Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (8/4/2015)


    Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

    I actually like this idea. Core knowledge is lacking. I have a very old blog post where I complain about the questions, simple questions, that we couldn't get people to answer. It's a basic set of knowledge that everyone, DBA or database developer, ought to have.

    There is the one issue you'll hit though. There's a core set of knowledge for the DBA/data developer and a different one for SSRS, SSAS, PolyBase, DocumentDB, etc.

    Still, I like this. Make it a wiki or something self-publishing? Invite the locals, maybe a few responsible others? It's a great idea for a presentation.

    "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

  • yb751 (8/4/2015)


    Raise your hands if you like Entity Framework...then I'll know who to shoot!

    Sorry just needed two seconds to vent. :crazy:

    I'm sure like anything else it can be fine when implemented properly. Problem is the devs here had carte blanche long before I showed up and I'm feeling the pain. Troubleshooting performance problems with those statements are a HUGE pain!

    </rant>

    That's probably much less time than it takes the EF generated code to execute

    😎

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (8/4/2015)


    Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

    You could take a look at this stuff from Wayne.

    http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne/archive/2012/06/interview-questions/

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (8/4/2015)


    Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

    What would they be learning?

    I'm afraid that more would be learning how to do well in an interview than there would be people learning about SQL Server.



    Alvin Ramard
    Memphis PASS Chapter[/url]

    All my SSC forum answers come with a money back guarantee. If you didn't like the answer then I'll gladly refund what you paid for it.

    For best practices on asking questions, please read the following article: Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help[/url]

  • Alvin Ramard (8/4/2015)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (8/4/2015)


    Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

    What would they be learning?

    I'm afraid that more would be learning how to do well in an interview than there would be people learning about SQL Server.

    What if it only included a very brief introduction to each subject with guidance on what's important. This way, if someone just memorizes this it could be easily detectable during an interview. If someone uses it as a guide to study and investigates further, then it would be a keeper, IMHO.

    Luis C.
    General Disclaimer:
    Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

    How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2
  • yb751 (8/4/2015)


    Raise your hands if you like Entity Framework...then I'll know who to shoot!

    Sorry just needed two seconds to vent. :crazy:

    I'm sure like anything else it can be fine when implemented properly. Problem is the devs here had carte blanche long before I showed up and I'm feeling the pain. Troubleshooting performance problems with those statements are a HUGE pain!

    </rant>

    I know just enough about EF to totally despise it. One of our previous developers brought a "query" to my desk once that EF wrote for them. They used profiler to get the actual query and confirmed it did in fact return the correct results. He knew I am pretty savvy at finding ways of scraping performance out of queries so he asked me to look at it and see if I could "work my magic" on it. This thing was nearly 800 lines and had over 100 subqueries (many of them nested 7-10 layers deep).

    I told him that I would be happy to fix it for him. I hit Ctrl - N and asked him what the query needs to return. 😛

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  • Sean Lange (8/4/2015)


    yb751 (8/4/2015)


    Raise your hands if you like Entity Framework...then I'll know who to shoot!

    Sorry just needed two seconds to vent. :crazy:

    I'm sure like anything else it can be fine when implemented properly. Problem is the devs here had carte blanche long before I showed up and I'm feeling the pain. Troubleshooting performance problems with those statements are a HUGE pain!

    </rant>

    I know just enough about EF to totally despise it. One of our previous developers brought a "query" to my desk once that EF wrote for them. They used profiler to get the actual query and confirmed it did in fact return the correct results. He knew I am pretty savvy at finding ways of scraping performance out of queries so he asked me to look at it and see if I could "work my magic" on it. This thing was nearly 800 lines and had over 100 subqueries (many of them nested 7-10 layers deep).

    I told him that I would be happy to fix it for him. I hit Ctrl - N and asked him what the query needs to return. 😛

    That's the best way to deal with ORM. Just saying...

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes


    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

  • WayneS (8/4/2015)


    Sean Lange (8/4/2015)


    yb751 (8/4/2015)


    Raise your hands if you like Entity Framework...then I'll know who to shoot!

    Sorry just needed two seconds to vent. :crazy:

    I'm sure like anything else it can be fine when implemented properly. Problem is the devs here had carte blanche long before I showed up and I'm feeling the pain. Troubleshooting performance problems with those statements are a HUGE pain!

