Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Jonathan AC Roberts - Friday, September 7, 2018 4:19 AM

    In my experience a lot of DBA's don't know how to write much SQL at all. They are mostly concerned with install, backup and recovery regimes. I think a specific SQL expert is needed to help C#/Java... developers with their queries.

    I'm using DBA here in the context of a broad term for anyone hired to do something in the database on behalf of the programmer.

  • xsevensinzx - Friday, September 7, 2018 4:59 AM

    I'm using DBA here in the context of a broad term for anyone hired to do something in the database on behalf of the programmer.

    ummm, I'm not sure what you mean by "broad term". A DBA is a very specific job which requires very specific skills, even if someone is an accidental DBA. As far as I know, people aren't randomly hired to do "something in the database" unless they profess to actually being a DBA or knowing how to deal with databases.

    Which really brings us back to the original point of this discussion.

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • Brandie Tarvin - Friday, September 7, 2018 5:07 AM

    xsevensinzx - Friday, September 7, 2018 4:59 AM

    I'm using DBA here in the context of a broad term for anyone hired to do something in the database on behalf of the programmer.

    ummm, I'm not sure what you mean by "broad term". A DBA is a very specific job which requires very specific skills, even if someone is an accidental DBA. As far as I know, people aren't randomly hired to do "something in the database" unless they profess to actually being a DBA or knowing how to deal with databases.

    Which really brings us back to the original point of this discussion.

    I see you got jokes. :laugh:

  • Brandie Tarvin - Friday, September 7, 2018 5:07 AM

    xsevensinzx - Friday, September 7, 2018 4:59 AM

    I'm using DBA here in the context of a broad term for anyone hired to do something in the database on behalf of the programmer.

    ummm, I'm not sure what you mean by "broad term". A DBA is a very specific job which requires very specific skills, even if someone is an accidental DBA. As far as I know, people aren't randomly hired to do "something in the database" unless they profess to actually being a DBA or knowing how to deal with databases.

    Which really brings us back to the original point of this discussion.

    Sadly, I've found that the term "DBA" has been sorely misused throughout the industry and has become the very definition that you say it's not... even the job descriptions for "Sr. DBA" has become the proverbial "and the kitchen sink, too" type of job description.  There are also a huge number of people that have labeled themselves as "DBA" because they're chasing the dollar and can't even tell you how to get the current date and time using T-SQL.

    The bad side of the Dunning-Krueger effect is in full effect when it comes to the term "DBA".  It used to mean something in the industry and has been abused by people who know so little about databases as to make the term a bad term in the eyes of many just as the term "hacker" used to be a good term and "geek" used to be a bad term.  IMHO, the same thing is beginning to happen with the term "Data Scientist" and a couple other of the latest buzz word job titles.

    --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)

  • Jeff Moden - Friday, September 7, 2018 6:35 AM

    The bad side of the Dunning-Krueger effect is in full effect when it comes to the term "DBA".  It used to mean something in the industry and has been abused by people who know so little about databases as to make the term a bad term in the eyes of many just as the term "hacker" used to be a good term and "geek" used to be a bad term.  IMHO, the same thing is beginning to happen with the term "Data Scientist" and a couple other of the latest buzz word job titles.

    That explains why I'm not a DBA :laugh:
    And I would never have the word Data in my JD, I'd be forever fixing other peoples crap data, I have enough crap to deal with already thank you πŸ˜€

    Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
    Anon.

  • Jeff Moden - Friday, September 7, 2018 6:35 AM

    Sadly, I've found that the term "DBA" has been sorely misused throughout the industry and has become the very definition that you say it's not... even the job descriptions for "Sr. DBA" has become the proverbial "and the kitchen sink, too" type of job description.  There are also a huge number of people that have labeled themselves as "DBA" because they're chasing the dollar and can't even tell you how to get the current date and time using T-SQL.

    The bad side of the Dunning-Krueger effect is in full effect when it comes to the term "DBA".  It used to mean something in the industry and has been abused by people who know so little about databases as to make the term a bad term in the eyes of many just as the term "hacker" used to be a good term and "geek" used to be a bad term.  IMHO, the same thing is beginning to happen with the term "Data Scientist" and a couple other of the latest buzz word job titles.

    Indeed. This is why I used it broadly. So many data professionals doing it all these days due to the companies wanting that kitchen sink. I mean, I'm a data architect on paper, but I am still the DBA by the definition of operational tasks such as setting services up, ensuring they are backed up, securing them, etc.

