June 23, 2008 at 11:47 am
point taken, Chris, but 1) if that's really how your management thinks, do you really want to work for them? 2) who's really losing out when your nights and weekends are free and his aren't? Careful what you wish for.
1) No. But as I said, my experience with different employers is that this (poor performers rewarded for poor performance) scenario has been the case far more often than not. One theory is that many non-technical managers assume that if an application is bug-infested, then the application must have been more complex than the ones that work. On the other hand, for various reasons, some managers are happy to play the martyr.
2) I'm sorry, but I don't follow the question or the point.
June 23, 2008 at 11:55 am
Chris (6/23/2008)
point taken, Chris, but 1) if that's really how your management thinks, do you really want to work for them? 2) who's really losing out when your nights and weekends are free and his aren't? Careful what you wish for.
2) I'm sorry, but I don't follow the question or the point.
you said you were bitter because he got noticed playing the hero on nights and weekends, and you didn't have the opportunity, because your stuff worked. My opinion is, who cares, because your nights and weekends are free.
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How best to post your question[/url]
How to post performance problems[/url]
Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]
"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
June 23, 2008 at 11:57 am
The thing that saves my hide is I have a series of email queries (including server logs that get sent in the emails) that arrive at my desk first thing in the morning. I immediately know if there is a problem with any of sql servers (we have 50 or so) and can run corrections before anyone even has a clue they are down. There are a series of 5 emails that cover the disk space, database size comparisons, maintenance jobs and backup jobs on all the servers. It helps a lot and in 1/2 an hour I immediately know if there are any problems.
June 23, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Robert Hermsen (6/23/2008)
i am definitely loving the 7am start time. Gives me an hour before questions start flying.
My first real database development job (yeah, dBase III+!) I worked 10-7. No rush hour traffic in either direction, no lunch rush, and two uninterrupted hours to deal with stuff in the evening. It was wonderful. I wouldn't terribly mind doing it now, I'm much more a night person.
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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 23, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I strongly support the idea of investing in yourself as much as you can. It is very difficult to keep up with ever-changing technology, and you need to be a life-long learner to become, and remaind, a successful DBA.
rudy komacsar (6/23/2008)
I have learned and practiced many of the 'time savers' listed in this excellent discussion thread. What I have found out over time is that all of these suggestions, whilst seeming proactive, are actually reactive ! I say this because when you boil it all down to the base reason - you need time to learn and expand your DBA/SQL knowledge, whether is be a new release like 2008, or anything else related to your career.One should look at it more like a successful investment counselor would, and say to you "Pay yourself first". By this I mean continuing education is a daily part of my work ethic and has been for over a decade now. I schedule in 30 minutes of every, yes every day for continuing education (well almost - production issues and the like not withstanding).
So in essence, the article and discussion following it are more of a form of positive reinforcement for daily habits already practiced !
Brad M. McGehee
DBA
June 23, 2008 at 12:50 pm
you said you were bitter because he got noticed playing the hero on nights and weekends, and you didn't have the opportunity, because your stuff worked. My opinion is, who cares, because your nights and weekends are free.
I care--for two reasons. First, despite my frustration, I sincerely care about the success of the organization I work for, so of course, it bothers me when my department's products and services are less than they could and should be. Second, poor performers (for the reasons mentioned earlier) are often paid better than strong performers because of any necessary "martydom" arising out of their poor performance (hence, the bitterness).
Sorry to stray off the topic of enhancing productivity, but following up on the original commenter's point, I was just trying to illustrate that perception and/or relationships are often far more important that actual productivity for career advancement.
June 23, 2008 at 12:55 pm
The concept of "out of site, out of mind" has come up several times in this discussion, and I think it is an interesting topic, although I don't have any great solutions.
In one of the companies I worked for, the IT manager was very sharp and in the know, and he much preferred working with DBAs who managed proactively and kept things running. I was one of those quiet guys, but he recognized my skills and rewarded me very well for keeping things running smoothly.
On the other hand, I have worked for IT managers whose only knowledge of IT was gained from reading eWeek and talking to salespeople. I am not sure what, if anything you can do with these types, other than find a new job.
