December 3, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Sixty-Second Guide to becoming a SQL Server DBA
[font="Times New Roman"]-- RBarryYoung[/font], [font="Times New Roman"] (302)375-0451[/font] blog: MovingSQL.com, Twitter: @RBarryYoung[font="Arial Black"]
Proactive Performance Solutions, Inc. [/font][font="Verdana"] "Performance is our middle name."[/font]
December 3, 2009 at 10:42 pm
I found it rather distasteful and degrading to title this article like this. I spent weeks to earn a certificate, accumulated years of experience working as SQL Server DBA (from 6.5 to 2008). Following the instructions this guide is providing I would not trust the SQL Server Compact addition to be administered by the candidates getting their SQL Server DBA training this way.
Julien
December 3, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Um, nothing in the title or the article implies that it takes 60-Seconds to become a DBA, and the the content of the article obviously argues the opposite. The title is an allusion to the brevity of the article itself wherein it only takes a minute to read and understand the outline of this program to become a DBA.
As for your distrust of anyone following this guide, I think that is both irrational and unfounded as it is essentially the path that I followed, and I am fairly sure that many other top SQL Server folks here have also followed a similar path.
Further I am fairly confident that most folks following this path conscientiously and diligently would be among the best DBAs and SQL Developers. If you think that there is a better program accessible to our readers then please feel free to present it.
[font="Times New Roman"]-- RBarryYoung[/font], [font="Times New Roman"] (302)375-0451[/font] blog: MovingSQL.com, Twitter: @RBarryYoung[font="Arial Black"]
Proactive Performance Solutions, Inc. [/font][font="Verdana"] "Performance is our middle name."[/font]
December 4, 2009 at 12:00 am
Julien.Chappel (12/3/2009)
...I would not trust the SQL Server Compact addition to be administered...
And frankly, this makes no sense at all, who said any thing about Compact Edition and what relevance does it have to this discussion?
[font="Times New Roman"]-- RBarryYoung[/font], [font="Times New Roman"] (302)375-0451[/font] blog: MovingSQL.com, Twitter: @RBarryYoung[font="Arial Black"]
Proactive Performance Solutions, Inc. [/font][font="Verdana"] "Performance is our middle name."[/font]
December 4, 2009 at 12:21 am
Yowch! Tough crowd! 😉
I agree... I don't see anything in the title or the text that suggests you can become a DBA in 60 seconds (although it did catch my attention :-D). Nor do I see anything that belittles anyone's fine efforts or experience of becoming a DBA whether by accident or by plan.
What I do see is 5 excellent starter steps towards becoming a DBA. If folks take the time to read them, they represent a substantial investment in time, effort, and maybe even money (for the certs/tests). Barry is also correct in another area... I can't speak for anyone else but I recommend similar (if not identical) steps to many on this forum because I've personally followed most of those steps. I'm actually pretty happy that Barry turned these into an article so that I can stop typing them as a recommendation over and over and over...
Nicely done, Barry. I hope people take the time to read these the right way.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
December 4, 2009 at 12:29 am
RBarryYoung (12/4/2009)
Julien.Chappel (12/3/2009)
...I would not trust the SQL Server Compact addition to be administered...And frankly, this makes no sense at all, who said any thing about Compact Edition and what relevance does it have to this discussion?
I believe he meant that he wouldn't trust even the simplest form of SQL Server to someone who didn't learn the ropes correctly. I hope people understand that the steps in your article are the steps one should take to start learning "the ropes" correctly. 🙂
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
December 4, 2009 at 2:02 am
just study through them and learn the answers
well... i can't agree this one.
study through them, yes, learn throught them also, understanding, learning mechanisms is right.
Learning answers and become a parrot... what a disappointing speech.
December 4, 2009 at 3:38 am
I'd have to agree with this too. I thought it spoiled what was actually not a bad and reasonably informative article. I think as well, if you're suggesting using the Microsoft study guides then you might put more details about them in the post - or at least a link to them?
December 4, 2009 at 3:40 am
I've been struggling to learn the ropes as a DBA for nearly a year now and a simple quick intro like this would have been useful to me when I started.
Of course you should also set http://www.sqlservercentral.com as you home page! 😀
Thanks, John
December 4, 2009 at 5:00 am
Dude76 (12/4/2009)
just study through them and learn the answers
well... i can't agree this one.
study through them, yes, learn throught them also, understanding, learning mechanisms is right.
Learning answers and become a parrot... what a disappointing speech.
I don't for a second believe that Barry meant learning by rote here.
December 4, 2009 at 5:03 am
Nice job, Barry. The secret of becoming a good DBA is to never stop questioning. (The correctly asked question contains half of the answer!)
Best regards,
Feodor
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
Albert Einstein
December 4, 2009 at 5:15 am
December 4, 2009 at 5:57 am
I am basically following something roughly like this now. About 18 months ago, I moved out of Application Support and into the Systems. I was immediately drawn to SQL Server, as I found it challenging and interesting. I started out with some certification books, which can be a bit too much for a beginner. Regardless, I read everything I could and tried to fill in the gaps with internet resources or additional books.
My advice for anyone doing the same thing is quite similar. Get a SQL Developer Edition and start playing around with it. Also, get a book that provides an overview of SQL Server. I think it is important to have a good overview before you dive into the certification materials. Additionally, pick up a beginners book on writing SQL if you aren't already comfortable with it. There are some great books, which are easy to find if you check Amazon.com. From there, I think you could quite easily jump into the certification books. Overall they're pretty good, but from my experience you definitely need Books Online for a more comprehensive study.
December 4, 2009 at 6:01 am
Great primer Barry. It covers the basics of what's needed very well. Since so many questions come through on the board around the concept of "How do I get started as a DBA" this is exactly what's needed.
I don't entirely agree with #4 though. Certification just doesn't seem to be worth much and when you factor in the cheat guides, it becomes worth less. I'd rather have seen Brad's book tossed in or something else along those lines. But then, I'm probably just being a bit of a contrarian.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
December 4, 2009 at 6:43 am
Barry left out one suggestion I would make. try and find a mentor! If there are other DBA's in your company, go to one that you feel comfortable with and ask that person to be your mentor. You'd be shocked at how many people would say yes. Having a mentor can help alot when it comes to self study. As a life long student of all things IT, mentors in my career have been very encouraging and educational to me. Find one. If there is not one at your company, find on online.
... Jerry
Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 75 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply