October 26, 2009 at 10:22 am
Since this is the General forum I would like to ask a few questions that baffle me.
This is a brief of my 3+ years of IT experience
1) Have worked as a .net developer ... developing web applications,windows applications,client server application etc
2) have good programming skills in SQL Server 2000 and 2005
3) have working experience in SSRS and SSIS
In this backdrop I think am comfortable with Databases and want to move in that direction. In this regards I have the following questions:
1) Is Data Base Administration and BI mutually exclusive that is can I go in just one direction can I either be a DBA or a BI developer.
2) How is the knowledge of other RDBMS like Oracle or a certification in it help in my career will it be counted in my SQL Server experience or will it go un-noticed.
October 26, 2009 at 12:20 pm
1. In my opinion DBA and BI are pretty different so you are likely to go one path or the other. BI is more marketable right now, but there is always a market for good DBA's.
2. Having knowledge of other RDBMS's can't hurt and depending on the situation at the employer may help. Certifications can be a nice add-on to experience, but, in my opinion, are no substitute for experience.
I'm sure others will have more to add.
Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
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October 26, 2009 at 12:37 pm
For your first question, there's nothing about the roles of DBA and BI developer that would cause them to be mutually exclusive. Most people who do production DBA work know at least a little about the BI side, and vice versa. There are a lot of SQL Server generalists, and there's certainly a market for that, especially with smaller companies who can't afford a team of DBAs.
You'll find arguments on both sides of the fence (specializing or remaining a generalist) and both have merit. It's a matter of deciding which works for you.
To your second question, will Oracle (or other vendor) experience help? Yes, but I would expect you're still looking to start at the junior level in a SQl server job even with experience in Oracle, DB2, etc. Working with other databases demonstrates that you have a grasp on the concepts of database technology and theory, which will set you apart from someone with zero database experience. But SQL Server is a big product and requires product-specific experience to become proficient, so be prepared to pay your dues.
hth,
Tim
Tim Mitchell
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October 26, 2009 at 2:21 pm
I don't see DBA and BI as exclusive. I know less about BI than I do about other aspects of SQL, but that's merely due to what's been needed by the businesses I've worked for, not any sort of exclusivity. Plenty of people do both.
Experience in or theoretical knowledge of another database product won't hurt your prospects as an SQL Server DBA. Could come in useful if you end up in a mixed shop.
Both questions boil down to the usual question of specialization vs generalization. The path I find works best on that is specialize till you're good at the specialty, then branch out. That way, you don't end up being a joke-of-all-trades-master-of-none (typo intentional).
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October 27, 2009 at 3:19 am
I differ in my opinion to the precious post, BI is more widely used, than a straight DBA role, on a ratio of roughly 10:1 in favour of BI in the UK anyways.
If you have BI knowledge/experience you are more employable than a straight production DBA. With your core skills, I would focus more on the BI side.
I enquired about a dba contract yesterday, in less than an hour, they had over 100 responses. I didnt even bother going for it. You are more employable if you specialise and BI is the big thing atm and will consider to be so for a long time with gemini and madison coming out. which are new products/projects which are BI related.
I agree with the other comments to a certain point, dont worry about other Database products until your skills are good in the main product that you want to work with, regarding certifications, the BI certifications are worth having.
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