April 14, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Nachdem ich den Artikel und die Kommentare bzgl. der Grammatikfehler gelesen habe, habe ich mich entschieden, ab sofort nur noch in einer Sprache zu schreiben, bei der meine grammatikalische Fehlerquote mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit deutlich geringer ist als bei der Verwendung der englischen Sprache.
Hierbei kann es zwar vorkommen, daß der Inhalt meiner zukünftigen Antworten von einigen anderen Lesern auf Grund der Sprachbarriere nicht verstanden wird. Aber das Wichtigste ist ja offensichtlich die korrekte Grammatik.
Danke, fname lname-1111520.
:-D:-D:-D
PS: Translation available upon request. 😛
April 14, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Revenant (4/14/2011)
Stefan Krzywicki (4/14/2011)
. . .I've found that almost all contracts are advertised as 3-6 month regardless of how long they're actually expected to take.
. . .
Most companies are allowed to make contracts go only until the end of the fiscal year. However, there may be a clause that the contract is renewable under the stated conditions. (Which means that they will keep as long as they wish but the rate likely will not go up, unless you speak up and they really need you.)
Yep, usually that 3-6 month period on longer jobs is partly an artifact of contracts, that's how long contracts are for so they just use renewable ones. It also gives the company flexibility. And with a 3-6 month contract, they can get an idea if you're a good fit for the job.
And you're right, the rate won't go up unless you speak up, or at least yours won't. Some less than scrupulous agencies will start billing more without giving you a raise. On the other hand, if they do need you for longer periods, you can usually negotiate reasonable raises when your contract is up for renewal. I wouldn't suggest asking for that raise more than once a year unless your responsibilities drastically increase.
--------------------------------------
When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
--------------------------------------
It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams
April 14, 2011 at 12:33 pm
I appreciate the thought put into this article. I've been consulting for 18 years, and been a mainstream SQL Server "Engineer" for the past 8 years. I think that there are four areas of expertise for any data professional:
1) Data Architect - This person is responsible for analyzing existing data structures, the requirements provided by the business, and the available resources. Then designing a solution (DFDs, ERDs, Data Dictionary, etc.) that the Database Developer will code.
2) Database Developer - This person takes the design of the Data Architect (DFDs, ERDs, Data Dictionary, etc.) and codes the actual DDL for the tables, views, procedures, constraints, triggers, ETLs, etc.
3) Database Administrator - This person is responsible for implementing and administering the solution the was designed by the Data Architect and engineered by Database Developer. Their primary responsibility it to ensure that the data integrity is maintained and keeps flowing. They need a critical eye to evaluate what has been handed to them to implement. Ideally, they will be consulted by the Data Architect and Database Developer during the development process, so that nothing is coming at them from out in left field.
4) Business Intelligence Developer - This person takes the existing data and designs outputs that are used by end users. This includes, reports, cubes, ad-hoc query solutions, etc.
A well rounded professional who has been in the business for some time will have worked to some extent in all of these areas. Most professionals will have an area of expertise that they are stronger in than the others. Being a SQL GOD is impossible for even the Guru level SQL Server professional, but being competent in all of these areas is desirable, and being an expert in at least one of these areas will keep you employed.
Cheers! 😀
April 14, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Grant Fritchey (4/14/2011)
Nice article Craig. The company I left put up a SQL Superman job to try to replace me, despite my protests. My old boss just kept saying "Let's see what we get." So I don't think anyone actually expects to really fill these requirements. Unfortunately, then the HR guys get involved, go through and pluck out all the keywords and then play keyword bingo with resumes. The only ones that qualify are from people lying their behinds off who then fail the technical interview which is why you have to go through 60-70 phone interviews and 5-10 face to face interviews to actually hire someone. It's frankly getting stupid. This article really helps.
I've seen this a number of times, and I agree with you. There are plenty of times the laundry list gets shoved into a job requirements portion (rather then ending up in the 'nice to have' section), which presents the job completely differently.