    </rant>

    I know just enough about EF to totally despise it. One of our previous developers brought a "query" to my desk once that EF wrote for them. They used profiler to get the actual query and confirmed it did in fact return the correct results. He knew I am pretty savvy at finding ways of scraping performance out of queries so he asked me to look at it and see if I could "work my magic" on it. This thing was nearly 800 lines and had over 100 subqueries (many of them nested 7-10 layers deep).

    I told him that I would be happy to fix it for him. I hit Ctrl - N and asked him what the query needs to return. 😛

    That's the best way to deal with ORM. Just saying...

    Second that notion.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • SQLRNNR (8/4/2015)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (8/4/2015)


    Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

    You could take a look at this stuff from Wayne.

    http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne/archive/2012/06/interview-questions/

    Okay, I'm hoping he changed is lab after posting that blog. The lab as described would be the easy part. Now, some of the questions he mentioned in the in-person interview, there are a few I may have some difficulty with answering. Guess I need to do some research!

  • Lynn Pettis (8/4/2015)


    SQLRNNR (8/4/2015)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (8/4/2015)


    Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

    You could take a look at this stuff from Wayne.

    http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne/archive/2012/06/interview-questions/

    Okay, I'm hoping he changed is lab after posting that blog. The lab as described would be the easy part. Now, some of the questions he mentioned in the in-person interview, there are a few I may have some difficulty with answering. Guess I need to do some research!

    You'd be surprised how many can't survive the lab.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • SQLRNNR (8/4/2015)


    Lynn Pettis (8/4/2015)


    SQLRNNR (8/4/2015)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (8/4/2015)


    Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

    You could take a look at this stuff from Wayne.

    http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne/archive/2012/06/interview-questions/

    Okay, I'm hoping he changed is lab after posting that blog. The lab as described would be the easy part. Now, some of the questions he mentioned in the in-person interview, there are a few I may have some difficulty with answering. Guess I need to do some research!

    You'd be surprised how many can't survive the lab.

    From the description in his blog, it just seems easy to me. Of course I am not in the pressure cooker actually working the lab during an interview process.

    I wouldn't mind giving it a shot just to see how I'd do.

  • The FizzBuzz idea scared me a bit when I first read it, even though I remembered it from when it first appeared. It was a piece of cake when I tried it.



    Alvin Ramard
    Memphis PASS Chapter[/url]

    All my SSC forum answers come with a money back guarantee. If you didn't like the answer then I'll gladly refund what you paid for it.

    For best practices on asking questions, please read the following article: Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help[/url]

  • Lynn Pettis (8/4/2015)


    SQLRNNR (8/4/2015)


    Lynn Pettis (8/4/2015)


    SQLRNNR (8/4/2015)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (8/4/2015)


    Since we're all piling on the behavior of others, I was wondering.

    Is there value in getting the questions/knowledge that people lack in interviews published? Not really as a cheat sheet, but as a way to surface that knowledge that interviewers think is important. I suspect it would be a long list, so it's unlikely that anyone could just memorize all the answers.

    However even if they did, I think they'd be learning.

    I was actually thinking to try and collect a list of things from interviewers and put a session together. I meet so many 101 people at events, they might benefit from a session that guides them towards learning a few things first.

    You could take a look at this stuff from Wayne.

    http://blog.waynesheffield.com/wayne/archive/2012/06/interview-questions/

    Okay, I'm hoping he changed is lab after posting that blog. The lab as described would be the easy part. Now, some of the questions he mentioned in the in-person interview, there are a few I may have some difficulty with answering. Guess I need to do some research!

    You'd be surprised how many can't survive the lab.

    From the description in his blog, it just seems easy to me. Of course I am not in the pressure cooker actually working the lab during an interview process.

    I wouldn't mind giving it a shot just to see how I'd do.

    The lab might be very easy for the threadizens. I wonder if it extra points would be achieved for going directly to Wayne's article on creating a comma delimited list.

    I have to admit that I wouldn't be able to answer some questions.

    Luis C.
    General Disclaimer:
    Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

    How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2
  • I think before we get into interview questions, it would be much better to define what a DBA/Developer needs to be, know, and do.

    I remember a post that someone made several years ago that pretty well had it down pat. I was going to add it to my briefcase but I apparently forgot. IIRC, the post was about job descriptions and what was posted in one of the posts on that thread was just brilliant. I wish I could find it again.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

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