Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    jasona.work (11/2/2016)


    Luis Cazares (11/2/2016)


    I'm not looking for a job, but I take a look at offers from LinkedIn every now and then just to see what's being offered/requested.

    That said, can anyone explain to me how is this a Jr position? https://www.linkedin.com/comm/jobs/view/218716553

    I'm not even sure some the heavy-hitters around here (Grant, Gail, Jeff Moden, Steve) would meet the qualifications...

    Maybe they're trying to keep the salary low by calling it a "Jr" position?

    Of course, the responses they're likely to get are either going to be actual Jr DBAs with an overblown belief in their skillset, or the sort of "Jr/Sr" DBA who meets the requirements but isn't really all that good at it...

    Either way, I think they'll be in for a rude awakening down the line...

    Hey! I'm qualified doggone it.

    OK, I absolutely don't meet the undergraduate degree requirement, but I'm pretty sure I meet all the others. However, this:

    Disaster recovery planning experience.

    Is not a junior DBA. A bunch of the rest would disqualify as a junior DBA position, but that's the big one for me.

    While I agree that many of the other items individually could be considered a junior DBA I think the sum of requirements is clear that they don't want a junior DBA. There is no junior DBA that has all the knowledge of all those pieces they are looking for.

    For that matter I am nowhere near qualified as I don't meet all their requirements. Maybe someday I will have enough knowledge and experience to be considered for a junior DBA role. 😛

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  • jasona.work (11/2/2016)


    Luis Cazares (11/2/2016)


    I'm not looking for a job, but I take a look at offers from LinkedIn every now and then just to see what's being offered/requested.

    That said, can anyone explain to me how is this a Jr position? https://www.linkedin.com/comm/jobs/view/218716553

    I'm not even sure some the heavy-hitters around here (Grant, Gail, Jeff Moden, Steve) would meet the qualifications...

    Maybe they're trying to keep the salary low by calling it a "Jr" position?

    Of course, the responses they're likely to get are either going to be actual Jr DBAs with an overblown belief in their skillset, or the sort of "Jr/Sr" DBA who meets the requirements but isn't really all that good at it...

    Either way, I think they'll be in for a rude awakening down the line...

    There are a ton of things that, in my opinion, are not junior level. Many of them are things I don't have. Just a few that I wouldn't consider Junior:

    Manage execution of application patches and ensure rollback strategy is in place.

    Plan for future scale and performance needs based upon historical data and projected system growth.

    Conduct knowledge transfer sessions to development team, enhancing their understanding of DB Best Practices.

    ( depending on the level, some intro stuff to get them growing as a teacher, sure)

    Build automation scripts for DB maintenance using a scripting language such as Powershell, VBScript, WSH

    4 or more years of experience with High availability solutions.

    Skilled in architecting structure of database to optimize performance.

    I think these are all things a junior level should get some experience doing under a senior DBA but I wouldn't expect a junior person to have experience with all of these.

  • Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    jasona.work (11/2/2016)


    Luis Cazares (11/2/2016)


    I'm not looking for a job, but I take a look at offers from LinkedIn every now and then just to see what's being offered/requested.

    That said, can anyone explain to me how is this a Jr position? https://www.linkedin.com/comm/jobs/view/218716553

    I'm not even sure some the heavy-hitters around here (Grant, Gail, Jeff Moden, Steve) would meet the qualifications...

    Maybe they're trying to keep the salary low by calling it a "Jr" position?

    Of course, the responses they're likely to get are either going to be actual Jr DBAs with an overblown belief in their skillset, or the sort of "Jr/Sr" DBA who meets the requirements but isn't really all that good at it...

    Either way, I think they'll be in for a rude awakening down the line...

    Hey! I'm qualified doggone it.

    OK, I absolutely don't meet the undergraduate degree requirement, but I'm pretty sure I meet all the others. However, this:

    Disaster recovery planning experience.

    Is not a junior DBA. A bunch of the rest would disqualify as a junior DBA position, but that's the big one for me.

    Oh yeah, and seriously, Trace? It's Current Year people. Extended Events!

