April 13, 2010 at 8:36 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Continuing Education
April 13, 2010 at 11:29 pm
[font="Verdana"]Can anyone of ranks higher than "Old Hand"(SSC ranking) let forward some exceptional tips for "SSC Rookie" or less to attain/pave their career with a Plus? :smooooth:
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or they should only "Continuing Education" blindfolded 🙁
April 14, 2010 at 2:28 am
You mention that I.T does not have regulation to the extent of other professionalisms but there are organisations that are endeavouring to achieve this.
In the United Kingdom there is a professional body for Information Technology, as there is for other professions such as Law, Accounting, Doctors etc.
It's called the British Computer Society[/url], the Chartered Institute for I.T.
April 14, 2010 at 5:19 am
abrar.ahmad-1058946 (4/13/2010)
[font="Verdana"]Can anyone of ranks higher than "Old Hand"(SSC ranking) let forward some exceptional tips for "SSC Rookie" or less to attain/pave their career with a Plus? :smooooth:------------------- :exclamationmark:[/font]
or they should only "Continuing Education" blindfolded 🙁
Yes... become self motivated and buy SQL Server Developer's Edition for home (get a computer if you don't have one. They're relatively cheap now adays). Then dig into the questions and articles posted on forums like this one. To be really good at anything, you have to practice everyday.
In other words, make the investment that a lot of people won't... time.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
April 14, 2010 at 5:28 am
John.Sansom (4/14/2010)
You mention that I.T does not have regulation to the extent of other professionalisms but there are organisations that are endeavouring to achieve this.In the United Kingdom there is a professional body for Information Technology, as there is for other professions such as Law, Accounting, Doctors etc.
It's called the British Computer Society[/url], the Chartered Institute for I.T.
I really hope regulation never happens for I.T. I.T. is the last frontier where a truly self-motivated but disadvantaged individual who doesn't have a lot of up front money to invest in an education still has the opportunity to succeed. I've also found that just because someone has a lot of letters behind their name or belongs to a ring-knockers club doesn't actually mean they can do the job never mind doing the job well. Of course, there are exceptions, but I've been extremely disappointed by candidates and some fellow workers who tought certifications and degrees.
For those trying to separate the wheat from the chaff during an interview and think that letters behind someones name means they're actually good at what they do in I.T., I hope you wake up soon. Learn how to conduct a proper interview instead.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
April 14, 2010 at 6:03 am
Jeff Moden (4/14/2010)
abrar.ahmad-1058946 (4/13/2010)
[font="Verdana"]Can anyone of ranks higher than "Old Hand"(SSC ranking) let forward some exceptional tips for "SSC Rookie" or less to attain/pave their career with a Plus? :smooooth:------------------- :exclamationmark:[/font]
or they should only "Continuing Education" blindfolded 🙁
Yes... become self motivated and buy SQL Server Developer's Edition for home (get a computer if you don't have one. They're relatively cheap now adays). Then dig into the questions and articles posted on forums like this one. To be really good at anything, you have to practice everyday.
In other words, make the investment that a lot of people won't... time.
Ditto! Lots and lots of time. That's the only way to lift yourself up.
"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
April 14, 2010 at 6:11 am
I'm with Jeff here. I hope we never have a standards body, a union, or a government dictated board that we have to pass to work in IT. Too many of us here are self-made, building our knowledge through learning and experimentation and communication as opposed to attending a certified higher learning facility and getting letters added to our names.
Steve, I'm in total agreement with you. I think that to really do well in IT one must be constantly trying to strive and learn. However, working for a large organization with some technology that is over 30 years old, it is possible to be adequate in IT and completely stop (or at least radically slow) learning new things. We have people that will likely retire based on knowledge and skills they developed 25 years ago and haven't bothered to update in any significant way. I suspect there is technology we're putting in place today and people learning how to use it that will be retiring in 30 years, still only knowing how to operate SQL Server 2005 or 2008. It seems sad, but it is possible. After all, a majority of our databases are still running SQL Server 2000 and that's over 10 years old now.
Personally, I'm trying very hard to not be one of those people. I've got twenty+ years in IT and I hope that they are 20 distinct years as opposed to one year repeated 20 times.
"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
April 14, 2010 at 6:29 am
I've been in the IT field for about a quarter of a century. I do about 2 weeks of development and SQL Server training per year. I finished my Bachelors degree in 2006 and am on track to finish my MBA next year. So yes, I'm an avid believer in continuing education.
