June 3, 2016 at 7:43 am
So, I took today off from work to prepare and travel to SQL Saturday #517, and something occurred to me this morning.
How many people who know absolutely nothing about SQL Server and want to get started show up for SQL Saturday?
That would be the target audience for these presentations.
I'm thinking about presentations that talk about how to get started, how to download and install SQL Server Developer Edition, basics of T-SQL, basics of table structures and relational tables, etc.
What do you folks think? And what should I include?
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June 4, 2016 at 5:51 am
In an hour... you've got almost no time. I'm teaching an introductory course over a lunch next week. I keep thinking of stuff I want to include, but there's just no time.
I think it's a great idea. I wonder if there is an audience for it. If so, it'd be a great track to have at a SQL Saturday. I'd be happy to take part in it assuming we could get 5-10 people who would sit there for the day.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 4, 2016 at 4:22 pm
Grant Fritchey (6/4/2016)
In an hour... you've got almost no time. I'm teaching an introductory course over a lunch next week. I keep thinking of stuff I want to include, but there's just no time.
Yeah, that's why I'm thinking that this wouldn't be a single presentation, but rather multiple presentations that cover different topics. I'm thinking maybe having one "overall" get-your-feet-wet introduction presentation, and maybe having separate presentations for intro to T-SQL, intro to relational tables, etc.
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Check out my blog at https://pianorayk.wordpress.com/
June 5, 2016 at 4:03 am
Ray K (6/4/2016)
Grant Fritchey (6/4/2016)
In an hour... you've got almost no time. I'm teaching an introductory course over a lunch next week. I keep thinking of stuff I want to include, but there's just no time.Yeah, that's why I'm thinking that this wouldn't be a single presentation, but rather multiple presentations that cover different topics. I'm thinking maybe having one "overall" get-your-feet-wet introduction presentation, and maybe having separate presentations for intro to T-SQL, intro to relational tables, etc.
that's good. It would work as a precon.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 6, 2016 at 9:44 am
Grant Fritchey (6/5/2016)
Ray K (6/4/2016)
Grant Fritchey (6/4/2016)
In an hour... you've got almost no time. I'm teaching an introductory course over a lunch next week. I keep thinking of stuff I want to include, but there's just no time.Yeah, that's why I'm thinking that this wouldn't be a single presentation, but rather multiple presentations that cover different topics. I'm thinking maybe having one "overall" get-your-feet-wet introduction presentation, and maybe having separate presentations for intro to T-SQL, intro to relational tables, etc.
that's good. It would work as a precon.
That's a heck of an idea, except I don't know the first thing about putting anything together for a precon. Would I need corporate backing for something like that, or is that something I could do on my own?
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Check out my blog at https://pianorayk.wordpress.com/
June 6, 2016 at 11:18 am
Yeesh, yeah, not easy to do. I started a training class for a bunch of COBOL/mainframe developers who didn't know the first thing about database or SQL Server. I started with normalization to show them better ways to structure their data, that worked well as COBOL was one of the first major languages that I studied. I then got them in to creating basic tables, populating them, relating them, and querying them. The class went quite well but eventually the IT director cancelled it as he thought they had learned enough, which they hadn't. As it turns out, he was wanting to fire all of them. He succeeded in firing them, and in doing so, eliminated decades of institutional knowledge.
There was much rejoicing when that IT director quit with no notice. But that's a very long story. It did get me a Sharktank t-shirt, which was cool.
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[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font]
June 6, 2016 at 11:39 am
For the Pittsburgh SQL Saturday, one of the most popular tracks is the "So you wanna be a DBA"?
We geared this toward students(we host it at a tech school) and folks looking to change course.
Any ideas or input?
If anyone wants to submit a session:
http://www.sqlsaturday.com/545/EventHome.aspx
Michael L John
If you assassinate a DBA, would you pull a trigger?
To properly post on a forum:
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/61537/
June 6, 2016 at 12:19 pm
Michael L John (6/6/2016)
For the Pittsburgh SQL Saturday, one of the most popular tracks is the "So you wanna be a DBA"?We geared this toward students(we host it at a tech school) and folks looking to change course.
Any ideas or input?
If anyone wants to submit a session:
Hmmm, I might have to think about this!
BTW, I've already submitted three presentations for Pittsburgh! Should be interesting -- if I get it, it would be the farthest I've traveled for a SQL Saturday (it would be about an eight hour drive for me).
What does sweeten the pot is that my favorite band[/url] is playing a concert the Friday night of that weekend!
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Check out my blog at https://pianorayk.wordpress.com/
June 6, 2016 at 12:25 pm
Ray K (6/6/2016)
Michael L John (6/6/2016)
For the Pittsburgh SQL Saturday, one of the most popular tracks is the "So you wanna be a DBA"?We geared this toward students(we host it at a tech school) and folks looking to change course.
Any ideas or input?
If anyone wants to submit a session:
Hmmm, I might have to think about this!
BTW, I've already submitted three presentations for Pittsburgh! Should be interesting -- if I get it, it would be the farthest I've traveled for a SQL Saturday (it would be about an eight hour drive for me).
What does sweeten the pot is that my favorite band[/url] is playing a concert the Friday night of that weekend!
Speakers dinner or Kansas? An interesting dilemma! Considering that I've seen Kansas about 10 times, I think I will take the speakers dinner!
Michael L John
If you assassinate a DBA, would you pull a trigger?