When they end up doing this, I'm stuck agreeing with you. You get the desperate or the ignorant. I don't think the job hunters are quite as malicious as you think, but after seeing so many job postings they can't even get past HR on they overemphasize everything to make sure the gatekeepers aren't the problem, especially newer people who don't realize that having setup a reporting server at home is nothing like a commercially available one that's corporate wide.
The other side is you end up with desperate high end people, and there's enough of them in the market lately that they think they can get away with this. It's business, and it's cut-throat. I just don't think it gets the business quite what they were expecting when they use this method. They want the best they can get for the price, but instead they're getting the best presentation they could get for the price out of the applicants. Your truly best would usually skip a problem posting like that.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
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April 14, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Andy also commented wonderful on his blog:http://sqlblog.com/blogs/andy_leonard/archive/2011/04/14/recruiting-sql-server-database-professionals.aspx
Another confirmation of your article being very valid !
Johan
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but keeping both feet on the ground wont get you anywhere :w00t:
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April 14, 2011 at 12:54 pm
badMojo (4/14/2011)
"what is a SQL Server Engineer" someone who doesn't take care of hardware. 😀That's what I call myself and I've been doing it for just about 20 years. I hate being called a DBA.
Well, always good to learn something. Thanks for the comment, Mojo.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
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April 14, 2011 at 12:58 pm
bob.depinet (4/14/2011)
Thanks for this informative article. Is it possible you could give some salary expectations for various levels of experience and various areas of the US (midwest corn country?)? An article on that would be great, as would more in-depth examination of what to look for as reasonable expectations (for both sides) in the job search.
Regarding the more in-depth examination, I have more material to present, but we'll have to see the response to this to see if SSC is interested in more on this topic. If not, I've been building a backlog for a blog I intend to start and will present it there.
Regarding salary expectations... I won't touch that. It's too specific to region, personalities, and time. It would be out of date in a year and a half and would require far too much research to do as an article. I'm also relatively regionally specific in my knowledge on that topic. I could only help in the desert-areas of the Southwest and the Northeast urban areas (Boston and Manhattan Boroughs specifically).
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
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April 14, 2011 at 1:00 pm
I wished I had read this years ago. I have a long list of jobs that were inaccurate in their descriptions at best and down right deceiveful at worst. Employers have the upper hand when it comes to hiring practices. There should be law against it.
April 14, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Alberto-419816 (4/14/2011)
I wished I had read this years ago. I have a long list of jobs that were inaccurate in their descriptions at best and down right deceiveful at worst. Employers have the upper hand when it comes to hiring practices. There should be law against it.
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get, to quote Forrest Gump. Just last Monday I started on a new assignment as a QA lead. On Tuesday I got the performance team. Not that I would complain, but it tells you that even during the interviews the client was still not sure about what I could and should do.
April 14, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Stefan Krzywicki (4/14/2011)
Sometimes companies just want to test the waters and see what's out there and they don't care that they're wasting your time.
Unfortunately, there's almost no way to find these culprits until the end of the process. They're doing marketing research themselves at that point, and while it can be frustrating, it's part of the process for both sides.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
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For index/tuning help, follow these directions.[/url] |Tally Tables[/url]
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April 14, 2011 at 1:53 pm
jremmc (4/14/2011)
Great article! (Unfortunately when I tried to rate the article I only got one star highlighted and then the system grabbed it, which is why I usually bypass ratings but I thought I'd try, so that one star should really be 5 stars.)
So it was YOU!!!! I have your IP! I will find you! Then I will... um... hm. I'm not sure. Gail, can you airmail me the katana? 😀
No worries, JR, and thanks for the comment. When I was watching at first there were a few folks who apparently did so (I was watching stars pop up and down at first, I think it's a volume of reads thing), but it doesn't appear to have caused any harm.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
For better assistance in answering your questions[/url] | Forum Netiquette
For index/tuning help, follow these directions.[/url] |Tally Tables[/url]
Twitter: @AnyWayDBA
April 14, 2011 at 1:59 pm
I received a job req not long ago that had 2 lines toward the end that set off all kinds of alarms for me. It was in a section marked "Intangibles"
Ability to fit into a laid back” environment, can’t be too high strung or dramatic and not interested in people who “make mountains out of molehills”.
