January 29, 2012 at 6:23 pm
Hi All,
I'm new to this forum and I hope provide some guidence for the goal I want to achieve.
I want to be a SQL data analyst in the healthcare industry. However, I do not have any practical experience in SQL data analysis, but I have been working in the healthcare industry for many years and I do have a BS degree in computer information system.
I have experience writing SQL to generate simple queries and reports in Microsoft Access. Many years back, I was able to create my own website using ASP and Access from scratch. I also hosted my own web server in Windows Server 2003 in my home. But the recruiter and employer do not consider these things as professional experience.
So I want to obtain a certificate in SQL programming to show that I have strong knowledge in SQL programming even though I do not have any practical experience in the field, I feel the certificate will boost the chance of I am getting hired as a SQL data analyst a bit.
I have been looking at the IT certification page of Microsoft website and I didn't find any exams for SQL programming.
Can anyone give me some good advice in terms of helping me enter the SQL data analysis field? If there is no certification program for this, are there any good reference books for SQL Data Analysis or advanced SQL reporting and querying?
I appreciate all inputs.
January 30, 2012 at 6:18 am
MCTS / MCTIP exams are available for SQL Server Business Intelligence and Developer roles. Be sure to read the Audience Profile to see if it matches your expectations.
BI
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/career/en/us/jobs/bi-dev.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-448&locale=en-us
Developer
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-433&locale=en-us
Virtual labs are available from Microsoft also. You can use their VMs to practice with SQL Server.
January 30, 2012 at 6:24 am
The certifications allow you to understand how MS SQL server allows for better data analysis. However as a data analyst the key to performing your job is understanding the data. The data analysts in any domain is special because he or she knows the behavior and nature of the data in the domain. e.g knowing what a closing price for a stock is falls within the realm of a financial data analyst. Similarly the data analysts in the healthcare domain will be more knowledgeable about the various data point in that domain.
I would also advise that you not stick to a single technology like MS SQL Server, as your company might require you to perform analysis on data coming from any database or OLAP system.
Overall if your a data analyst Know your data and how to present it.
January 30, 2012 at 6:47 am
I agree with Jayanth. You can choose SSAS as a start-up option. Please download SQL Server evaluation edition & practice on SSAS & SSRS. There are few open source & freeware analytical tools as well. Please Google for more information on freeware / sharewares.
I differ on one point. I don’t see any practical advantage of SQL Server certification here. Your career objective is to become data analyst and it doesn’t require tools certification. However, it would be a ‘nice to have’ item in your resume. I assume there would be domain certifications for healthcare and that would certainly help you.
January 30, 2012 at 5:15 pm
I appreciate the quick responses guys. I have to agree that getting a certificate would definitely help me enter the field, but it does not guarantee a data analysis job.
I will spend some time to play with SSAS, it is completely new to me and I maybe borrow some books on SSAS from the library.
I'm assuming there is no issue installing SSAS in Windows XP Home enviornment.
I will post back if I run into some serious issues. Otherwise, a simple Google search should take care the problem.
Thanks again
January 30, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Dev (1/30/2012)
I assume there would be domain certifications for healthcare and that would certainly help you.
Yes, I have already submitted my application for "Healthcare Informatics Certification Program". Hopefully the school will accept my application.
January 30, 2012 at 7:31 pm
Hi All,
Is it safe to install SQL Server 2008 in Windows XP Home Edition? I've seen people talked about install SQL Server 2008 in Windows XP, but it didn't say whether it is Home Edition or Professional Edition.
I couldn't believe SQL Server 2008 is not supported by Windows Server 2003. I have a Dell Server sitting around with Windows Server 2003 installed.
It would be a perfect test machine if I can install SQL Server 2008 on it.
Update:
I just found this and SQL Server 2008 Express seems supported by Windows Server 2003
January 31, 2012 at 6:39 am
It seems you can SQL Server Developer edition on Windows Home SP3:
Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2008 R2
Developer edition is free if not used in production and has the same features as Enterprise, so it is ideal for learning.
According to the same article, it should be possible to install SQL Server on Windows Server 2003, if you have the right edition.
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
January 31, 2012 at 8:56 am
Koen Verbeeck (1/31/2012)
It seems you can SQL Server Developer edition on Windows Home SP3:Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2008 R2
Developer edition is free if not used in production and has the same features as Enterprise, so it is ideal for learning.
According to the same article, it should be possible to install SQL Server on Windows Server 2003, if you have the right edition.
So you are saying the SQL Server 2008 R2 is the developer/evaluation edition which I can freely download it to my desktop?
I guess I can try to download it to my desktop which it runs Windows XP Home Edtion PS3. Hopefully the installation of SQL Server won't cause any serious issues. I hate to format my computer
January 31, 2012 at 10:09 am
If you have options to choose between Windows XP and Windows Server for SQL Server, I guess the easy answer would be Windows Server.
January 31, 2012 at 10:10 am
Discusman (1/30/2012)
Dev (1/30/2012)
I assume there would be domain certifications for healthcare and that would certainly help you.Yes, I have already submitted my application for "Healthcare Informatics Certification Program". Hopefully the school will accept my application.
Sure. Best of luck for your studies! 🙂
January 31, 2012 at 11:30 am
Consider getting yourself grounded in statistics. It will be every bit as challenging as becoming fluent in T-SQL but if you are going to hold yourself up as someone capable of analyzing data, you need to be strong in the fundamentals of statistics.
There are many statistical software packages out there now, some free, some exorbitant. And they all do the math for you but you still need to know what the numbers mean, what types of analysis is appropriate for a given circumstance, etc.
I had the good fortune of working for a behavioral health agency that paid me to learn SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) at the same time I was learning T-SQL. It feels very good when you can hand summary data to a decision maker and be able to confidently explain how the figures were derived and their significance (no pun intended).
My two bits...
February 1, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Dev (1/31/2012)
If you have options to choose between Windows XP and Windows Server for SQL Server, I guess the easy answer would be Windows Server.
I'm going to install it on my Windows XP first and start play with it.
I'm downloading the SQL Server 2008 with Advanced Service and it will take 40 mins to download, dang...:w00t:
February 1, 2012 at 9:28 pm
I couldn't complete the installation of SQL Server 2008 because Windows Powershell needs to be installed.
I downloaded powershell for XP and windows doesn't know how to run the file.
Please help!
February 1, 2012 at 11:27 pm
Discusman (2/1/2012)
I couldn't complete the installation of SQL Server 2008 because Windows Powershell needs to be installed.I downloaded powershell for XP and windows doesn't know how to run the file.
Please help!
What kind of file is it?
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
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