October 31, 2011 at 6:42 am
Hi there,
I was just wondering how many of you really find being a DBA is difficult beyond measures?
Now I know this is not really a SQL question, but I've now been working with SQL Server and Oracle for just over a year and a half (I'm only 21)
I walked into my position without any idea what either SQL Server or Oracle is and never heard of the word DBA or Database Administrator. I must admit that I really have learnt A LOT, but the thing is, the more I learn, the more I realise what I don't know and this actually scares me.
I know that in the world of IT (or anything actually) you will never know everything or even close to it. I have taken in consideration what it really means to be a DBA (I'm not even close yet). The pressure, long hours and determination for this particular postition is really beyond comprehension.
I guess it would just be nice and comforting to know that I am not the only one in this position. I must add that the last year and a half has been an amazing experience. Although I prefer Oracle over SQL Server (Please don't hate 🙂 ), in the end they both do the same thing, just different.
Good luck to all you DBA's and all of those moving slowly towards this position 🙂
October 31, 2011 at 6:50 am
DBA is a bit overwhelming at first.
No, revise, forget "a bit". It's just plain overwhelming at first.
Unless you have good guidance from one or more people who already know the ropes on it.
I started as a DBA about 11 years ago. I would never have made it without help from people who had already been through a few years of it.
Some of the help was personal (thank you Eugene and Daniel), some was a well-written book (thank you Paul), and some of it was just plain documentation (thank you MSDN).
I found SQL Server Central a few years later, and that made all the difference in the world. Made it possible for me to go from "okay" to "pretty good".
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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October 31, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Welcome to the wonderful world of database administration.
If you are asking yourself that kind of question you are in the right path - congrats!
_____________________________________
Pablo (Paul) Berzukov
Author of Understanding Database Administration available at Amazon and other bookstores.
Disclaimer: Advice is provided to the best of my knowledge but no implicit or explicit warranties are provided. Since the advisor explicitly encourages testing any and all suggestions on a test non-production environment advisor should not held liable or responsible for any actions taken based on the given advice.October 31, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Ten Pounds of Knowledge, One pound bag. Lesson one: Learn the keywords and what it can do, and lookup how to do it after. Eventually the methods will ingraine, the first information to know is it can be done.
Yes, it's too much. Far too much. Any junior I train I try to teach one aspect of the software at a time to.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
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October 31, 2011 at 6:30 pm
begin is very difficult!!! when i started work with databases, about seven years, (oracle, sql server, and now mysql, db2) wasn't easy find documents, articles, questions in foruns (mainly in here), books, wow several books and white papers!!
it's like GSquared said: nobody learn alone! all we need help to learn and know more! share the ideas!!!
October 31, 2011 at 8:53 pm
RuanK (10/31/2011)
...but the thing is, the more I learn, the more I realise what I don't know and this actually scares me.
You, good Sir, have just explained one of the most important factors of being an exceptional DBA. If you don't "respect the metal", you'll cut yourself and someone else in the process.
If you like the work, keep being scared about it so you don't make mistakes.
And, to be sure, none of us know everything there is to know about SQL Server or Oracle, nevermind the both of them.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
October 31, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Thank you all for the responses, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one in this posistion.
Good thing is, we all have this wonderful site to share questions and knowledge. 🙂
November 3, 2011 at 2:00 pm
the more I learn, the more I realise what I don't know and this actually scares me.
Well put.
When I was just a developer a couple of years ago, I felt that I knew enough or more than enough. I was just a small fish in a small pond. Or so I thought.
How mistaken I was. As I progress learning things about database administration and maintenance I realized that I know very little and everytime I dive into a topic and try to learn it in depth, I understand that I'm not actually in a pond but I'm actually drowned in a evergrowing sea of information. I feel too small then.
But if you feel that way then maybe you're in the right path.
Someday I'll become a DBA even if that means getting into a company as a developer and then go from there.
Hope you're successful. There are some highly experienced professionals here.
Feel blessed. 😀
Best regards,
Best regards,
Andre Guerreiro Neto
Database Analyst
http://www.softplan.com.br
MCITPx1/MCTSx2/MCSE/MCSA
November 3, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Its easy to feel overwhelmed especially with new releases and new features that change how you do things currently. In other words, just when you think you know what you are doing, it gets changed 🙂
Ed Watson aka SQLGator
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
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Go Gators!
November 3, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Welcome to the fold.
When I started with MS SQL Server 6.5, I had 2 MOC classes to get me started. Everything else I learned on my own as our group had the only SQL Server system in the company at the time, no mentors. It was several years before I even learned about SSC, and then a couple more before I became active in the community.
Yes, the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know. Doesn't help as the system change with every release. Learn how to find information and to read technical manuals, documents, papers. It isn't the same as reading books for relaxation.
For info on MS SQL Server, this site is one of the best. Hate to say this, it is also where I got the most help with Oracle when i was working with it for a year.
November 3, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Much the same as the others who have posted.
There is no shortage of information or material overload in SQL, databases or even Oracle.
If you have the desire to learn and continue to progress, then this is the right field.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
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November 3, 2011 at 9:42 pm
The main thing is not to let the sheer amount of information overwhelm you - recognise that there's more than you can ever learn, realise that the same applies to everyone else too, and be happy with it. The fact that you've spotted the sheer size of the information mountain at an early stage is a good sign that you'll be able to cope with it.
I find with pretty well every part of IT that the more I know the more I know I don't know. But I first found the same in my first line (mathematics) where doing academic research convinced me that no-one can ever know it all so it didn't put me off me when I hit the same thing in pretty well every branch of IT I've ever touched. The great thing is to cope with the fact that there's lots you don't know, enjoy the chance to learn new things and get a better understanding of things you already know, and keep pushing at the frontiers of your knowledge. If you remain aware that there's always something new that you should learn and that you have to ensure somehow that you get the job done wven though you don't know everything (which means accepting critical input and any other help people are willing to give you) you'll find youself looking back in fourty or so years' time (less if you want to retire younger)and thinking "it was hard and it was scary, but being overworked and frightened by the lack of knowlege made my career fulfilling and enjoyable" - at least that's where I am 44 years after I drifted from maths into IT.
Tom
November 8, 2011 at 11:27 am
For myself, this is a career change. I've stepped out of the medical field, as both a medical provider, CEO, and IT specialist for the clinics i owned, into a DBA position just this past summer. While I wrote propriety electronic medical records software using SQL for my own clinics, the leap from that to what i'm doing today was scary as hell. Within my first week in this new position, i was ready to quit. Completely overwhelmed with what i now realized was the depth and breadth of what i did not know. Fortunately, i'm making this career change in a seemingly tolerant and forgiving company. I'm also bluffing my way through a hell of a lot. I can say with absolute certainty that the difference between what i know now versus what i knew 3 months ago is absolutely immense. If i can keep learning at that exponential rate, i should be amazed with what i can do 1 year from now. At any rate, i know i'll always be surrounded by people who know far more than i, and it's my desire to absorb their skills that keeps me coming back.
In the meantime, i'll just keep hoping no one calls my bluff!
-james
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