    "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

  • Jack Corbett (11/2/2016)


    jasona.work (11/2/2016)


    Luis Cazares (11/2/2016)


    I'm not looking for a job, but I take a look at offers from LinkedIn every now and then just to see what's being offered/requested.

    That said, can anyone explain to me how is this a Jr position? https://www.linkedin.com/comm/jobs/view/218716553

    I'm not even sure some the heavy-hitters around here (Grant, Gail, Jeff Moden, Steve) would meet the qualifications...

    Maybe they're trying to keep the salary low by calling it a "Jr" position?

    Of course, the responses they're likely to get are either going to be actual Jr DBAs with an overblown belief in their skillset, or the sort of "Jr/Sr" DBA who meets the requirements but isn't really all that good at it...

    Either way, I think they'll be in for a rude awakening down the line...

    There are a ton of things that, in my opinion, are not junior level. Many of them are things I don't have. Just a few that I wouldn't consider Junior:

    Manage execution of application patches and ensure rollback strategy is in place.

    Plan for future scale and performance needs based upon historical data and projected system growth.

    Conduct knowledge transfer sessions to development team, enhancing their understanding of DB Best Practices.

    ( depending on the level, some intro stuff to get them growing as a teacher, sure)

    Build automation scripts for DB maintenance using a scripting language such as Powershell, VBScript, WSH

    4 or more years of experience with High availability solutions.

    Skilled in architecting structure of database to optimize performance.

    I think these are all things a junior level should get some experience doing under a senior DBA but I wouldn't expect a junior person to have experience with all of these.

    I wouldn't think a junior would have experience with all of these either. It must be about the money. Then again, maybe they're looking to hire 10 junior DBAs to cover all the different skillsets. Of course, with no senior to lead them, chaos could result.

    Oh, and since when is database maintenance done in VB Script? :w00t:

  • Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    Do I need to explain a 5 micro-second difference

    No. That's well into the range of measurement inaccuracies. If you could check my blog (which you can't at the moment), there have been many posts where I ignore 3 or 4 ms of difference.

    Even if SQL uses the Windows high-precision timers for XE (and I don't know if it does), it's never going to be completely accurate.

    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

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    I'd like to request a beating from the Threadizens.

    Sorry, Grant. As much as you'd like to be hit, I don't think it's warranted. I agree with everything others have said, from the 5 microseconds to not citing the hardware to everything else. I think it was fine.

  • Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    Hey! I'm qualified doggone it.

    OK, I absolutely don't meet the undergraduate degree requirement, but I'm pretty sure I meet all the others.

    I've got the degree (as long as they don't do the weird 'post grad degree = overqualified' that I've heard of before, but...

    Operating Systems

    Information Security Policies

    Windows server administration skills

    Nope.

    Build automation scripts for DB maintenance using a scripting language such as Powershell, VBScript, WSH.

    Nope (well, I might remember some VBScript from my classic ASP days)

    Use of SSIS, SSAS, SSRS.

    Nope.

    That is not a junior position or an 'entry level experience' requirement, not even close.

    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

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • jasona.work (11/2/2016)


    Luis Cazares (11/2/2016)


    I'm not looking for a job, but I take a look at offers from LinkedIn every now and then just to see what's being offered/requested.

    That said, can anyone explain to me how is this a Jr position? https://www.linkedin.com/comm/jobs/view/218716553

    I'm not even sure some the heavy-hitters around here (Grant, Gail, Jeff Moden, Steve) would meet the qualifications...

    Maybe they're trying to keep the salary low by calling it a "Jr" position?

    Of course, the responses they're likely to get are either going to be actual Jr DBAs with an overblown belief in their skillset, or the sort of "Jr/Sr" DBA who meets the requirements but isn't really all that good at it...

    Either way, I think they'll be in for a rude awakening down the line...

    I like how the Jr is supposed to transfer knowledge of Best Practices to the Dev Ops team.

    And read / attend conferences, but not travel. So you know where that is headed.

    I wonder what qualifies in their eyes for a Sr DBA? They seem to have covered most everything in the stack for a very well rounded DW Developer / Architect, plus admin / backup / disaster / corruption, and windows server. Maybe SharePoint too?