It's been my experience, with this approach, that each job has been a big step up from the last and has been the key to not only surviving but succeeding in this very challenging field. Challenging not just in terms of keeping up with technology but also in making it through all the outsourcing, off-shoring, reorging... that is so prevalent in our industry.
I don't want to push the issue of continuing education though because the field is competitive enough as it is. If everybody was doing what I've been doing it would have made it more difficult for me. I think continuing education should be more like the magicians secret code. Let's just keep it to ourselves. 😉
Dave
April 14, 2010 at 6:33 am
Funny Mr. Fritchey is on this post. I am currently in the middle of "SQL Server 2008 Query Performance Tuning Distilled" - excellent book!
I do a lot of reading both books and online. After a couple months reading various sources online (this site in particular) and googling around for certain solutions, you really get a feel for who the top couple dozen folks in this field are. Read their blogs and when you see these folks respond to posts pay attention.
Two other very useful sources which I believe had their roots in this site: sqlshare.com does some great 3-4 min videos and Pragmatic Works puts on some fantastic webinars. Excellent free training that just can't be passed up.
I also do a lot of learning on our test boxes here at work or at home where I have the Developer Editions installed.
April 14, 2010 at 6:35 am
Grant Fritchey (4/14/2010)
Personally, I'm trying very hard to not be one of those people. I've got twenty+ years in IT and I hope that they are 20 distinct years as opposed to one year repeated 20 times.
I've been at this 32 years and two things I know:
1 years IT experience repeated 20 times is not 20 years experience.
IT is THE most rapidly changing career path one could choose. You must be constantly learning just to keep your head above water.
With the exception of tax code, accounting concepts and methodolgies change very slowly over time. And, Laws tend to change incrementally also.
Imagine what the world would be like if accounting and legal standards completely changed every 5 years and they also had to be re-written in a completely different language...
April 14, 2010 at 6:53 am
I've been in IT for 11 years and am selftaught (not always a good thing) and am continuing to work on certs and studying. I'm also a member of PASS which is a great way to learn.
I'm going to go against the grain and suggest required certification is not such a bad thing. My brother is a nurse and he's required to complete a certain amout of continuing education courses per year. He doesn't learn every new technology or drug that comes out only what affects his job. I think it could be the same for IT. One bonus of required certification is employers consider a requirement and pay for the training.
If IT had required certification more employers would feel a need to pay for IT training. I think that would be a big positive.:-)
April 14, 2010 at 7:10 am
I didn't write this earlier, but I tend to agree that mandates don't necessarily help. There are plenty of doctors that don't keep up, or that don't get much from their "mandatory education credits". Too many just want to do a job, get paid, not work at it.
I was hoping here to inspire people to work on their careers, and learn a little more all the time.
April 14, 2010 at 7:32 am
I'm going to agree with Jeff M. There are many trial/evaluation editions of software out there and you can buy SQL Server Developer Edition fairly cheap. A few years back, I did three online tutorials from Microsoft and got Visual Studio 2005 Standard edition for $9.95 (the cost of shipping). There are Express editions as well. I've got SQL 2005 and Oracle XE running on my older P4 with 3G of ram and it performs very well.
The fact that technology is constantly changing is the reason that I got in to the IT field. I am very thankful that there are sites like SSC where folks can find practical answers to real world situations.
April 14, 2010 at 7:38 am
Steve Jones - Editor (4/14/2010)
I didn't write this earlier, but I tend to agree that mandates don't necessarily help. There are plenty of doctors that don't keep up, or that don't get much from their "mandatory education credits". Too many just want to do a job, get paid, not work at it.I was hoping here to inspire people to work on their careers, and learn a little more all the time.
I think it's a shared effort, and does in some part require self-motivation like has already been mentioned; that said, a little encouragement/nudge from the employers to show that the additional training is appreciated and useful certainly does help.
My oufit decided to do something a little bit different this year for this. They actually sent around to each person in IT something to the effect of "We've allocated x dollars for training costs for you specifically this year - how would you like this spent?" meaning - what classes, etc.... There are also $ incentives for passing exams (and a little extra if you achieve actual certification), so - it's clear that it's important.
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
April 14, 2010 at 7:40 am
I'm definitely against any government regulation in this area, but I do think that an organization like PASS should develop and publish guidelines for continuing education. I'd tie that continuing education component to a certification. Get a PASS Professional DBA certification and maintain it by having a certain number of required continuing education credits/hours. And, yes, document it.
Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
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