Got called to interview for a PostgreSQL DBA job...

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Got called to interview for a PostgreSQL DBA job...

sqldriver

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December 6, 2013 at 1:10 pm

#280999

Not by a recruiter, by one of the research heads at the company. Had a phone interview today.
My background for the last three years has been MS SQL querying and light DBA tasks, guided primarily by people asking me things and me asking Google and then fixing them. Prior to that, I've done quite a bit of help desk and general IT work. I got thrown at SQL because I had "Access dB" on my resume from 2003.
I've literally done nothing with PostgreSQL, but they want to see me for a live interview next week. They say they're fine with someone learning it on the job if they can demonstrate a certain level of technical ability beforehand. I just downloaded and installed a copy of PostgreSQL to play with, and I'll dive into the documentation tonight.
I'm not uninterested, and I realize it's premature to lose any sleep over switching dB flavors, but I was sort of curious if anyone here has any thoughts on the PostgreSQL world, any major differences between it and MS, etc. Prior to today I hadn't given it much thought.
Thanks

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Beatrix Kiddo SSC-Dedicated Points: 32407 More actions · Answer 1

Just wondering how this had gone, if you're still around?

sqldriver SSChampion Points: 10440 More actions · Answer 2

Hi,

It apparently went well enough for them to offer me the job. I start on Monday.

I've been delving into some PG over the last few weeks, and I've found the basic stuff comparable to MS SQL (especially querying).

There's a lot I dislike about the way PG functions are written, and not having a native way to work with the file system (there's no xp_cmdshell equivalent, which probably makes some of you happy). Those things would have to be written with another language within a PG function.

Also, I haven't found any forums or how-to websites as vibrant and informative as this, and other MS SQL oriented ones.

I'm a little concerned about leaving the MS SQL ecosystem, but it's still a huge step forward from my current job. I'll be working on a massive data warehouse/reporting system for NYC public and charter schools.

Regards,

Erik