March 8, 2010 at 1:36 am
ive been working with sql server for 4 or so years from a support and admin point of view. im not a fulltime administrator, but i do a lot of the tasks a standard admin performs. I review new code, code fixes func specs etc so i have a rounded responsibility list.
Problem is i want to up my skillset and add some reporting services and analysis services.
Im studying in my own time and will be taking the relivant MS Exams to become certified. I know cirtification does not make up for experience and so to get experience i will have to move jobsl as there is no chance of this experience in my current role.
To get a reporting services/analysis services role with my limited experience I'l prob have to take a salary cut. In this climate im also afraid it will take a looong time to get back up to my current level if i do take a cut.
Has anyone here taken a cut in salary for the sake of experience, and if so, did it pay off or was it a mistake?
March 8, 2010 at 3:14 am
Yes. When I moved to consulting (a year and a half ago) from a full time position. It was almost 6 months before my income matched monthly expenses and I'm still not bringing in what I was before the move.
Is it worth it? Well, the style of working suits me better, the variation in what I'm doing, the ability to chose when and where I work. As for the financial aspects, business looks like it's picking up this year, so we'll see how it goes.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
March 8, 2010 at 5:31 am
Yes. Twice. It paid off, both times. On one occasion, I was offered a job at the top of the advertised pay band and the company apologised for not being able to match my existing salary. That's always a nice boost to one's ego. 😉
Remember never to undersell yourself and your experience in another field. That's the skillset that differentiates you from the rest of the applicants. Don't price yourself as a novice if you find a job where you can prove you have good experience in at least 50% of the role.
You've identified the field you want to work in, you're taking the exams. That indicates flexibility, willingness to learn and personal drive. Many employers like that combination, especially if they are getting the opportunity to add other skills into their development pool.
Good luck.
March 9, 2010 at 7:14 am
I used to be a generalist, I worked for for an IBM partner just doing general repair, or programming or anything else that nobody else wanted to do. When I decided to specialize in DBs my employer had almost zero work for me. So I left. I was making crappy wages before and entry level positions were hard to find but the SQL Certs and previous experience landed me a job finally. 5 years later I'm probably making twice what I was making when I decided to make the Jump full time to SQL.
Don't for get that doing something you enjoy totally makes up for a low wage, and when your wages go up eventually, you can laugh and think "they pay me $xx,xxx to do this!" I love my job (excluding anything Kerberos related) and I can't believe I get paid to do this. 2-3 years of financial pain was definitely worth it.
April 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm
winston Smith (3/8/2010)
Has anyone here taken a cut in salary for the sake of experience, and if so, did it pay off or was it a mistake?
Yes, thrice. I think it payed off all three times.
The first time was when I was very young. The place I was working in was going to close down, the company offered me a job at another of its places (close enough so there was no commuting issue) with a pay rise of about 14%. Instead I chose to take an academic (paid as step 3 junior lecturer -equivalent to top of assistant professor scale in US) position at a university, with a pay cut of 5%. It worked out very oddly: after a year I left the university for an industrial job, picking up a 50% pay increase which meant a good deal more pay than I would have had if I had stayed in industry throughout; after 6 months in that post I was given another 50% - putting me on 225% of what the university had paid - way beyond what my wildest dreams would have been 18 months before when I decided to take the pay cut. So although the position I took at first didn't itself pay a lot the experience and learning that it provided paved the way (rather quickly) to a well-paid future.
The second time I was much older. I took a 20% pay cut to join a former colleague in a startup (I wasn't a founder, or I might have retired years ago) because I wanted to try my hand at web related work that I hadn't done before. I gained a lot of valuable experience (significantly on MS SQLS, whereas before I had used other DBs: Oracle, Postgres, Ingres, various Object DBs, several experimental SQL-based DBs, Functional DBs, and even network and hierarchical DBs); within 6 months I was earning as much as in the previous position (and after another 6 months quite a bit more); and my next job was provided by a contact that that job had provided. So that worked quite well too.
The third time was when my employer was in serious trouble: lots of people being laid off, all others (including me) being offered new positions with pay cuts. I could take over all technical and engineering functions if I took a 30% pay cut for a while - and that was something I wanted to do because I thought I could sort out the mess. I had the 30% back 5 months later. I picked up only an an extra 12% over the next few years but that didn't matter (I had enough money anyway) - I had fun, got to see lots of exotic places, had things done my way (to the extent that available resources allowed), and set up a new technical team in one of those exotic places with the explicit design that its manager would replace me when it was fully functional and he was up to speed (which finally happened last July, and I've been taking an extended holiday since then).
All that I have to worry about now is whether I need to find work to keep the brain ticking over or can I just retire and soak up the sun? I suspect I'll look for work when I finish what I'm doing now (learning SQLS 2k8 and learning castellano) because I might go crazy without some work to excerise my mind (but no way am I going into a long term full time position). The three pay cuts I've taken over the years to give myself extra scope and experience and fun have put me in a position where that's a choice I can make either way - I don't need to worry about working to supplement my income. Your mileage on taking pay cuts may be different from mine, but judging by my experience if you have a clear objective in doing it it will do you more good than harm.
Tom
April 5, 2010 at 8:30 pm
winston Smith (3/8/2010)
ive been working with sql server for 4 or so years from a support and admin point of view. im not a fulltime administrator, but i do a lot of the tasks a standard admin performs. I review new code, code fixes func specs etc so i have a rounded responsibility list.Problem is i want to up my skillset and add some reporting services and analysis services.
Im studying in my own time and will be taking the relivant MS Exams to become certified. I know cirtification does not make up for experience and so to get experience i will have to move jobsl as there is no chance of this experience in my current role.
To get a reporting services/analysis services role with my limited experience I'l prob have to take a salary cut. In this climate im also afraid it will take a looong time to get back up to my current level if i do take a cut.
Has anyone here taken a cut in salary for the sake of experience, and if so, did it pay off or was it a mistake?
There's no need to take such a cut in your case. Weave reporting and analysis services into your everyday tasks for reporting on the health of SQL Server. It will make you less bored in your current job and make you much more valuable for future jobs.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 9, 2010 at 6:21 am
I think that it all depends on what you want to do. You should definitely get into the Reporting and Analysis Services types of roles but you shouldn't assume that that it will result in a pay cut.
There is really no reason why you should assume that transitioning to a reporting services / analysis type role will automatically result in a pay cut! Some jobs / employers will offer you more money and others will offer less ... so unless you are earning in the top 5% of the DBA market, don't start by asuming that you will get a pay cut.
Update your resume to highlight all that you have been doing in your current role supporting your firm's DBA and then float your resume out there. You will find an employer who is willing to hire you to do either both the DBA and Analysis / Reporting Services type jobs or just the Analysis / Reporting type jobs.
Even if you have to take a pay cut, it is still okay, as long as that is waht you want to do ... you will get better with time and your salary will come back to what it needs to be
Just remember that if you can excel in something that you enjoy doing then your pay will eventually catchup with your performance.
Also doing something that you enjoy motivates you to do it better or faster and that’s what helps you get a pay increase.
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