February 28, 2012 at 9:16 am
I love your quote: "it’s a lot like getting paid to go to school to learn things you want to learn." It's a great way to view work because we are always learning new and interesting things.
February 28, 2012 at 10:08 am
What a magical word - sabbatical.
That's what I'll call my upcoming paternity leave late March. Four weeks of much-needed time to welcome Dartanyan (or whatever his name will be) to planet earth and help my wife out with recovery (no family nearby).
This time will be family-oriented, but surely there's time to also do some self-directed things.
On my list is: Record a classic literature audio book for Project Gutenberg, do a stop-motion paper animation project with my 5-year-old, write an article about Agile, and jump-start a better exercise routine.
Bill Nicolich: www.SQLFave.com.
Daily tweet of what's new and interesting: AppendNow
February 28, 2012 at 10:32 am
Working in health care I experience this every day. So does almost everyone I know that works at a hospital.
The problem is, we are required to add new roles, but nothing is ever taken away. So in the end we never really get to learn anything valuable. Instead, we become expert generalists. I know something about just about everything, but I would like a chance to get to know one area very well.
I am envious of those who work for companies that are not yet strangled to the point that they have less than half the employees they need to get the job done using best practices.
Oh, I work for a hospital that actually is in the black every year. I can't imagine what it is like to work for those that are probably going out of business as soon as the government run healthcare law takes effect fully.
dave
Dave
February 28, 2012 at 11:46 am
Dave, I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I find it a little odd, though--you are constantly forced into new roles and do new things but learn nothing of value? IMHO, being a generalist is the best thing in the world. I'm surrounded by specialists, and love being on a team where I can go to them for help in tricky spots. but, seriously, it's wonderful--absolutely wonderful--to know something about everything that everyone else does and be able to carry on a conversation, discuss a problem, and often see a solution in virtually any field in the entire office.
One of my favorite quotes is 'If the only tool you have is a hammer, you see every problem as a nail.' Well, I love having a full toolbox, and every chance I get to add a skill--programming, engineering, people skills, management, creativity--is a chance to make my life better. Lucky me. No, I don't get paid what I'm worth here. I make half of what I made back when I ran my own company. But I'm definitely appreciated for being a generalist.
And I know what it's like to work in health care--as a paramedic for five years, and in programming and DBA consulting for local hospitals. I don't envy you the health care field--it's tough, and oddly limiting, for all the money they're taking in. But it's a daily opportunity.
Counting my blessings,
Dave (a different Dave)
February 28, 2012 at 1:17 pm
dshaddock (2/28/2012)
Dave, I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I find it a little odd, though--you are constantly forced into new roles and do new things but learn nothing of value?Counting my blessings,
Dave (a different Dave)
Frustration speaking. I feel bad right now. Kind of like when you complain that you didn't get what you want for Christmas, just before turning the corner and seeing a homeless person sleeping in a gutter! I don't want you to feel sorry, that was not the intent. That shows I came across overly strong.
Did I say nothing of value? Sigh. Sometimes we value things we don't have more strongly than those we do, but it can be difficult to put into words. I apologize.
Dave (the first Dave)
Dave
February 28, 2012 at 1:28 pm
SQLBill (2/28/2012)
While I can't take a break from my job (except for vacations), I am branching out into a new area for me. I'm working on becoming a professional photographer...it's been a dream of mine to do wildlife photography. Recently I had a logo professionally designed and now I'm working on creating my website. It's an interesting experience starting out in a new business. I'm learning what it means to be self-employed. Keeping track of finances for taxes, figuring out if I want to take cash, check, or credit cards. Checking out Art Fairs in my area and other places to display my work. So far I've sold three photographs. It's a start and maybe some day I'll make enough I can quit my current job and do photography full time.-SQLBill
I wish you well. Not sure what it means to do that for a living, I know as a hobby it can be extremely rewarding. I have a lot of very nice shots I have taken over the years.
Dave
February 28, 2012 at 1:55 pm
I'd like to get back to how i started my career - designing databases and doing design reviews. That is my real passion but down the road it has somehow morphed into a DBA job. Besides it is hard to find large projects that need grounds up design now. To be invovled in a large BI design project maybe, that woudl be a dream come true!!
February 28, 2012 at 2:36 pm
I'm not surprised at all, Dave. I used to live in Rockford, IL--almost the best city I've ever been in, and I loved it--and all the newcomers/outsiders seemed to love it. But the locals, who were in the midst of it always, didn't seem to have the same appreciation for it. I guess that's human nature. I'll tell you what--there are days when I'm not feeling quite so, well, blessed... but I'm lucky that most days I do. I'm sure you have days when you love your work. Maybe. I hope...
Dave Shaddock--quite happily in Sarasota, FL now
February 28, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Reasding these posts, I (almost) feel guilty how lucky I am -- I am an architect on a really big BI project, and I can spend two hours a day on doing whatever I feel doing, which means learning things I do not need today. If there is no emergency.
February 29, 2012 at 9:41 am
djackson 22568 (2/28/2012)
SQLBill (2/28/2012)
While I can't take a break from my job (except for vacations), I am branching out into a new area for me. I'm working on becoming a professional photographer...it's been a dream of mine to do wildlife photography. Recently I had a logo professionally designed and now I'm working on creating my website. It's an interesting experience starting out in a new business. I'm learning what it means to be self-employed. Keeping track of finances for taxes, figuring out if I want to take cash, check, or credit cards. Checking out Art Fairs in my area and other places to display my work. So far I've sold three photographs. It's a start and maybe some day I'll make enough I can quit my current job and do photography full time.-SQLBill
I wish you well. Not sure what it means to do that for a living, I know as a hobby it can be extremely rewarding. I have a lot of very nice shots I have taken over the years.
Thanks. It means that I am now taking my photos and offering them for sale. I've had three sales already. Hopefully I'll have my website up soon and be able to start taking orders from there. As a business, I have had to start focusing on 'is this picture something other people would be interested in?'.
-SQLBill
March 1, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Sorry for jumping into this conversation late. You see, I left my job last April as the project was coming to an end, and decided that it was 'now or never' to pursue my dream of living in Hawaii. So I sold (or gave away, really) everything I owned that wouldn't fit into 2 suitcases, sold my house (2 offers on first day... what housing crisis??), and started a long road trip cross country from Tampa to Los Angeles. I took only the back roads (which sometimes turned into dirt roads and dead ends), followed the FL panhandle, down as far South into the LA swamps as roads go, a few ferry rides, followed the border in the SW deserts, and visited some old friends along the way. When I reached Los Angeles I put my car up on craigslist for quick sale and boarded a plane to Hawaii. I got a nice condo just one block from the beach at Waikiki and have been hiking, surfing, SUPing, kayaking, etc etc ever since. 😀
I guess even though I loved my career, if I wasn't getting paid I wouldn't do it. I still played around in technology, but not like I used to.
So as I reach my 1-year mark, I started looking for a new job. I've gotten a few pings, and one HR person asked me 'since you haven't been working, what have you been doing to stay current in technology'. Ouch! I knew that was coming, so now I've started to revisit SSC and get back to my daily routine of 'keeping up with technology'. As I set up a SqlServer environment and reviewd the QOTD's here, I realize how much I've forgotten. It's like going back to High School Algebra class... I know I used to know it, but relearning it again is painful!
So my word(s) of advice is: Take the sabbatical, you won't regret it. But keep up with your core skillset so that when you do return to your career, you're not starting back at the beginning.
Aloha!
March 7, 2012 at 11:41 am
Could someone give a few examples of the kinds of charities and non-profits that need SQL and BI people? If possible, specific ones in the Seattle area would be excellent.
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