December 29, 2001 at 3:26 pm
Hi all,
Been surveying the site for a while and am considering a shift in careers.. Been a Server/Network guy for about 6 years now, but I keep flirting with and getting pulled into database stuff over the years (not that I mind). Built a datawarehouse on Sybase adaptive server 11.2, done some SQL 6.5/7.0 and now 2000 support, done some Oracle 8/8i work (mostly performance tuning -- it helps to have a good book (thanks to Kevin Loney and Rich Niemiec)). With kids coming out of High School now with a CCNA/MCSE.. and with the Database server replacing the file server as the "Queen of the network" years back, it seems logical.
Suppose I'm also getting a bit tired the same old stuff.. done some scripting, learned some VB and C++.. XML Looks cool too.. I'd like to do some more.
Been reading the opinions about the shift in the DBA world with great interest..
It also seems the discussions in forums like these are more helpful.. You all seem to have a tighter community.. Fewer flame wars (the Netware/Winnt/Win2k dispute gets really tiring. I wish the insanity would stop.. Emotions get tweaked to a high pitch and rationality vanishes) more professional.. Like there is actually some professionalism and camaraderie.
So I'm thinking of moving up the OSI model.. Any suggestions or comments? (like "get out while you still can"? Sorry, already in too deep for that.. "Well, there goes the neighborhood"?)
Mark W. Romanowitz
Senior Network Engineer
MCNE, MCSE, CCNA
December 29, 2001 at 5:04 pm
Hi Mark,
I made the transition myself a couple of years ago without too much trouble. In '98 and '99 I did systems administration for the AF and for BellSouth's Yellow Pages group. Within a year I had transitioned to being a DBA at a new place of employment. I must say that I enjoy being a DBA. The big question is do you enjoy the DBA type work you've done so far? In my case the answer was a definite yes.
My DBA duties have used the skills I developed as a sysadmin and also a programmer, with my programming experience helping in the T-SQL department and with my sysadmin knowledge helping in troubleshooting issues that are permissions or OS related problems. As a result, I found being a DBA a good fit... however, I do know of others with similar backgrounds who didn't feel the same way. Ultimately, it came down to what each of us wanted to do most. I went to being a DBA (though I'm now switching back to systems to meet a need with my organization), another went to be a senior n-tier developer, another headed up the ranks of management, and the last one I know of went back to watching his servers.
We all went to what we loved most. Sounds like you are in a similar position. Keep in mind that even if you transition to being a DBA, your Server/Network experience will get called upon, so you won't be leaving those skills behind.
K. Brian Kelley
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/bkelley/
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley
December 30, 2001 at 10:27 am
I sed to be a network admin (10-11 years ago) and got stuck doing some DBA work and enjoyed ut. I then did software development for 3-4 years while still doing DBA on the side. In the late 90's I made the switch to fulltime DBA. It was easier work in general, but when things broke, it was way more stressful. One mistake by a DBA is usually much worse than that made by a programmer or admin. Not always, but usually.
I like it because I can touch lots of different areas (software, network) while doing a more methodical job. More detail oriented. It's not for everyone, but it is enjoyable for us.
Steve Jones
December 31, 2001 at 8:29 am
Thanks for the replies!
I have enjoyed the "DBA" type things that I have done so far.. Particularly a Datawarehouse project that I was involved in.. It was just me and a developer.. It was quite a hobknob of products. Sybase 11.2 on NT 4 on the back end, O'Reilly Web Site Pro, and then later IIS 4 on NT with Cognos Web Query and Intersolv drivers on the app server.. Took some doing to get it all running... Once it was running it was really rewarding to see the sales folks and exec's faces when they started using it..
One of the things that I really liked was that it seemed to me you are closer to the business itself.. You get to see more how things work internally.. and you feel like what you are doing is really helping the company.. More apparent business value.. Building the network, it seems is viewed more as "sunk cost" rather than a "business enabler". We know better.. that you have to have the network, and it better be fast and reliable.. but its more of a "given" these days..
The other thing that I enjoyed was doing some performance tuning on an Oracle system.. Was able to bring the query time down from over a minute to 10 sec.. Got the cache hit ratio up to 98%.. Thanks to Niemiec's book...