Ability to operate in an environment that may be lacking in formal documentation and procedures.
The first line says they aren't interested in the best or consistant ways of doing things. Best practices? Regular backups? Normalized tables? Wanting any or all of these might be "making mountains out of molehills".
The second line, to me says "we have no documentation or standards" and that whomever takes the job will have to figure things out on their own.
The first line taken witih the second says "and we like it that way".
--------------------------------------
When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
--------------------------------------
It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams
April 14, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Adam Machanic (4/14/2011)
Interesting read.I do have to question the idea that the 3-6 month BI project is a junior role and a good way for someone to "get their feet wet." It seems to me that such a short gig, especially in a business-centric area like BI, is about the most senior-level thing you can do.
I had read it that way myself, at first. It was after the fact, when I re-read it, that I felt it really was more for someone in the low end of the pool. Primarily because of how the intro read to me. It really feels to me they wanted someone who would grow with them into this, not come in and dominate it. Of course, I could be all wet.
In order to properly tackle that engagement you need to be able to hit the ground running from day one, have the ability to ask the right questions of the business, understand how to convert the answers into a reasonable data model, and then be able to quickly execute the design using the complex (and seriously buggy :-P) Microsoft BI stack. I think if someone with little real-world experience took a gig like that, things would end very quickly and very badly.
This is a personal difference in the perceptions of the people who usually get involved at a junior/low mid BI role. They have an interest in the data and the manipulations to have wanted to chase that aspect of the career in the first place. Now, do they have the experience? Probably not. I usually assume most Junior BI folks can implement a simple cube quickly and get reports up. We've read different assumptions into this role. I see a company just starting out getting into business analytics and will need some time to experiment at the basic level. If they need someone with the level of experience you're describing, the 3+ years experience I don't feel is enough. Yes, I agree that SSAS is relatively new, but analytics isn't, merely that technique.
Of course the expectations are also a bit odd; most significant BI projects take much longer than 3-6 months.
That in particular was what led me to believe this was a place that had nothing in play yet. They're not sure of what they want, and someone who can setup simple methods and cubes with a solid book learning of that should suffice at first.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
For better assistance in answering your questions[/url] | Forum Netiquette
For index/tuning help, follow these directions.[/url] |Tally Tables[/url]
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April 14, 2011 at 2:10 pm
ALZDBA (4/14/2011)
Andy also commented wonderful on his blog:http://sqlblog.com/blogs/andy_leonard/archive/2011/04/14/recruiting-sql-server-database-professionals.aspxAnother confirmation of your article being very valid !
Wow. :blush:
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
For better assistance in answering your questions[/url] | Forum Netiquette
For index/tuning help, follow these directions.[/url] |Tally Tables[/url]
Twitter: @AnyWayDBA
April 14, 2011 at 2:39 pm
LutzM (4/14/2011)
Nachdem ich den Artikel und die Kommentare bzgl. der Grammatikfehler gelesen habe, habe ich mich entschieden, ab sofort nur noch in einer Sprache zu schreiben, bei der meine grammatikalische Fehlerquote mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit deutlich geringer ist als bei der Verwendung der englischen Sprache.Hierbei kann es zwar vorkommen, daß der Inhalt meiner zukünftigen Antworten von einigen anderen Lesern auf Grund der Sprachbarriere nicht verstanden wird. Aber das Wichtigste ist ja offensichtlich die korrekte Grammatik.
Danke, fname lname-1111520.
:-D:-D:-D
PS: Translation available upon request. 😛
Bwaaa haa haa... Thanks Lutz. Btw, Google Translate chewed that to pieces, but I got the drift. 🙂
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
For better assistance in answering your questions[/url] | Forum Netiquette
For index/tuning help, follow these directions.[/url] |Tally Tables[/url]
Twitter: @AnyWayDBA
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