January 24, 2017 at 8:03 am
Great post Rod. Contractors/freelance get this from time to time; it's called being on the bench, the trick is to use this time wisely, something I've been guilty of not doing), Recently I've been looking at Azure SQL Database. All through last year for some reason I really didn't want to learn it (didn't use with current client), however I then spoke to a client who really wanted this level of expertise and was prepared to pay handsomely for it. It was then I thought I best change my thingking. Learning is out of your comfort zone, but once you expand that, the more you learn.
qh
January 24, 2017 at 8:15 am
ben.taylor.devops - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 1:53 AMI'd be interested to know how common this is, do other people struggle to find time for training during work hours?
If the employer offers it, I try to delve into a related topic to work as I can. Deadlines and commitments matter, so I have to know how much time I can spare. If I'm writing a report, and I realize that I don't quite understand something related, I try to set a slice of time to learn a bit more (delve into BOL, read articles, crack a book). For example, maybe I'm working with dates and I realize that I don't quite understand datetime2 v datetimeoffset. I might spend 30 minutes doing some learning here, not solving my problem, but working more to expand my knowledge. I likely won't learn what I want, but I can stop, go back to the report, and then try to take some time later. I've often taken time between tasks (finish one, break before a second), to do a little learning. It takes some discipline and focus to learn instead of going to chat with co-workers. However, you can slowly increase your knowledge.
The other way for me is to ask if I can build a POC on something. So I might take some time (30-60min a day) to work on duplicating some aspect of our application in another platform. Today that might be Azure or AWS, but in the past I've taken a RDBMS queue and played with messaging (SOA). That might be me spending 3-4 hours a week going through a course, book, or sample app.
Ultimately, I've found that I need to actually burn some personal time here. I need to treat some of my personal life as career development. Treat it like I've enrolled in a college course and get my family to buy into the need to spend a few hours a week learning.
January 24, 2017 at 8:25 am
brenda.large - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 4:32 AMThank-you for your post today - I too had to swallow the bitter pill of realising I didn't have critical skills. I'm now funding my education in order to 'catch-up' and eventually hopefully overtake the folks that haven't kept up.
The one thing I would add - CV - keep your own up-to-date.
Additionally, keep up-to-date with the current way of writing a good CV ( keep to max 3 pages ) - CV presentation/writing has changed at least five times in my career
I always recommend this in my talks. My suggestion is to set a reminder in your personal calendar of choice (not work), to touch your resume/CV every quarter. I also try to ensure you keep the recent, impactful activities first. Many, many hiring managers give you 30s to a minute to impress them.
January 24, 2017 at 8:29 am
ben.taylor.devops - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 1:53 AMStefan LG - Monday, January 23, 2017 9:44 PMRod, thanks for the useful tips!
The challenge is to find the time (while employed) to stay up to date with new technologies and trends.
Also, employers will provide and/or pay for training that will benefit the current business model, not employees' careers.
I am funding most of my 'career' training out of my own pocket, which can be a problem if you are unemployed or do not have enough money...I've had employers in the past who have offered training, my biggest problem was always finding time as there was always something "more important" to do rather than spend a day, or even a few hours, doing training. I've ended up doing the vast majority of mine at evenings and weekends, either free courses (MongoDB was a particularly good one) or working through a collection of online tutorials and ebooks.
I'd be interested to know how common this is, do other people struggle to find time for training during work hours?
What free courses did you use for MongoDB? We are moving to MongoDB where I work, and though I would rather stay with SQL Server (20 years experience), it would be good to learn MongoDB so that I can stay relevant here.
And yes, I find it hard to find time outside of work. Sort of learning Python while helping my daughter with class projects at college.
January 24, 2017 at 8:33 am
djackson 22568 - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 7:47 AMUnit testing - I find it hard to imagine anyone who writes code in any form, would not conduct unit testing. While I understand that there are certainly different views on what unit testing is, and certainly some do it better than others, and of course learning more about any subject can be a good thing, how can one code and not test their code? That said, we have also all worked with someone like that, so I know it happens. I just don't understand it.As to ways to keep your skills up, I understand how difficult it can be. About 15 years ago I was unemployed for a while. It got to the point that I started doing volunteer work for local churches just to keep sane. I learned things as a result. No money coming in makes this "not an option" for most people, but the point is to try to find something. For those who have been unemployed for a while in the US, that is going to change. Don't wait for the economy to turn around before you start working on your skills. If there is any way to do so today, try your best to find a way. I expect a LOT more jobs over the next few years, and this time, they will actually pay people money!
Lastly, you didn't mention things like Oracle's and VMware's local desktop offerings that allow you to virtualize anything. You have to have some hardware, but if you do, you can download many tools for free, and then install things, from Linux to Windows, SSExpress, et cetera. You can learn Power Shell and other tools. Don't ignore cheap technologies like Raspberry Pi either. I was amazed at what I learned from a $35 computer. It was especially fun trying to figure out how to edit files in their version of Debian to get my keyboard working, since it defaulted to a British layout!