  • GilaMonster (11/2/2016)


    Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    Do I need to explain a 5 micro-second difference

    No. That's well into the range of measurement inaccuracies. If you could check my blog (which you can't at the moment), there have been many posts where I ignore 3 or 4 ms of difference.

    Even if SQL uses the Windows high-precision timers for XE (and I don't know if it does), it's never going to be completely accurate.

    That was my assumption, but people seem obsessed. I don't get it. Maybe they just really believe the simplistic performance checklists because it doesn't force them to actually think and make choices. Guessing.

    "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

  • Ed Wagner (11/2/2016)


    Sorry, Grant. As much as you'd like to be hit, I don't think it's warranted. I agree with everything others have said, from the 5 microseconds to not citing the hardware to everything else. I think it was fine.

    Cheers. I do appreciate the reinforcement. It never hurts to doubt yourself and reassess assumptions. Leastways I think so.

    "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

  • Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    jasona.work (11/2/2016)


    Luis Cazares (11/2/2016)


    I'm not looking for a job, but I take a look at offers from LinkedIn every now and then just to see what's being offered/requested.

    That said, can anyone explain to me how is this a Jr position? https://www.linkedin.com/comm/jobs/view/218716553

    I'm not even sure some the heavy-hitters around here (Grant, Gail, Jeff Moden, Steve) would meet the qualifications...

    Maybe they're trying to keep the salary low by calling it a "Jr" position?

    Of course, the responses they're likely to get are either going to be actual Jr DBAs with an overblown belief in their skillset, or the sort of "Jr/Sr" DBA who meets the requirements but isn't really all that good at it...

    Either way, I think they'll be in for a rude awakening down the line...

    Hey! I'm qualified doggone it.

    OK, I absolutely don't meet the undergraduate degree requirement, but I'm pretty sure I meet all the others. However, this:

    Disaster recovery planning experience.

    Is not a junior DBA. A bunch of the rest would disqualify as a junior DBA position, but that's the big one for me.

    A bunch of the rest would qualify as a junior DBA position ... when working as part of a larger team. The job advert reads as a solo DBA position, and that's never going to be a junior.


    Hugo Kornelis, SQL Server/Data Platform MVP (2006-2016)
    Visit my SQL Server blog: https://sqlserverfast.com/blog/
    SQL Server Execution Plan Reference: https://sqlserverfast.com/epr/

  • Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    GilaMonster (11/2/2016)


    Grant Fritchey (11/2/2016)


    Do I need to explain a 5 micro-second difference

    No. That's well into the range of measurement inaccuracies. If you could check my blog (which you can't at the moment), there have been many posts where I ignore 3 or 4 ms of difference.

    Even if SQL uses the Windows high-precision timers for XE (and I don't know if it does), it's never going to be completely accurate.

    That was my assumption, but people seem obsessed. I don't get it. Maybe they just really believe the simplistic performance checklists because it doesn't force them to actually think and make choices. Guessing.

    Maybe I need to take that old lightning talk I did for Pass (things you're doing wrong when measuring performance) and turn it into an editorial or article.

    Hell, I've seen 5ms performance differences when running exactly the same query repeatedly, so how is a 5 microsecond difference going to mean anything?

    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

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • Luis Cazares (11/2/2016)


    I'm not looking for a job, but I take a look at offers from LinkedIn every now and then just to see what's being offered/requested.

    That said, can anyone explain to me how is this a Jr position? https://www.linkedin.com/comm/jobs/view/218716553

    I see this type of thing whenever I decide to move jobs. Quite often the descriptions are posted by somebody who has little idea of what a DBA position is and either asks a few people what they would like from this position or just looks through some documentation that describes what features SQL Server has. Experienced recruiters will sometimes guide the customer to something a little less ambitious, but generally I've responded with "You'll never find anybody who can do all of that. I can do X and Y, with some knowledge of Z and I'm interested". It usually gets some interest because I've stated my experience at the outset and nobody has yet developed Joe 90's RAT to combine the knowledge of a handful of the best SQL Server people out there.

  • Head-desk

    😎

  • Hugo Kornelis (11/2/2016)


    Hi Grant,

    Of course views are faster than stored procedures. And that cars are faster than laptops.

    Ah, laptops can be just as fast as cars

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