January 8, 2022 at 12:23 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Where the World Takes You
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
January 8, 2022 at 1:49 pm
Grant, I really appreciate where the world has taken all of you folks at SSC. You all keep me thinking with what you provide for us all.
To me there are three responses to where the world takes us:
We can dig in our heels and resist.
We can go along for the ride.
We can put our shoulder to the wheel and make it something good.
Happy New Year.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
January 8, 2022 at 10:32 pm
This was removed by the editor as SPAM
January 9, 2022 at 2:49 am
Great topic and insights, Grant.
My own career has been long, varied, and mostly IT-focused. Occasionally I ask myself: “Doug, if someone told you 10 years ago that today you would be here and doing this, what would you have said?”
Every time the answer would have been, “What did you smoke for breakfast? I’d like some.”
January 9, 2022 at 3:36 am
Back in the 80's, I was teaching people how to use these new fangled things called "PC's". We had Lotus 123 and WordPerfect. I had quickly become one of the company's leading experts on both. Then came Lotus Symphony and the same happened with that.
Sometime during that time, someone showed me what he called "SQL". It was kind of cool and he didn't have time to show me a lot but my through was, "It'll never replace spreadsheets".
I learned SQL in the late 90's and after nearly 24 years of working with SQL, it interesting to report that Surprise! IT STILL HASN'T! Spreadsheets are still one of the most used software tools in the world and I'm amazed at how many people frequently ask how to read their spreadsheets into SQL Tables or how to write to spreadsheets from a query.
Yep... lot's of people use things like Power BI, Tableau, etc for graphics and some use database sources to drive those but a whole lot of people are still using spreadsheets as their primary workhorse for all sorts of stuff.
Considering my brief and totally unimpressive introduction to SQL, who would have thought that I'd actually learn it so soon after that and actually make a living from it? It's been one heck of a trip and I'm thankful for every minute of it, all the people I've met on SSC, and at all the events like the old SQL Saturdays.
And just imagine if someone didn't "keep at it" when Red-Gate bought SSC or someone didn't even think of starting it? Thank you Mr. Jones in both cases!
Thank you all for the fun and it has been fun in the extreme!
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
January 9, 2022 at 4:45 pm
Grant, I like the title of your post, "An Eclectic Mix to Start the New Year". Being brutally honest with myself, my career has been haphazard. Since 2014 when I was laid off from my previous job where I worked for a long time, I find that in many respects I'm worse off than before. My previous job paid poorly. We just scraped by, financially. However, I did learn a lot and worked with people who liked to challenge themselves to learn more. In my current job I am making significantly more money in my previous job, so that's good. But most people I work with aren't interested in learning anything new and deeply resent it when I point out that what we're working with technologies that will no longer be supported in a few months. And although when I first came to this job almost 7 years ago, my skills were up to par in the marketplace, since nothing changes at work unless it is so broken beyond repair, my skills have fallen behind. (I am working hard at improving them on my own.)
When I first started my career, I learned that it was good to find a mentor. I tried, but no one was willing to work with me. So, it was a case of sink or swim.
I am a part of my local .NET user group and in fact I helped start it. But when it came to career help, for some reason no one in this group is interested in doing that. This is a harsh statement, but its every man for himself (or woman).
Where I live there's a lot of Federal departments, such as the DoD and DOE. Because of that recruiters who contacted me over the years, normally in August and September of each year (the Federal fiscal year starts in October) always came across like they weren't interested in me. They were only interested in padding their portfolio of candidates so they could bid on Federal contracts. It always felt very impersonal, just a numbers game.
About 15 years ago I learned of a new concept (to me) called "Career Coach". I spent a significant amount of time trying to find one in my area. There were a couple, but they were only for counseling people who work in the C-Suite.
I feel like I've botched my career. Starting in the second half of 2021, I've discovered a group on LinkedIn which has given me some encouragement that I might find some who have the talent, skills, and training to help others to achieve more. I am encouraged that I might be able to navigate my career, rather than just drift downstream. But after several years of disappointment, I've become jaded. So now, I'm cautiously encouraged.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
January 10, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Thanks for the responses everyone.
Rod, I feel for you man. It's hard to find good places where you can learn & grow. I went through four jobs in less than three years a while back. It was a mess. It all gets pretty challenging. I think you're probably doing it right though, finding the community that'll help.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
January 12, 2022 at 6:35 am
This was removed by the editor as SPAM
Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply