) New, ie something you haven't done
2) Challenging, ie something you probably couldn't figure out of the top of your head
3) Teach you something
4) Should have some purpose, ie writing Tetris has no purpose other than to learn basic programming
5) Incorporate material from school, ie my Graph Applet can do derivatives and integrals numerically</p>