December 4, 2009 at 7:12 am
Jerry! Yes you are right! A good mentor is the best thing for a beginner DBA. I remember my first days starting with SQL Server: afternoon beer with a good friend who was showing me how to write sql queries... :w00t:
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
Albert Einstein
December 4, 2009 at 7:26 am
Man, do I ever agree with that! Books are great but having an experienced Mentor to teach and guide you, even if it's just an hour a day, is worth his/her weight in gold.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
December 4, 2009 at 7:28 am
Barry,
Pretty good article - it could launch someone down the path of becoming a DBA. Lots more to becoming a DBA, but it's a start.
I like the idea of studying for the exams. I've taken alot of exams for M$ certs through the years and every time I've studied (mostly by using the products) I've learned stuff I didn't know about the products. Even with products I've used every day, by studying for the exam you may learn a facet that you weren't aware of in the product. Pretty good concept
Mark
December 4, 2009 at 7:30 am
Also don't forget about your local SQL Server User Group or PASS chapter.
December 4, 2009 at 7:31 am
Grant Fritchey (12/4/2009)
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.
Heh... I knew we were kindred spirits on such topics. But I can't take a thing away from those good folks that did it the right way and then followed up on their training with some good hands on time. There are two types of people who are certified... and during and interview, you can tell. Hat's off to all those that took the high road.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
December 4, 2009 at 7:38 am
Jeff Moden (12/4/2009)
Grant Fritchey (12/4/2009)
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.
Heh... I knew we were kindred spirits on such topics. But I can't take a thing away from those good folks that did it the right way and then followed up on their training with some good hands on time. There are two types of people who are certified... and during and interview, you can tell. Hat's off to all those that took the high road.
Don't get me wrong, I know people who have done it the right way, and more power to them. Unfortunately, I've met, and unfortunately interviewed, a lot more people with have all the certs and not a bit of working knowledge. I refuse to knock certs, but I can't put much weight behind them.
"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 7:50 am
Dave Schutz (12/4/2009)
Also don't forget about your local SQL Server User Group or PASS chapter.
Ok, as a PASS Chapter leader, I am biased. I agree with Dave. This is probably one of the best places to go to meet other SQL Server professionals.
To find a PASS Chapter near you, check out:
http://www.sqlpass.org/PASSChapters.aspx
Oops, I almost forgot. Good article Barry.
Pay attention folks, it's "The Sixty-Second Guide to becoming a SQL Server DBA" NOT "The Guide to becoming a SQL Server DBA in 60 Seconds".
For best practices on asking questions, please read the following article: Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help[/url]
December 4, 2009 at 7:51 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'm with you there.
I actually did use the 'cheater' guides when studying for my certs, but I didn't just use them to learn the 'correct' answer. If I didn't also know WHY the answer was right, it gave me something specific to go study until I did know why it was right.
I'm of the 'accidental DBA' variety, so while I knew how to keep a SQL Server running, I didn't know most of the other features, or even how to write more than basic select statements. I studied for the certs and took them as much as a way to expand my knowledge of what could be done and how to do some of the more advanced troubleshooting and maintenance.
So, to me, it doesn't matter as much where you get your study materials as it does what you do with them. Just knowing the correct answer isn't enough, you need to understand what makes it correct.
December 4, 2009 at 8:19 am
Anyone who has earned a Microsoft certification knows that there are some questions on the test that have more to do with Microsoft "best practices" than actual field experience. I am not sure if this is what Barry was referring to when he said learn the answers for the certification but you DO need to learn the Microsoft opinion on some subjects to get those questions right on the test. This plan closely follows my own methodology that I have incorporated into my plan to become an "exceptional dba" (some of you get this) and as a (current) trainer, I find this to be a simple, concise plan that gives new SQL DBA's-in-the-making a good starting point.
I suspect that some of the resistance to that particular comment has more to do with antipathy towards "boot camps" and paper certs (and rightly so). Unfortunately, I see corporate students every week, with an average of 10 years of experience (and more) with little or no certifications. The surprising thing is how many features of the product that they have been using for 2 or 3 years that they have never seen or considered using. Training and especially studying for certifications will expose these to even experienced DBA's and expand their ability to get the job done while increasing the likelihood of job retention in a tough market and provide opportunity for better compensation. The main trouble that I see with career DBA's is that they forget that training needs to happen throughout their career and that few of us, if any, truly "arrive". I have noticed that the most awesome DBA's I have met never stop educating and certifying and I follow those who are successful (I hope 🙂 )
Along with Barry's recommendations I would like to add another awesome read "How to become an Exceptional DBA" by Brad McGeHee (free download somewhere on this site I believe).
Happy querying!!!
Peter Trast
Microsoft Certified ...(insert many literal strings here)
Microsoft Design Architect with Alexander Open Systems
December 4, 2009 at 9:07 am
Wow! A lot of reaction to this article! Barry, I just want to say thank you for the 60 seconds. I'm looking at getting certified next year and I needed a starting point, which you've provided.
December 4, 2009 at 9:34 am
seriously these suggestions will not steer you wrong, but i would think there are more then 5 steps. after being a dba for 15 years on most of the major platforms i would suggest as a base that strong t-sql and architecture, like what is heap and leaf data would be needed. anyone can study for a cert and answer questions, but that doesn't mean you understood the question or the answer. we have all interviewed people that have 5 plus years as a dba but don't know the difference between a varchar and a char. either way though, it's not a bad place to start.
December 4, 2009 at 9:36 am
SuperDBA-207096 (12/4/2009)
Barry,Pretty good article - it could launch someone down the path of becoming a DBA. Lots more to becoming a DBA, but it's a start.
I like the idea of studying for the exams. I've taken alot of exams for M$ certs through the years and every time I've studied (mostly by using the products) I've learned stuff I didn't know about the products. Even with products I've used every day, by studying for the exam you may learn a facet that you weren't aware of in the product. Pretty good concept
Mark
I have to agree with this. Even if you just study for, and don't actually take the exams, you will still learn. And that's the key to this... where all to go to learn more.
Wayne
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes
December 4, 2009 at 9:50 am
The only thing that I was that was incorrect was the part about 'Getting your company to send you to training'! I worked at a HUGE company for 11 years and the only training I got was a free MS seminar on technology we never would use! It's really sad to say but it's like that in quite a few companies today. It has nothing to do with the economy of recent. It started years ago when companies started being cheap, hiring one guy to do three jobs, etc. BTW, at our company we had multiple dba's and the developers usually had to lend a hand to the SQLServer guys as they knew little about the product, and again NO TRAINING!
December 4, 2009 at 11:38 am
This does seem to be a tough crowd in the thread today.
I think it was a well done article, and I agree with the basic outline. Thank you for posting it.
I would have liked to have seen a little more depth (perhaps in an appendix or postrscript after the main body so the main body was still a 60-second read) in listing some resources that are worth looking at. For instance, I am a big fan of many of the articles at http://www.sommarskog.se/index.html and recommend them to everyone I know learning SQL, though admittedly those are targetted at people trying to really learn it after they already know the basics.
---
Timothy A Wiseman
SQL Blog: http://timothyawiseman.wordpress.com/
December 4, 2009 at 11:42 am
Jeff Moden (12/4/2009)
...Nicely done, Barry. I hope people take the time to read these the right way.
Thanks, Jeff, much appreciated.
[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]
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