I think most people do unit testing, but they think this is unit testing:
1. Write proc or query.
2. execute proc or query
3. Compare results to source data
4. Tested
This is only slightly faster than having some framework or more formal work that sets up a known set of data, runs the code, evaluates the results programmatically. This way the test can be re-run later, even after code changes, to test if the results are still correct.
I think your advice of thinking forward is great. Like it or not, I'd encourage everyone to consider themselves to be a contractor. Loyalty from employers is overrated.
There are lots of free, low cost tools. The cloud makes somethings easier, some not, but I do think a lab of some sort to experiment and practice is a good idea.
January 24, 2017 at 8:57 am
Lynn Pettis - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 8:29 AMben.taylor.devops - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 1:53 AMStefan LG - Monday, January 23, 2017 9:44 PMRod, thanks for the useful tips!
The challenge is to find the time (while employed) to stay up to date with new technologies and trends.
Also, employers will provide and/or pay for training that will benefit the current business model, not employees' careers.
I am funding most of my 'career' training out of my own pocket, which can be a problem if you are unemployed or do not have enough money...I've had employers in the past who have offered training, my biggest problem was always finding time as there was always something "more important" to do rather than spend a day, or even a few hours, doing training. I've ended up doing the vast majority of mine at evenings and weekends, either free courses (MongoDB was a particularly good one) or working through a collection of online tutorials and ebooks.
I'd be interested to know how common this is, do other people struggle to find time for training during work hours?
What free courses did you use for MongoDB? We are moving to MongoDB where I work, and though I would rather stay with SQL Server (20 years experience), it would be good to learn MongoDB so that I can stay relevant here.
And yes, I find it hard to find time outside of work. Sort of learning Python while helping my daughter with class projects at college.
Hi Lynn,
I completed their "MongoDB for DBAs" course. It was about 8 weeks long, but only took a couple of hours each week so was easy enough to fit into the evenings. It covered pretty much everything I needed to get started with building a Mongo cluster and even covered some tuning. If you're interested in learning Mongo, I'd say it's a good place to start.
January 24, 2017 at 8:58 am
Jack 49290 - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 4:14 AMI'm currently in pretty much the same situation, but would modify to "underemployed" (working 10 - 15 hours / week). In the tight economy a lot of employers (mostly small) are looking for small / short term projects and have adopted the contingency work force. Right now I'm trying to work on learning optimization. I have Grant's book and read many other articles and listened to MANY webinars, but the problem I'm having is finding / creating a system "under load" to practice the theories. ANY suggestions are appreciated.
Jack, please keep us up to date as to your looking for new employment, while you're in this transition period.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
January 24, 2017 at 9:02 am
ben.taylor.devops - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 8:57 AMLynn Pettis - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 8:29 AMben.taylor.devops - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 1:53 AMStefan LG - Monday, January 23, 2017 9:44 PMRod, thanks for the useful tips!
The challenge is to find the time (while employed) to stay up to date with new technologies and trends.
Also, employers will provide and/or pay for training that will benefit the current business model, not employees' careers.
I am funding most of my 'career' training out of my own pocket, which can be a problem if you are unemployed or do not have enough money...I've had employers in the past who have offered training, my biggest problem was always finding time as there was always something "more important" to do rather than spend a day, or even a few hours, doing training. I've ended up doing the vast majority of mine at evenings and weekends, either free courses (MongoDB was a particularly good one) or working through a collection of online tutorials and ebooks.
I'd be interested to know how common this is, do other people struggle to find time for training during work hours?
What free courses did you use for MongoDB? We are moving to MongoDB where I work, and though I would rather stay with SQL Server (20 years experience), it would be good to learn MongoDB so that I can stay relevant here.
And yes, I find it hard to find time outside of work. Sort of learning Python while helping my daughter with class projects at college.
Hi Lynn,
I completed their "MongoDB for DBAs" course. It was about 8 weeks long, but only took a couple of hours each week so was easy enough to fit into the evenings. It covered pretty much everything I needed to get started with building a Mongo cluster and even covered some tuning. If you're interested in learning Mongo, I'd say it's a good place to start.
Link(s)?
January 24, 2017 at 9:03 am
Gary Varga - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 12:46 AMGreat article covering a difficult time if/when one suffers it.It is worth remembering that everything takes time and to used elapsed time wisely (not saying Rod didn't). As soon as you find out that your job is at risk then it is worth spending time discovering what fundamentals you are missing. Possibly sacrifing personal time you wouldn't under different circumstances. Rod highlights a way of discovering missing fundamentals: job ads. Even if you are not ready to apply for jobs, if you read job adverts like you want to apply and can see a commonly occurring reason why you might be overlooked for roles then you know what to tackle first. If there is more than one the prioritise.
