Online training
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Hi everybody.
I've recently been promoted to manager of a Data Services team. One of the challenges facing me is the low skill level of several of the team members, notably in SQL and database knowledge in general. Since we are a fairly small company, and we really can't afford it, classroom training is not an option.
Does anybody know of a good online training program (preferably free or very cheap!) that can teach beginners basic database and SQL skills?
This is probably my best option since I simply don't have the time to train them myself!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Are there personnel on your team with a strong skillset in these areas? Perhaps doing brown bag lunch sessions will help impart the knowledge. If you've got strong personnel, asking them to present, say, JOINs or ownership chaining or normalization will most likely make them sharper on the fundamentals (no one learns more than the teacher is a proven saying) and also would help encouragea a collegiality (is that the right word?) among the team.
Is that a possibility? The online training courses I have seen in the past have been highly regimented and as a result, are of limited effectiveness. I say this as someone who used to be a web and SQL Server tutor for DigitalThink (now owned by Convergys).
As another option, Microsoft is (or was) offering free SQL Server 2005 upgrade training online... that goes well beyond the basics but may be an option.
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley -
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll probably end up running a couple brown bag lunches myself since that appears to be the best option. I suppose getting 3 people up to speed to help take work from me is well worth a little more OT in the short term huh
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My suggestion is to make them sign up for the SQLServerCentral daily letter. I came from an Oracle background, no ETL at all and no one to mentor me. Now I have co-workers coming to me with questions and do almost everything using set logic rather than the dreaded cursor. I've used the articles, scripts and forums to get solutions, tune performance, write ActiveX Scripts, set up a loop in DTS,etc. (Think I am a fan or what???)
Marie
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My suggestion is to bite the bullet and get one person trained, even if you pay for it yourself, then you have doubled your productivity! It is your responsibility as a leader. Skimping on training will only hurt you in the long term and sets a poor example to employees. Have you asked about the company providing funding for training, your boss maybe more receptive than you think.
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http://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp
a free on line tutorial. covers the basics and is fairly short. most users should finish it in a day or two
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I am working on SQL server 2005 for the past six months and gainded sme knowledge. I am ready to share with you for a small fee. If interested please feel free to contact
V.Kadal Amutham
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There is an interesting thought: Using the members here for a weekly brown bag conference call. I wonder if you could solicit some people here to do it over the phone for you. Heck... other people here might be interested in it. Develop the lesson plan online and then find people to go over each lesson.
I wonder if this is viable?
Kindest Regards,Patrick Allmond
batteryfuel.com
For all of your laptop, camera, power tool and portable battery needs. -
It probably is. I know from an interview Brian Knight with SQL PASS they are considering such things. You might drop a note to him or Steve Jones about it. Don't even have to do it over the phone... things WebEx, Centra, or LiveMeeting might be a more viable medium.
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley
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