Lotus Notes/DB2/Oracle

[parklane]

In need of some advice. I have a few years of experience with Lotus Notes and considering taking a CLP. Would this be worthwhile as I'm not sure of the current and future state of Notes. Are companies switching to Exchange or is Notes gaining momentum with it's latest releases?

As an alternative, I want to become specialised in a specific field and DB2 or Oracle seems to be of particular interest. I don't have any commercial experience in this and willing to go through the relevant training. Would certification be the best route to landing my first job in this field and how easy is to gain a foothold in a company which uses these applications?

Would greatly appreciate your advice.

[DimPrawn]

Notes was dying a death and I don't think new releases have really revived it. Saying that new Notes systems are still being written and existing ones enhanced and supported.

However it's usually not a good idea to get into a dying market. Fine if you've been in it for many yrs, have CLP already etc.

I would avoid Exchange as very little dev works exists and the rates are low and mostly admin work.

A good transition would be to learn a DB (Oracle is a good choice) and progress to WebSphere development.

If you are feeling brave why not learn MS SQL Server and .NET? There is plenty of work out there for these two and certification is not rocket science for MCSD and MCDBA.

Good luck.

DP

[parklane]

Ok, that sounds convicing enough to put Notes behind me and get to grips with one of the DB's. SQL Server sounds promising.

Thankyou very much indeed for your kind help.