Well, either you have convinced me or helped me convince myself.. either way I appreciate your posts.. I'm sure I'll see you all around here in the future.. I have a lot of work to do in the meantime to "get up to speed".
Best regards,
Mark
December 31, 2001 at 10:49 am
January 2, 2002 at 5:59 am
One difference in being a dba to most other work (similar to networking though) is that a main part of the job is protecting a company from it's own incompetence.
You will come across people doing ridiculous things which you will have to prevent going live. Always ask why people want things when the make requests.
I have come across all the following attempts to persuade me against changing someones design/architecture.
I've had lots of experience in this and never had a problem.
So the course I went on was a waste of time then.
It's a released product so it must work.
I've been doing this for years.
It doesn't matter if it stops other systems working - that's a support problem.
It has to be put in by the deadline.
It's nothing to do with you.
Just because the overnight job takes 8 days doesn't mean it doesn't work.
Why should I worry about archiving? Sql server is meant to be able to hold terrabytes of data.
Edited by - nigelrivett on 01/02/2002 06:03:27 AM
Cursors never.
DTS - only when needed and never to control.
January 2, 2002 at 7:18 am
Nigel's right... it's usually the DBA that starts asking the hard questions.
Case in point, an application development team wanted a quad-processor for their SQL Server back-end. Because of the significance of the project, it was almost given to them. But then I asked the question, "How many concurrent users, both maximum and typical?" The answers came back 20 and 2. I nearly fell out of my chair.
If they were doing heavy duty processing... data warehousing gigs of data or something with quite a bit of transforms, etc., there might be *some* justification. So I asked further. When I started inquiring about expected load the application would place, what kinds of things they were doing, etc., it became readily clear they had no idea how much hardware they really needed. Far, far less turns out to be the correct answer. Matter of fact, the *development* system purchased for them might even be overkill for *production*, even when usage is extrapolated to end-of-life on that server.
K. Brian Kelley
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/bkelley/
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley
January 2, 2002 at 10:31 am
About 2 years ago I made the transition from networking to DBA/SQL programmer. I learned a lot by viewing stored procedures, SQL, and triggers developed by others and then modified code to do what I needed it to do. I learned a lot from the T-SQL help available in Query Analyzer. All my knowledge has come from on the job training and almost all of that has been me seeking out information. When given my first database position, I had almost no knowledge of databases (I thought they were just a group of spreadsheets). One of the reasons I was given the position was because the company new I could learn anything fast. I got my current position at a different company because they saw potential in me. I have been fortunate, however if one person can get in others can too.
I enjoy developing DTS packages and stored procedures and administering SQL Servers.
Robert W. Marda
Billing and OSS Specialist - SQL Programmer
MCL Systems
January 2, 2002 at 12:12 pm
I used to be a Systems Engineer until I migrated over to the DBA role. I really enjoy it! Being a good DBA allows you to use all of your talents. I use all of my skills when I implement a database solution. You get a little bit of all the worlds roled up into one. This really breaks up the tiresome job of doing the same thing over and over. -JG
-JG
January 2, 2002 at 5:07 pm
Thanks for the comments... Sounds like there is some similarity.. The part about using more of your skills is appealing.. I'm feeling very monolithic right now... even though I'm right in the middle of a netware/NDS to Win2K/AD migration..
Realize the job market for a network guy/neophyte DBA wannabe is probably slim to none right now..
I asked to move over to the Database group here at work.. no joy.. "Don't need anyone else right now". Maybe in the spring..
Just going to putz with it on my laptop and get t-sql down.. possibly build a db for collecting network stats.. I'll find an excuse.. just to get into it more..
Thanks again for the comments.. Very encouraging.. I'll keep reading and putzing and trying..
Best regards,
Mark
April 5, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Wow.. I forgot all about this post.. Well, a few years ago I "made the switch".. A programmer and DBA at a regional hospital now and loving life... 🙂
Thanks again for those who replied **ages ago**
Best regards,
Mark
December 20, 2011 at 12:27 pm
It is destiny that I ended up where I am today. I don't see any time soon I can live on Social Security, 401K, or IRA. I better keep on doing a high pay technical job, away from politics.
Jason
http://dbace.us
😛
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