Remember that the hardest thing in this situation can be honest self-belief and this is a situation where you might end up low enough to question your self-worth. Call out your concerns. Ask for help. Possibly not from colleagues that may be in the same situation. Where then? Family. Friends. Community. That means here too. Spend enough time here and you will see hints or full on disclosure of peoples' personal circumstances. It is difficult to open up. But do it. Be brave. You may get the role that gets you out of the unemployment line that way. You will definitely be supported.
Gaz, thank you for the kind words. And you've emphasized something that is important, and that's getting the fundamentals down. I heard once that the late, great martial artist and actor Bruce Lee was so good at the martial arts because he got the fundamentals down pat. Once you've got the fundamentals down, lots of options start to open up for you.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
January 24, 2017 at 9:08 am
Lynn Pettis - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 9:02 AMben.taylor.devops - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 8:57 AMLynn Pettis - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 8:29 AMben.taylor.devops - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 1:53 AMStefan LG - Monday, January 23, 2017 9:44 PMRod, thanks for the useful tips!
The challenge is to find the time (while employed) to stay up to date with new technologies and trends.
Also, employers will provide and/or pay for training that will benefit the current business model, not employees' careers.
I am funding most of my 'career' training out of my own pocket, which can be a problem if you are unemployed or do not have enough money...I've had employers in the past who have offered training, my biggest problem was always finding time as there was always something "more important" to do rather than spend a day, or even a few hours, doing training. I've ended up doing the vast majority of mine at evenings and weekends, either free courses (MongoDB was a particularly good one) or working through a collection of online tutorials and ebooks.
I'd be interested to know how common this is, do other people struggle to find time for training during work hours?
What free courses did you use for MongoDB? We are moving to MongoDB where I work, and though I would rather stay with SQL Server (20 years experience), it would be good to learn MongoDB so that I can stay relevant here.
And yes, I find it hard to find time outside of work. Sort of learning Python while helping my daughter with class projects at college.
Hi Lynn,
I completed their "MongoDB for DBAs" course. It was about 8 weeks long, but only took a couple of hours each week so was easy enough to fit into the evenings. It covered pretty much everything I needed to get started with building a Mongo cluster and even covered some tuning. If you're interested in learning Mongo, I'd say it's a good place to start.
Link(s)?
This was the one https://university.mongodb.com/courses/M102/about
January 24, 2017 at 9:24 am
Unit testing - makes me think of what we called black box testing years ago. The nice thing is that Microsoft provides a project to make it easier to do the testing.
January 24, 2017 at 9:27 am
Gary Varga - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 2:57 AMben.taylor.devops - Tuesday, January 24, 2017 1:53 AMStefan LG - Monday, January 23, 2017 9:44 PMRod, thanks for the useful tips!
The challenge is to find the time (while employed) to stay up to date with new technologies and trends.
Also, employers will provide and/or pay for training that will benefit the current business model, not employees' careers.
I am funding most of my 'career' training out of my own pocket, which can be a problem if you are unemployed or do not have enough money...I've had employers in the past who have offered training, my biggest problem was always finding time as there was always something "more important" to do rather than spend a day, or even a few hours, doing training. I've ended up doing the vast majority of mine at evenings and weekends, either free courses (MongoDB was a particularly good one) or working through a collection of online tutorials and ebooks.
I'd be interested to know how common this is, do other people struggle to find time for training during work hours?
This is so common. Across the board. Across sectors. Permanent or contract. Public or private sector. New to the profession or world renowned. Not everywhere. But most.
Agreed. Too often, business thinks of training as non productive. Short sighted, ignorant view point, but very common.
Dave
January 24, 2017 at 9:56 am
Thank you for this post! I feel very stuck in my current position because I've been here for nearly 14 years. All my "knowledge" comes from direct, on-the-job, project-specific learning. I'm terrified to look anywhere else because I'm afraid I won't know enough "out of the gate," even though I've proven time and again that I can learn just about anything as needed. Now I know where to start augmenting my more universal knowledge and give myself a better chance of getting out of this current position!
January 24, 2017 at 1:08 pm
Over a long career I have found that when I spent big money on education while unemployed it didn't pay off directly but did keep my mind flexible. Now there are many free sources but they take digging to find as it is easy to find shallow references to a subject but hard to identify detailed information. It often benefits to do your searches with the most specific technical language you know to weed out the shallow stuff. SQLServerCentral is a good source of leads to the real substance. I think what one needs to study can often be found in what you feel guilty about not knowing, as it can sap your confidence not to know it and establish your confidence when you really dig into it.
January 24, 2017 at 4:14 pm
I don't think I have seen a specific word here that I thought would have popped .... CERTIFICATION ? In my "bench time" I'm considering going for "it" and would appreciate thoughts .... value vs cost, etc.
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