January 2, 2012 at 9:45 am
Hi there,
Sorry if this is posted in a wrong place, but I've been trying to find a good spot for it in between the huge amount of forum sections! 😉
I figured I'd introduce myself a bit and get some feedback from you lot. The thing is, I have a somewhat "outdated" degree in Computer Science, with a major in Technical Software Development. I started my career pretty nicely years ago, as a Microsoft developer, where along the way I got certified in SQL Server 2000 and .NET (company I worked for insisted I got MCAD) and worked with that for a bit, first in software maintenance, then design. After a few years, to support my spouse in his specialist career, we immigrated, I had troubles finding work in my field of work and ended up working at his company in a different industry, where I worked myself in a pretty nice position, but then the recession hit and the company went down. We moved yet again, he got a new job, but this time the new company did not see room for me due to budget cuts. Things got even more complicated when I had an accident and was unable to work for a number of years and my days were filled with slowly re-learning the physical basics, while neglecting my mental side. Now I'm recuperated, a job would help so much, but in the current economic climate (I live in the UK btw) jobs aren't up for grabs so I've been thinking about how to proceed more wisely and structured and have been talking to a career adviser.
I've been playing around with the idea to get back to my old profession and pick up IT again and focus on databases, Microsoft based as it fits my CV better. Perhaps this time, a little less development as I haven't done that for 5+ years now, but perhaps more in an administrator role as I feel like my last role has more transferable skills (I started at QA and ended at project management). I'm not entirely sure yet and I'm taking it one step at a time. I've been reading up on articles about this and how hard it is to get a junior role as companies fear their precious data etc. I feel like I've been in a time machine and woke up in another time, as IT moves so fast. Most of the knowledge and experience I had is covered with a big layer of dust and I have issues with remembering what it was all about again. I'm thinking about taking a course on SQL Server Development and Maintenance, as that seems broad enough to keep open the development side, but also have a wink to admin which might help better in figuring out what I'd want to do. Would that be a good refresher? Also, would it mind whether I'd go for 2005 or 2008 and I also more recently saw talk about 2012 introduction courses? It's a jungle out there. 🙂
I've carefully started doing a home project, bit of web development with a friend (ASP.NET, JSON and javascripting) which I know are not relevant perse, but at least the gears are set in motion. Perhaps I can get some database usage included in this at some point as well once the basics are set. I've also started doing volunteerwork, teaching disabled people stuck at home how pcs work and how to use the Internet. I couldn't find any traineeships/internships/shadow work/volunteer work that involved databases, apart from a few charities that actually asked for 2+ years experience who never replied to my application. Perhaps I should just download and play around with SQL Server, but without having a clear idea what to work on, I'm kind of relying on a course to trigger my enthusiasm again because I feel lost. That and getting in contact with passionate people who can hopefully rub off some of that.
Any of you perhaps have some good tips for me to get back on track?
Thanks in advance.
PS. Happy New Year 😀
January 2, 2012 at 10:47 am
First of all good luck.
you don't say where in the UK you are but if you are in the right geographical location the jobs are out there, and there are still companies who put great store by maturity, life experience, attitude and reliability.
You should definitely concentrate on SQL2008 (or SQL2008R2) at this point, almost all companies will have some SQL2008 now or be moving to it. SQL2000 is definitely legacy, although again it is still in widespread use and there may be companies who want someone just to maintain legacy systems. That could be a way back into the industry, but ask what their plans are for upgrading, or you could get stuck in another rut.
You say you want to move to the administration role, but then list pure developer side skills. You should be brushing up on TSQL and administration skills such as DR, backup and recovery and performance work.
I am not a big fan of the MS courses as a way of getting back into the profession. They do not go into enough detail and are too expensive IMHO. Get a copy of SQL2008 (r2) developer edition and try things out. Read white papers, books online and partake in this forum, theres a lot of good administration skills info within it.
Keep up the voluntary work, it looks good on a CV and at least you are getting experience.
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January 2, 2012 at 11:16 am
Hi, thanks for your feedbak. Much appreciated!
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I live in Kent so that area and Southern London are my current playground, which is fairly good actually. I do see a lot of job opportunities in this area, especially in the finance sector, but they ask senior level, 5 + years relevant experience and up to date knowledge and seeing I'm currently lacking both, I've been trying to wiggle my way onto the job market by looking at phone support jobs and hope someone will bite as I speak multiple languages and work my way up from there, but unfortunately, the little feedback that I got, did mention that my SQL knowledge is outdated so that's what got me thinking about a refresher course. Obviously hands on experience is more important, but I was thinking that a course could be a start while I start thinking up some kind of project trying out things that companies would find interesting. Also, I figured that doing a course in a class would get me out of the house, back in contact with people and perhaps a start of some networking. Clue for me now is to find my way, but I hope registering to this community is a start, I've got a lot of reading up to do it seems!
January 6, 2012 at 9:56 am
I took two years off from my IT career a few years ago to do a different business opportunity that had nothing to do with databases. I came back right during the worst of the financial meltdown in 2009 and had no problems finding a new job.
My current employer still has SQL Server 2000 databases for a system that still makes us money, but not enough to invest resources to upgrade it with development resources. We only have one SQL Server 2005 database that we cannot get upgraded because of a 3rd party vendor. It sucks because every other database has been moved off of that 2005 cluster, but we keep a full blown 2005 cluster running for a silly 30 GB database.
Everything else is now on SQL Server 2008.
I think my resume was actually most competitive at this company because I was certified on SQL Server 2000 (MCDBA). They needed a DBA who still knew how to deal with those older versions. The 2005 and 2008 experience was also important, but that SQL Server 2000 certification has really paid off for me.
The point I am making is that every company has those legacy applications that they don't want to risk moving, but they still need to support them. So your experience on older versions of SQL Server can be an asset for you.
If I were in your shoes, and I sort of was a few years ago (only took 2 years off), I would get the MCTS and if possible also the MCITP in administration and development.
70-432SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance
70-450Database Administrator 2008
70-433SQL Server 2008, Database Development
70-451Database Developer 2008
You can probably pass them with self study and practice tests. The problem is that the version you can install on your home PC won't have a lot of features that you will want to play with. You will be tested on those areas. Hopefully you test well.
Then your skill set will look a bit more balanced. You have the experience from 2000 and the certs from 2008. You are not a paper cert (certs but no experience). You just need to get updated to make your resume look more complete.
If you were in the USA I would say you could easily get back into it. I think the DBA unemployment rate is crazy low at 1% or something. But I do not know the UK market.
If I saw a resume with experience on it plus all four of those certifications, I would certainly give that person a shot in a tech interview.
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