To properly post on a forum:
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/61537/
June 6, 2016 at 12:33 pm
Michael L John (6/6/2016)
Ray K (6/6/2016)
Michael L John (6/6/2016)
For the Pittsburgh SQL Saturday, one of the most popular tracks is the "So you wanna be a DBA"?We geared this toward students(we host it at a tech school) and folks looking to change course.
Any ideas or input?
If anyone wants to submit a session:
Hmmm, I might have to think about this!
BTW, I've already submitted three presentations for Pittsburgh! Should be interesting -- if I get it, it would be the farthest I've traveled for a SQL Saturday (it would be about an eight hour drive for me).
What does sweeten the pot is that my favorite band[/url] is playing a concert the Friday night of that weekend!
Speakers dinner or Kansas? An interesting dilemma! Considering that I've seen Kansas about 10 times, I think I will take the speakers dinner!
Haha -- yeah, that is a dilema, isn't it? However, seeing that I am a diehard Wheathead, and that happens to be the first stop of their Leftoverture album 40th anniversary tour, well... 🙂
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Check out my blog at https://pianorayk.wordpress.com/
June 6, 2016 at 4:06 pm
Ray K (6/6/2016)
Grant Fritchey (6/5/2016)
Ray K (6/4/2016)
Grant Fritchey (6/4/2016)
In an hour... you've got almost no time. I'm teaching an introductory course over a lunch next week. I keep thinking of stuff I want to include, but there's just no time.Yeah, that's why I'm thinking that this wouldn't be a single presentation, but rather multiple presentations that cover different topics. I'm thinking maybe having one "overall" get-your-feet-wet introduction presentation, and maybe having separate presentations for intro to T-SQL, intro to relational tables, etc.
that's good. It would work as a precon.
That's a heck of an idea, except I don't know the first thing about putting anything together for a precon. Would I need corporate backing for something like that, or is that something I could do on my own?
You can do it on your own. That's how I started and how I still do it. I just put together 8 hours of material... sounds easier than it is, but that's basically it. Take one presentation and make it flipping huge! Or, think of it like a series of presentations. That's how I did it initially.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 6, 2016 at 8:51 pm
Ray K (6/3/2016)
How many people who know absolutely nothing about SQL Server ...
Ah... easy answer for me. About 90% of the people that I've interviewed for Sr. DBA or Sr. Dev. :-P:sick:
...and want to get started show up for SQL Saturday?
Apparently, none of them because they all claimed more than 5 years experience with most of the DBA hopefuls claiming more than 10. They think they don't need such a thing.
As for newbie training, one of the biggest problems is that almost no one teaches the proper way to "count" in SQL Server. It's truly the starting point for how a SELECT actually works behind the scenes but almost no one teaches it. I believe it's the key to understanding especially when it comes to writing high performance code even if you never have a reason to actually "count" in SQL Server.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
June 6, 2016 at 9:02 pm
Ray K (6/6/2016)
Michael L John (6/6/2016)
For the Pittsburgh SQL Saturday, one of the most popular tracks is the "So you wanna be a DBA"?We geared this toward students(we host it at a tech school) and folks looking to change course.
Any ideas or input?
If anyone wants to submit a session:
Hmmm, I might have to think about this!
BTW, I've already submitted three presentations for Pittsburgh! Should be interesting -- if I get it, it would be the farthest I've traveled for a SQL Saturday (it would be about an eight hour drive for me).
What does sweeten the pot is that my favorite band[/url] is playing a concert the Friday night of that weekend!
Ed Wagner and I are doing a Friday Precon on the "Black Arts" of SQL Server for Pittsburgh. And, yeah, it includes "How to Count".
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
June 7, 2016 at 8:12 am
Jeff Moden (6/6/2016)
...and want to get started show up for SQL Saturday?
Apparently, none of them because they all claimed more than 5 years experience with most of the DBA hopefuls claiming more than 10. They think they don't need such a thing.
As for newbie training, one of the biggest problems is that almost no one teaches the proper way to "count" in SQL Server. It's truly the starting point for how a SELECT actually works behind the scenes but almost no one teaches it. I believe it's the key to understanding especially when it comes to writing high performance code even if you never have a reason to actually "count" in SQL Server.
Would love to check out your precon; the only trouble is I was planning on three days for the event, and for me to get to Pittsburgh would take an entire day. I suppose I could pull it off if either (1) I tacked on an extra day, or (2) I fly out instead of driving, but either option would mean more $$$ out of my pocket, which is something I'm trying to avoid. Of course, I have a few months to think about it, not to mention that there's no guarantee that I'll get chosen to speak, so we'll see what happens.
I am by no means a SQL MVP or even a DBA, nor do I pretend to be. I know enough SQL for what I need to do. I figured that introductory-level presentations would be something that I could handle (so far, all my SQL Saturday presentations have been along the professional development/soft skill tracks). Kinda like having a practitioner take care of you rather than an MD. 🙂
I am curious as to what you mean by the "proper way to count." I'm assuming that you mean more than the simple "select count(*) from table" sort of thing.
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Check out my blog at https://pianorayk.wordpress.com/
June 7, 2016 at 8:30 am
Understood. Ed and I go to Cleveland and Pittsburgh every year and neither of us are sponsored. Everything comes out of our own pocket. Definitely worth it, though. Good folks in both cities. The SQLSaturday they put on is great but the before'n'after networking is fantastic. It's a bit like a vacation for us.
This will be our first PreCon. Lotso work but is going to be fun.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
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