Then there is the middle ground, where you do your best you can in your job, but on the other hand, ensure that your mangers, and others, know what you do, why you do it, and that you do it well. I call this managing your own internal brand.
David Reed (6/23/2008)
As much as I find Buck to be entertaining, I think this is BAD ADVICE™. It sounds like a DBA who has forgotten who runs the joint, and that management operates on the principle of:Out of sight. Out of mind.
I don't recommend avoiding management, even if it seems trivial, tangential or stupid to you... it's important to the person asking the questions.
And you'll never know who'll be the boss tomorrow. I guarantee that it won't be you if nobody ever sees your or knows who you are!
:hehe:
Brad M. McGehee
DBA
June 23, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I wouldn't say I'm an avoider but I do like to let my work speak for itself... not real big on the "hands on" micro manager or having to brown nose to get noticed.
Brad is right on his last post... in a case like this the choice is to either deny yourself and KA or find a new job. I chose the latter about 10 months ago and life is so much better!
I come in the back door but my cube is in an extremely high traffic area so I get found when someone needs / wants something.
June 23, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Now I know why 99% of DBAs want telecommute !!!!!! They don't need to go through the back door because they don't even show up at the office. They don't need to go to any meeting. They usually call but who knows if they ever listen to what other people say.
They don't need to answer email or voice mail if they don't want to. Even when they are on call, they don't answer any phone call, blame it to the cell phone company, there is no signal where they are!!!!!
I actually knew a lot of these DBAs and people in the company thought they were the greatest persons in the world!!!!:P
June 23, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Loner (6/23/2008)
Now I know why 99% of DBAs want telecommute !!!!!! They don't need to go through the back door because they don't even show up at the office. They don't need to go to any meeting. They usually call but who knows if they ever listen to what other people say.They don't need to answer email or voice mail if they don't want to. Even when they are on call, they don't answer any phone call, blame it to the cell phone company, there is no signal where they are!!!!!
I actually knew a lot of these DBAs and people in the company thought they were the greatest persons in the world!!!!:P
Where do you find a job like that? If I didn't answer the phone, I wouldn't be employed for long.... As far as being the greatest in the world, if my phone doesn't ring or I don't get emails, it's because things are running smoothly and nobody knows I exist. But that one time that the users cannot get to their data....then they all know my name (and a few others as well):D!
-- You can't be late until you show up.
June 23, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I just quited that job !!!!!
June 24, 2008 at 5:02 am
I don't have a back or side door toenter my work place, only the front door but I am normally very early at the office so no-one to bother me. I am trying to train the users to send the requests by e-mail unless it is critical. I like your way of thinking and Brad, I downloaded on of your books on SQLServerCentral named SQL Server DBA Best Practices and I use that book like a Bible. I am not a DBA but having to look after some clients' databases this helped me a lot. I like your way of thinking by first checking the database and server before anything else.
:-PManie Verster
Developer
Johannesburg
South Africa
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Holy Bible
I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. - Everett Mckinley Dirkson (Well, I am trying. - Manie Verster)
June 24, 2008 at 5:56 am
Manie Verster (6/24/2008)
I downloaded on of your books on SQLServerCentral named SQL Server DBA Best Practices
Manie... what's the page link to get to that download?
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
June 24, 2008 at 8:23 am
Jeff Moden (6/24/2008)
Manie Verster (6/24/2008)
I downloaded on of your books on SQLServerCentral named SQL Server DBA Best PracticesManie... what's the page link to get to that download?
The book is available here at Redgate Software. There's a link at the top to just get the ebook. They also have ebooks for "The Exceptional DBA" and analyzing query plans.
I'm ecstatic about finding the query plan one: I just had a developer become seriously interested in it, she freaked out when I showed her the article on triangular joins and the performance hit thereof. She thought her recent work was all triangular, fortunately she was doing equijoins, so we're good.
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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 24, 2008 at 10:04 am
george sibbald (6/20/2008)
on seeing the date on Brads editorial, it seems the best way to save time is to do your work 3 days into the future.:D
The down side of being a Time Lord is the possibility of twin heart attacks. :w00t:
ATBCharles Kincaid
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