December 30, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Becoming A DBA, Part 2
Buck Woody
MCDBA, MCSE, Novell and Sun Certified
December 31, 2007 at 5:43 am
Could you please add a link to Becoming A DBA, Part 1?
December 31, 2007 at 6:59 am
yiddy.chaves (12/31/2007)
Could you please add a link to Becoming A DBA, Part 1?
Here it is:
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Administration/61680/
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"It takes 15 minutes to learn the game and a lifetime to master"
"Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality."
December 31, 2007 at 7:31 am
I have to agree with your assessment of knowledge. A college degree does not make someone qualified for a job.
My very first job after I graduated was doing some entry level coding. My coworkers had all sorts of backgrounds. In fact, at the time that I was hired there was only one other developer with a Computer Science degree.
The smartest developer in the company was self taught. He had absolutely no formal training, not even a community college course.
December 31, 2007 at 7:32 am
Thank you.
After I sent the email, I looked for the message and I had it. I read it then. I liked the articule. My request was more like a suggestion, to add the link in future articule with more than one part.
Thank you for the quick response.
December 31, 2007 at 8:54 am
December 31, 2007 at 9:16 am
A college degree is useful, but it will also help you to get your foot in the door. Lots of places will not even look at you, regardless of experience, without one. It's stupid, but that's the way it is.
One thing that I have a minor quibble with is the staying "broad" rather than "deep". Initially in your DBA career: yes, stay broad. But you may find yourself liking a particular specialty and would like to focus on that. As long as you're reasonably broad, go for it! But keep in mind that it can limit your employment mobility.
One thing that I would suggest is that early in your career, don't stay in the same job more than 3-5 years. Move around in different industries to get more experience. Once you have 10-15 years in, find a place to settle and work out your retirement, and who knows, it might be somewhere that you've already worked. Take whatever retirement earnings/savings that you've made and be VERY CAREFUL to properly roll them over into qualified retirement accounts so that you have something to show with your savings and you don't get whacked with a whoppin' big tax bill.
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[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font]
December 31, 2007 at 10:32 am
I tend to agree with Wayne. While a good general knowledge of all parts of systems (all parts of SQL as well as windows, etc.), is good, if there's something you really enjoy, dig into it a bit more. Just don't forget to learn every chance you can about other parts of the system.
I know in my career, and even outside it, I ask questions of everyone doing work in other parts of the system. Whether I'll do it or not. I ask network folks what they're doing when they work with me, the electrician, auto mechanic, SMS gurus, developers, etc. Those little bits of knowledge have helped me to diagnose things many times.
I've always tried to live by the "at least one year" rule with jobs. Don't quit in less than a year as it's a flag on your resume. If you're learning, and working on new things, I'd say stick around. If you start to feel comfortable, like you know most things in the job after 2 years, I'd look for a new job and a new challenge.
December 31, 2007 at 10:46 am
Mr. Wayne you have some good points there.
A college degree on Computer Sciences will not prepare you for a real life but will give you a somewhat different aproach to learning new things, researching and trying to find efective solutions to the problems.
If I want to hire someone with a college degree I should at least know that pearson went through all the hell and torture to actually finnish their 4 year college which is not that easy.
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"It takes 15 minutes to learn the game and a lifetime to master"
"Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality."
December 31, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Existing DBAs can do their part by encouraging their employers to hire new IT graduates to pair with them. I've had opportunites to train new graduates and I find it rewarding. New grads paired with a seasoned DBA provides the best possible training. I suggest one year side by side apprenticeships. The apprentice needs to be aware that he/she is there to learn and during the course of the year they should be working to obtain their database certifications. We all know that college graduates believe they are ready to walk into the workforce and use their education. Unfortunately, there isn't much that is learned in college that prepares a student for a career as a DBA. When I am looking for someone to train, I look for someone who has maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher simply because they have exhibited the desire to learn and the ability to comprehend.
Our reward for providing this training to another is to enjoy the enthusiam the new DBA brings to the table. They enjoy working on new things. They aren't tired of being called at 1:00am (yet) and Saturdays. They provide us the break from 24x7 on-call that we need.
It takes a special person to become a DBA. Grow your own.
January 3, 2008 at 7:05 am
Thanks BuckWoody! I really got a lot out of this article. Very practicle and useful info for the DBA. Look forward to more articles like this.
Dave Coats
January 8, 2008 at 1:45 am
This is a very nice article. by reading it, i feel motivated to pursue my career from from a sysad to a DBA.
I'm trying to learn SQL as best as I can, and definitely, the qualities of a DBA that you have mentioned in the article are worth noting. By being aware of these qualities or traits, it gives future DBAs like me the correct "focus" on how to properly do the job and stay good at it.
Thanks a lot!
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