Good news for all Informix newcomers:

You can now become an IBM Certified Database Associate. IBM has released a new certification test (Exam 555 - IBM IDS 11.50 Fundamentals) that is more directed to people new to Informix or people who are not working every day as an Informix DBA. The new certification is also a good preparation for people planning to take the already existing advanced certification called IBM Certified Database Administrator IDS 11 (Exam 918).

The passing score of IBM IDS 11.50 Fundamentals is 61 %. That is 9 % lower than the required score of 70 % for IBM Certified Database Administrator IDS 11.

Excerpt:

The successful candidate for the IBM Certified Database Associate - 
Informix Dynamic Server 11.50 Fundamentals has important knowledge, 
skills, and abilities necessary to provide entry level administration 
of IDS 11.50, including basic SQL (Structured Query Language), how 
IDS 11.50 is installed, how to create databases and database objects, 
security, transaction isolation, backup and recovery procedures, and 
describe replication technologies and purposes.

IBM developerWorks just published the first tutorial that helps to prepare for the IBM IDS 11.50 Fundamentals certification:

• Part 1: IDS planning and installation

My recommendation is to wait for the other parts of the certification preparation tutorials. After studying them and playing with the IDS Virtual applicance, you should take the Web-based assessment test before taking the real certification test:

• Sample Assessment Test