Mastering proficiency: insights from our OCI 2024 Generative AI certified expert

Recently, Vladimir Shlykov, our talented delivery manager, achieved a significant milestone by earning the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) 2024 Generative AI certification.

We spoke with Vladimir about his motivation, the certification process, and the impact this achievement will have on his work.

Congratulations on earning the OCI 2024 Generative AI certification! Can you tell us a bit about what motivated you to pursue this certification?

Thank you very much. My motivation was driven by both personal and professional interests. Personally, I’m fascinated by the capabilities of tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot. Their revolutionary potential is truly astounding. With my technical background, I am always eager to understand the intricacies of how things work. This knowledge not only satisfies my curiosity but also helps me find practical applications and use the technology more efficiently.

Professionally, as a member of our presales team, I have observed a growing demand from clients for AI-powered software solutions. AI represents the cutting edge of technological advancement, and we can’t afford to fall behind. That’s why I decided to pursue this certification—to deepen my understanding and facilitate effective discussions about AI solutions with our clients, thereby boosting our company’s competitive edge.

Can you describe the certification process? What did it involve?

The exam is quite rigorous and conducted under strict proctor supervision. The exam space must be free of smartphones, watches, books, and other unauthorized devices and materials. You must be alone in the room, no other voices should be heard, and you must remain silent for the entire duration of the exam.

There are also specific requirements for the device used to take the exam. The range of allowed devices is limited; for example, mobile phones are prohibited. Your computer must have a minimum operating system specified and meet requirements for memory, Internet connection speed, administrator rights, and more. No apps should be running during the exam. Thirty minutes before the exam starts, you must install a secure lockdown browser that checks running processes and stops all unauthorized apps.

Only then can you log in to the exam environment. After authorization, two windows are launched—one with the exam questions and another for a Zoom meeting with the proctor.

With such strict control, it’s impossible to cheat or look up answers anywhere—you must rely solely on your own knowledge. This makes this certificate particularly valuable.

What were the most challenging aspects of the certification process and how did you overcome them?

The most challenging aspects for me were the technical questions that required not only an understanding of how things work but also knowledge of intricate details. For example, which class is responsible for deploying LLM in Oracle Cloud. To correctly answer such questions, you need to carefully study the provided code examples, or even better, create your own app using the libraries and tools described in the preparatory course.

In the most difficult cases, when I didn’t know the exact answer, I relied on logical reasoning and the process of elimination—discarding answers that were definitely incorrect, which usually left me with one or two plausible options. Overall, it would be difficult for someone without a technical background to pass this exam. However, as a former developer (if there is such a thing as a “former” developer), I was able to overcome this challenge.

How do you keep up with the latest advancements in AI and technology?

In our company, we have an AI community where we exchange interesting courses, useful articles, and videos. In fact, the link to the Oracle certification was shared by colleagues in this community. We also brainstorm ideas for applying AI to client solutions and optimizing our internal processes.

Additionally, I regularly read AI and tech news and enjoy experimenting with new AI tools and platforms.

What impact do you think this certification will have on your career growth and project outcomes?

As an active participant in the pre-sales process, I can now discuss how LLMs, RAG, and chatbots can be utilized in addressing business challenges directly with clients. This not only demonstrates our expertise and assures clients that we can deliver the best solutions for their companies, it also streamlines the presales process by eliminating the need to involve additional specialists.

Meanwhile, as a Delivery Manager responsible for timely project delivery, I can now engage in discussions with architects using their language, participate in problem-solving, and explain technical concepts more clearly and accessibly to clients during project status updates.

Furthermore, this certification allows me to more accurately estimate project timelines and resources required for AI implementations and improves my ability to identify potential AI applications in various business contexts.

Any final thoughts you’d like to share about this achievement?

The world is changing rapidly, technology is constantly evolving, and customer needs are shifting. To stay ahead, we need to keep our finger on the pulse and constantly learn new things. This is an incredibly interesting and exciting process that I personally enjoy.

I am grateful to our company for providing the opportunity to obtain this certification. This is not only a personal achievement but also a step toward promoting innovation in our organization and providing cutting-edge solutions to our customers.

I am excited about the opportunities this certification opens up and look forward to applying these new skills to our projects.