The Last Line of Defense

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The Last Line of Defense

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Terry Grignon SSC Eights! Points: 840 More actions · Answer 1

I explode. Then I reintegrate and clean up the mess.

D_Castro SSC Journeyman Points: 85 More actions · Answer 2

For me, having been in roles from Supervisor to Director for over 15 years, it came down to a lifestyle choice... Mine was to give up the role and somewhere between 20% to 40% of my income to be just a grunt. My title is Integration Developer but I do not carry a cell (for the company) or have to take my laptop anymore. I have my nights and weekends mostly free and my happiness level is much better.

I quite frequently have to catch myself from volunteering or taking on too many extra responsibilities, seems that is just my nature, but that is an easier battle than trying to explain to my family why I cannot be there for XX event or why it would take me at least one week until I started to relax when on vacation. Now I don't have as much extra money, and there are no stock options or many other perks but the perks I do have are FAR more important.

So to answer the question, for me, I did it while I was young and ambitious but now the answer is to be happy with NOT being that Last Line of Defense but just a contributor.

jarick 15608 Ten Centuries Points: 1253 More actions · Answer 3

Andrew, that sounds like you need to find another job. Seriously, what would they do if you got sick and were hospitalized? It can happen to anyone. It just sounds like they are headed for a disaster of one type or another.

No vacation means early burn out and it's just not sustainable for very long. I worked for a company like that in my early career and they imploded to the point of having one of their clients sue them over nonperformance.

IMHO you need to make a change.

Andrew Kernodle SSCertifiable Points: 5314 More actions · Answer 4

Ha, you probably have a point :-). However, the sad part is, this place is a massive improvement from my last job! IT jobs in this part of the U.S. (Tennessee) just don't seem to have the management support or consideration necessary to retain their workers or give them a pleasant working experience at all.

I am considering moving on, however. The overall tone and nature of management here has been... Demoralizing, to say the least.

- 😀

Your Name Here SSCrazy Points: 2344 More actions · Answer 5

"Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum." --Gregory "Pappy" Boyington

Being "the keeper of the secret information" is stupid. There. I've said it and I believe it. Anybody who doesn't share what they know is marking themselves for obsolescence. Think about it: being "the expert" in supporting a system makes them the "go-to" hero ONLY WHILE THE SYSTEM IS IN USE. While they're hoarding the knowledge, others are learning how to support THE SYSTEM THAT WILL REPLACE IT. How's the hero doing when their precious system is turned off and people stop stroking their ego? It might take a while but mark my words: things change. If you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road. What's even funnier is those folks that hoard info about legacy systems. They're condemned to do nothing more with their career than support that [one] system. How new and exciting is that?

IMHO, one of the most satisfying aspects of my job as a Senior DBA is mentoring. Truth be told, some of the questions I've been asked while explaining how something works has forced me to keep sharp on what I might have previously considered a trivial detail or an obscure function.

There have been a few occasions where I [thought] I'd explained properly but discovered later that I was mistaken. In those (...ahem... RARE <grin>) cases, I've had a follow-up discussion to 1. admit I was wrong and 2. clarify with the correct information. (I didn't make it to be a Senior by doing everything right all the time but I'll be damned if I'm going to let any problem get the better of me.)

I consider what I do to be a hobby I get paid for. I picked up a quote somewhere on the net a while back: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

Beatrix Kiddo SSC-Dedicated Points: 32407 More actions · Answer 6

Andrew, how do you cope with no annual leave? (If that's not too personal.)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004340 More actions · Answer 7

GilaMonster (6/17/2014)
Simple, I make very, very sure that I'm not indispensable.
I make sure that others can do the majority of what I do, doesn't have to be as efficiently or as quickly, as long as they can do it. I make sure that I teach while doing. If I set up a maintenance plan for a system, the person who is responsible for that system has to be there and has to learn. First time I'll do it, second time I'll watch it, third time you do it by yourself and call me only if there are problems.
I will teach troubleshooting methodologies, I will document solutions and the reasons why they work and the scenarios in which they are needed, and when I go on vacation I don't take a laptop and I don't check mail.
To be honest, companies/managers who allow one person to be critical are being reckless. While they may mandate that a critical person be on call over the weekend and available while on vacation, they can't stop the person resigning when they've had enough and they certainly can't do anything about the 5pm bus.

+ a number with too many zeroes after it to fit on a single forum entry.