  • Here is the screenshot of a fresh job description.
    Seems like ticks all the boxes. 
    πŸ™‚

    _____________
    Code for TallyGenerator

  • Sergiy - Friday, September 7, 2018 7:01 AM

    Here is the screenshot of a fresh job description.
    Seems like ticks all the boxes. 
    πŸ™‚

    I can spell most of those big words. What's the rate?

    β€œWrite the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw

    For fast, accurate and documented assistance in answering your questions, please read this article.
    Understanding and using APPLY, (I) and (II) Paul White
    Hidden RBAR: Triangular Joins / The "Numbers" or "Tally" Table: What it is and how it replaces a loop Jeff Moden

  • Sergiy - Friday, September 7, 2018 7:01 AM

    Here is the screenshot of a fresh job description.
    Seems like ticks all the boxes. 
    πŸ™‚

    "Think outside the box" = We have no budget or time for you do any of the things you think you need to do to properly manage our systems and there is no way in the world we'll let you buy a 3rd party product to get the job done instead. So, you need to work evenings and weekends.
    "Agile environment" = Nothing at all to lots of small incremental changes through an automated devops approach, nah, instead, we mean that we change our minds 47 times a day and you have to deal with it and deliver a database design that lets us do anything we want, any way we want, and still performs like it was designed and built with purpose.

    And,seriously "Excellent knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite"?
    Which, by the way, = We really do most of our data management in Excel, so you have to support that too.

    "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

  • TomThomson - Thursday, September 6, 2018 6:04 PM

    What?!  People post tables with SSN columns?  Surely they are protected by the table being restricted access and they  have somehow made the posted copy similarly restricted?  And the column is masked column?

    On second thoughts perhaps people are just as stupid in the USA as they are in the UK and everywhere else in the world.?  While only 80% of people handling databases are too stupid to handle straightforward data, I guess more than 90% haven't a clue how to handle PII.

    What are you talking about?
    After disabling xp_cmdshell was made a "security standard" there is no point to discuss any security measures around PII, PHI or anything else.
    Unlike the Universe that other thing has no limits.

    _____________
    Code for TallyGenerator

  • ChrisM@Work - Friday, September 7, 2018 7:06 AM

    I can spell most of those big words. What's the rate?

    Don't expect too much.
    Some start-up which created some prototype software, and now got to the point when they need someone to do "Data modelling" and figure out the mess they created with all those visual tools in Agile environment.
    The collection of requirements clearly indicated they have no idea what do they actually need.

    _____________
    Code for TallyGenerator

  • Grant Fritchey - Friday, September 7, 2018 7:21 AM

    "Think outside the box" = We have no budget or time for you do any of the things you think you need to do to properly manage our systems and there is no way in the world we'll let you buy a 3rd party product to get the job done instead. So, you need to work evenings and weekends.
    "Agile environment" = Nothing at all to lots of small incremental changes through an automated devops approach, nah, instead, we mean that we change our minds 47 times a day and you have to deal with it and deliver a database design that lets us do anything we want, any way we want, and still performs like it was designed and built with purpose.

    And,seriously "Excellent knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite"?
    Which, by the way, = We really do most of our data management in Excel, so you have to support that too.

    "Excellent communication skills" and "high attention to details" unlike the dolt who wrote this thing. First word that is spelled incorrectly was the fifth word. Seriously...Organ sighed. Followed closely by "Database Adminster". What the hell is that?
    "Hit the ground running" = we are seriously screwed and have nobody on staff currently who has a clue how to deal with this stuff.
    "Work autonomously" = Nobody will talk to you until they need something and then they need it fifteen minutes ago and they don't care that it takes two days.
    So many things in there that make me run away screaming.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • The fact that they require a cert in addition to 5+ years makes me wonder if they think the cert makes the difference between Senior / Standard / Junior DBA.

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • Brandie Tarvin - Friday, September 7, 2018 7:38 AM

    The fact that they require a cert in addition to 5+ years makes me wonder if they think the cert makes the difference between Senior / Standard / Junior DBA.

    I don't have a lot of faith in certificates. We've interviewed candidates for C# jobs and the applicant has a certificate with over 90% scored and when probed about details they knew next to nothing. All the questions and answers for certificates can be downloaded from various braindump sites.

  • ChrisM@Work - Friday, September 7, 2018 7:06 AM

    I can spell most of those big words. What's the rate?

    Ironically, whoever posted that advertisement can't spell DBA... Database Administrator. :hehe:

    Thom~

    Excuse my typos and sometimes awful grammar. My fingers work faster than my brain does.
    Larnu.uk

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