Intelligence – This had to be in the list right? Not number one, however. There is a difference in “book learnin’” and intelligence. Intelligence is more the process of solving a problem to the point of resolution. It can be coupled directly with wisdom. A DBA must have the ability to go from point A to B to C to solve a problem. With experience, that process may go from A to D to Z because of an intuition born of experience even if you have not seen a similar problem before.
Where do you get this intelligence? As noted above, time, in the guise of experience, is a large part. Absorbing information my multiple sources is the majority of the rest. Oracle is the type of software that you learn by doing, not reading. Don’t just troll OTN forums and blogs, participate! Get a dialog going, you would be amazed at what you can learn from people in similar and dis-similar circumstances. If you are a RAC person join the RAC SIG (www.oracleracsig.org). Most importantly, however, is learn about more than just your area of expertise, by getting outside your comfort zone. While I am a specialist at RAC, I try to be a generalist in as many IT engineering areas as I can. For example, don’t just subscribe to Oracle Magazine or Select Journal, get Network World or Storage. You may not understand all the topics and concepts, but with time you will absorb them and when the time comes to make an architecture, support, design or down-time decision, you might find that some important data from outside your comfort zone has helped to make a better informed decision.