I absolutely agree with Gail. The last line of defense should [font="Arial Black"]never [/font]be a single person. The last line of defense should be the knowledge of many and it's part of my job to make sure that many have the knowledge they need... especially if I ever want to go on vacation.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Andrew Kernodle SSCertifiable Points: 5314 More actions · Answer 8

Beatrix Kiddo (6/17/2014)
Andrew, how do you cope with no annual leave? (If that's not too personal.)

Simple! No job I've ever held so far has allowed me to have leave, so I've never experienced it :-D.

... And yep, that's about as bad as it sounds :-P.

- 😀

Luis Cazares SSC Guru Points: 183706 More actions · Answer 9

I agree with most people on avoiding being the single person that knows everything and the ultimate problem solver.

However, I would like to encourage another point of view. You should try to be the GO TO person, the greatest hero, the know-it-all but not to keep it to yourself. The point is to be the best at what you do and help others around you to be better as well every day.

At my current job, my teammates come to me to help them solve their problems, but I won't inherit them, I'll teach them how to do it and remind them that they're still responsible for their job.

If you want to be "the expert", become the expert by learning new things and not by keeping others from doing it. It won't only help you to maintain your current job, but it will open new opportunities to keep growing.

Luis C.
General Disclaimer:
Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2

Ed Wagner SSC Guru Points: 287026 More actions · Answer 10

Luis Cazares (6/17/2014)
I agree with most people on avoiding being the single person that knows everything and the ultimate problem solver.
However, I would like to encourage another point of view. You should try to be the GO TO person, the greatest hero, the know-it-all but not to keep it to yourself. The point is to be the best at what you do and help others around you to be better as well every day.
At my current job, my teammates come to me to help them solve their problems, but I won't inherit them, I'll teach them how to do it and remind them that they're still responsible for their job.
If you want to be "the expert", become the expert by learning new things and not by keeping others from doing it. It won't only help you to maintain your current job, but it will open new opportunities to keep growing.

Amen to that, Luis. I always say that I strive for perfection, but settle for excellence. I also try to keep learning to get better at what I do, but I despise hording knowledge. Lifting up others doesn't drag you down.

Tally Tables - Performance Personified
String Splitting with True Performance
Best practices on how to ask questions

Miles Neale SSChampion Points: 13147 More actions · Answer 11

I decided a long time back to keep others up to speed on what I have done and to share information as soon as possible. I have not sought to build an empire or become "the only" of anything.

All information is not mine and I give it to others freely. Systems I have written, code I have penned, and data schema I have designed are all shared with others who are capable to append, fix, or replace. I work at giving way all I can and as a result I am able to move on to new and more interesting things for the most part.

There are some really complicated things I have done that are still mine but I seek to make the as ironclad as possible, and if they break which is not often, they are quickly fixed.

And there is one last thing I do. I try to help others learn to solve problems not just tell them where the problem is, or fix it myself. Teach others to do it and you are free to do other things.

Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!

Ken SSCoach Points: 17191 More actions · Answer 12

A very timely editorial for me as I just got back from a week of cross-training meetings.

I used to have that mentality that being a silo of knowledge was a good strategy in regards to being indispensable. However, over the last year I got tired of being the only expert on our data warehouse so I started pushing out development timelines in order to cross train the more junior members of our team. That alone has helped tremendously with my work/life balance. I no longer get called every weekend when an ETL package burps and I no longer spend half my day answering support questions. I still do most of the DB/ETL/Cube design and I am still the principal go-to guy but now others on my team have enough confidence to try and fix most issues before going directly to me. It has made our entire team stronger and I am usually no longer the bottleneck. It's a win-win for everyone.

tcronin 95651 SSCertifiable Points: 6735 More actions · Answer 13

just changed DBA positions where I was go to for it seemed like everything to new smaller footprint shop. After only 2 weeks I realize the amount of stress it was causing in my life.

Gail Shaw SSC Guru Points: 1004504 More actions · Answer 14

Andrew Kernodle (6/17/2014)
Beatrix Kiddo (6/17/2014)
Andrew, how do you cope with no annual leave? (If that's not too personal.)
Simple! No job I've ever held so far has allowed me to have leave, so I've never experienced it :-D.

Find another job! In many countries that (no leave allowed) would be illegal.

Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

We walk in the dark places no others will enter
We stand on the bridge and no one may pass

batgirl SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4979 More actions · Answer 15

I definitely share what I learn. I don't want to be the expert. I have been at this long enough to know that my true value to my employer comes from teaching as many to fish as I possibly can.