June 30, 2011 at 11:14 am
I was recently left unemployed due to outsourcing. My old job was operations ( database managment etc) of a production system. i was on it for 6 years so i knew it pretty well.
In my new job, a portion of my role is going to client sites consulting, doing code review's production DBA (basically making sure their system does not fall over).
Its a new system and im new to consulting and im quite anxious about the whole affair. I dont however want to let my new employer know im in knots over this until i try it at least once, and risk losing my job. I also believe that you do not grow unless you push yourself into uncharted territory, regardless of how painful it may be.
My experience is good, but i have never been the sole dba of a system , especially one i have not had intimate knowledge of. I also have suffered from anxiety in the past, but have worked hard to get a grip on it to allow me to get to where i am today.
My request is for your advice in how to deal with this situation, get over my anxiety and ensure i dont break anything in the process. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
June 30, 2011 at 12:06 pm
first i'd suggest practicing on a completely unfamiliar system; you get tunnel vision looking at your own laptop and machines, and make assumptions aobut what is in place and what is not. discovering those things makes you more prepared for the next encounter.
maybe some of us can get you some access to a demo/test database or server that's not going to have sensitivity issues.
;I'll see what i can do.
then you can find the missing maintenance plans. databases that are in FULL recovery with no backups, and everything else you might expect out of a consultant to make recommendations and fixes for.
i have a checklist of all the things i look for that i'll scrounge up, but it's all based on the zillions of posts we read here on SSC, i'll see if i can scrounge that up after work.
Lowell
June 30, 2011 at 12:16 pm
as far as not breaking anything, if you were going to do an UPDATE, or add a job or reindex that wasn't one of the famous scripts here on SSC, peer review with another consultant would be high on my list...you have Gail and Grant's phone numbers, right?
seriously though, if you have someone also in the field, and you call them that extra step of forcing you to DESCRIBE what you are planning doing will make YOU think about it, and the peer giving you feedback and alternatives would help enourmously as well.
an overconfident quiet consultant doing stuff is not the one i like to be seen as. I like to state my suspicians and plans out loud so even I can hear them through my nervous tunnel vision when I'm out "there".
talking it over with the client, or saying "[this] might be a good idea, we might do [this] after i've done a little more research" is a good plan.
Lowell
June 30, 2011 at 1:35 pm
A little paranoia goes a long way, my point being don't assume everything will go well when you make a change, think about changes and their positive and negative consequences. Be ready to explain WHY you want to make a change. Best practices is not a sufficient answer to me, understand WHY it is a best practice. Be cautious of your assumptions. Don't denigrate the people in house, you are the hired gun, but saying that this is poorly designed or stupid will not win you any friends and in most cases will throw up walls to cooperation. Every system has design flaws or issues, indicating you have seen some issues is not a problem, but editorializing most likely will be. Have a workaround in mind or research one. Sometimes there is no real work-around or is FAR too big, if you take that route be ready to go into detail as to why you believe that, a few mistaken assumptions can lead down this path, so be ready to have yours challenged. Don't assume what anybody tells you is the gospel truth, trust, but verify. Don't make any recommendations you can't back up, if you do, qualify it as such. Find out what monitoring they have in place, use it to help you. Don't take anything personal, sometimes the in-house staff is irritated outside help was brought in, it happens, it isn't you. Listen, listen, listen..
I'll give an example, which is frighteningly close to an actual conversation I had a few years ago.
You: "are all of your databases backed up regularly?"
Them: "yes, we created maintenance plans a while back to do that"
You: "Has their operation been verified? Is anyone looking to see whether the jobs have been running? Has anyone restored one to be sure they are good?"
Them: "Bob does that.."
you: "Ok, we'll get with bob then"
Do you trust Bob? NO, check to be sure.
CEWII
June 30, 2011 at 3:08 pm
What Elliott mentions about being the hired gun is important here. You need to be careful about your phrasing. "This obviously grew out of its original scope." vs. "What moron designed this tragedy?" Remember, you need these people to work with you. Tact is incredibly important here, you're already probably disliked. They're assuming you're making $200/hour and that you're going to come in with a chip on your shoulder. Just be aware of that.
From there, I can only pretty much reinforce the advice given. If they're bringing in a gun, they are overloaded. Things have slipped through the cracks. Your job is to find the cracks and patch them while doing whatever it is they brought you in for. The first couple of jobs you do can establish or ruin your reputation. If you're not sure, verify. Don't open your mouth unless you're sure, but don't do nothing because you're spending all your time researching on their dime. Get involved, document, and GET IT IN WRITING. You are going to need to CYA as well. If they won't email you ("I just told you, what's the problem? Didn't you write it down?"), write it up in an email and email it to THEM and their boss, asking them to confirm your understanding of the finer points. This will save you a lot of hassle later.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
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June 30, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Craig Farrell (6/30/2011)
"What moron designed this tragedy?"
I got pop in my nose.. That was pretty funny, and I absolutely NEVER recommend using anything even close to this.. In some parts of the country it could get you killed, others just maimed.. No matter where you are, you just used C4 on the bridge, good luck..
CEWII
June 30, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Thanks guys, appreciate your advice and kind words. Don't know go people do this day in,day out. So much pressure. Hopefully won't be as bad as all that. Il close off the thread with an update once my first day is done. Might help someone in the future.
July 4, 2011 at 2:32 pm
First day of consultancy over! Horray! Was not as bad as i thought.
I expected some hostility, and i did get some drole remarks from a manager on my cost, which i completely ignored. I didnt set the price after all, my employer did.
My task was to find out what the previous DB should have been monitoring on a daily basis, as he kept relatively poor ops documents.
I also was called in on a few code reviews and helped resolve a few script bugs. Nothing i have not done before, but never as a consultant in a completely unfamiliar company. The fact that if I was a full time employee i would have a few weeks to become aquinted with the system, but as a consultant i had only the day, a big weight, but i will say that ignoring the stress, you learn exponentially quicker than you do in a role where you have a nice month long ramp up period.
It was quite a stressful day, but in reality i put most of that stress on myself.
Next time around, I think I will be a little more at ease, and I am almost looking forward to it. I can see that if i can keep this up, I will learn a lot very quickly, and get closer to where i want to be with my career and knowledge level.
Hopefully this thread might help another inexperienced and worried consultant in the future.
Thanks for your help folks.
July 6, 2011 at 1:47 pm
Glad to hear your first day went well. And cost is pretty much always going to be a complaint.. Nothing you can do..
Good luck..
CEWII
July 7, 2011 at 8:28 am
The one-and-only Brent Ozar has some consulting [/url]tips that may help.
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