June 18, 2014 at 5:25 am
Stuart Davies (6/18/2014)
I am a single point of failure and have been all the time in my current job (5 years) and support in house applications. Apparently we "don't have the budget" for a backup.First of all I was paid overtime, then after 2 years, that stopped.
Then I was given time off in lieu - when I accrued as much time off in a year as my holiday entitlement (25 days was my record) this was also stopped.
My boss is behind me and has even told me that should only have my mobile on during office hours (not weekends or annual leave) - he has admitted that it is a sort of hope that one of the systems is down when a "big cheese" wants to use it and I'm not around. He hopes that will start a conversation about the departments budget. A far from ideal situation but it might get the point across.
While it is true that it can take a major failure to make the big bosses take notice, you do (I imagine) have a large set of transferable and valuable skills. Transfer somewhere and use them where they are truly valued.
Or sit and wait and hope.
I'd choose option A.
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Martin Rees
You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead.
Stan Laurel
June 18, 2014 at 6:49 am
I was out yesterday, and a few projects came to a halt. Basically my plan is to wait till I'm overloaded and the company refuses to hire more people or increase my salary and I'll find a different job. My last two positions I was replaced with four people both times. It's a shame that people don't listen to facts...
June 18, 2014 at 7:32 am
Kurt Kemper (6/17/2014)
Very interesting editorial and replies...My personal experience has actually been opposite of some posting here. I am the Senior DBA and work alongside a Junior DBA who is still learning the trade. We support multiple database platforms, including SQL. And when I say 'we' I really mean 'me'. The Junior DBA wants only to learn SQL and actively works to avoid learning the other technologies we have. This puts me in a bad spot and causes substantial support to fall squarely into my lap. How do you 'teach a man to fish' when they're perfectly content receiving a fish from you every day and not learning how to do it themselves? It's a tough spot to be in...
Kurt
I can relate to what you're saying here, Kurt.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
June 18, 2014 at 7:37 am
I know what it's like to be the last line of defense for one or more key database systems, if not at the sysadmin side then at least on the DevOps side. Perhaps "only line of defense" be more to the point. It takes a certain level of acceptance. I accept that I will be working late occasionally and will routinely be expected to rush into a burning database project without backup. Knowing that, I take my vacation days, sometimes whenever I want with no more than a days notice, because it's so hard to plan anything weeks in advance. On a slow day, I'll pack up and leave a little early, so long as I've put in my full work week hours. That too has to be accepted by others. Just like a fire fighter or defense attorney, what's important is that we are willing and able to step up and be the hero at a moment's notice when it really matters.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
June 18, 2014 at 7:38 am
market for dba's too good to put up with this. Dont let technology ruin your life. We are paid well but when you figure out the person delivering pizzas makes the same and hour as you actually do not worth it.
June 18, 2014 at 7:51 am
tcronin 95651 (6/18/2014)
when you figure out the person delivering pizzas makes the same and hour as you actually do not worth it.
I very much doubt that though.
June 18, 2014 at 9:45 am
tcronin 95651 (6/18/2014)
market for dba's too good to put up with this. Dont let technology ruin your life. We are paid well but when you figure out the person delivering pizzas makes the same and hour as you actually do not worth it.
LOL! No way, but it does remind me of this comedy from the '80s titled "Loverboy".
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097790/plotsummary
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
June 18, 2014 at 10:52 am
Andrew, you are working for a company whose practises are unsustainable.
What happens if you go under a bus? Heaven forbid you have a stroke or worst still something happens to your kids. I guarantee that your words down the phone to your boss in such a situation would be to recommend several anatomical impossibilities to him. As Robert said, such a situation completely realigns your priorities.
I had a friend who's wife had pre-enclampsia. When he went to the doctors they found that HIS blood pressure was much higher than his wifes. He was advised to get another job before his existing one killed him.
My experience is that where there is one unsustainable practise there will be others.
You have a contract (hopefully in writing). This should stipulate what your hours should be, what your vacation allowance is. It will usually have a clause saying that you will be required to work occassional overtime. If you have been actively prevented from having the leave stated on your contract then your employer is almost certainly in breach of contract.
The problem with stress related illnesses is that they take time to clear up even after the source of stress has been removed. Similarly a nervous breakdown has far reaching consequences. You can x-ray a broken leg to see if it has healed but there is no quantitive measure for a broken mind.
That said your attitude sounds on par with what I would expect from a highly employable DBA. Don't sell yourself short.
Perhaps the final thing to add is that it is a good idea to build up a financial buffer equivalent to 2 months salary. Much easier said than done when you have a young family I know. It does mean that you have options; it does buy freedom.
If you emjoy your job and like the people you work with despite the stress then, as others have said, your best strategy is to automate as much as possible. Work with your developers as they will be equally keen to automate and you may profit from sharing some tasks. Most developers I have worked with have an innate curiosity and want to learn stuff. No one wants to do a bad job!
June 18, 2014 at 1:43 pm
Oh, quite so. Fortunately, the business realizes its current means of functionality are unsustainable; the unfortunate part is that they don't want to do anything about it, because it works well enough as-is :-P.
But yep, I've passed on what knowledge I can to the other programmers, and created tools that handle some of the pain points that the business previously couldn't do anything about due to a lack of knowledge. Documented everything I did down to the finest points as well, in the event I get replaced (or something far less pleasant happens!).
Ironically, there was a point earlier this year where I was suddenly admitted to the hospital due to a health problem. It kept me out of work for three days. On my return, my supervisor spoke with me about the problems that could happen if something much worse happened that would prevent me from returning to work for a long time, or permanently.
The painful part of the discussion happened when he lamented that I was the only one that knew the SQL portion of the business; I stated that I should probably instruct the other programmers or our sysadmin as much as possible on how to take care of the few tasks that I need to handle personally. My supervisor huffed and replied that there's no way there would be enough time for any of those people to learn such things! Then again, he's quite correct...
- 😀
June 18, 2014 at 3:40 pm
Maybe show them a task or two a week. at least it could cut down on your late night support calls.
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