September 14, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item What's Your Education Worth?
September 15, 2009 at 7:12 am
Since childhood, I've always spent a huge percentage of my time educating myself. It's fun, effective, and I get to study what I consider interesting and at my own pace. I still do this. I'm always reading up on dozens of subjects.
It doesn't even matter to me if it has a monetary ROI. I just love learning.
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"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
September 15, 2009 at 9:20 am
I studied music in college. I was fortunate to be one of those 'artist types' whose artistic talents translated into machine awareness. I was self-taught for a long time, but worked for a while at a place that paid for education - hence I went for a Masters in Software Engineering. Although much of the training doesn't apply to what I do on a daily basis, much of it does. The sheepskin helps in interviews, too.
Concerning SQL Server, thanks for the suggestions on further training. I am shocked at the number of people I've run into over the years who sell themselves as DBAs or SQL Server Developers who don't know squat about how to really get the best out of SQL Server. Heck, I'm just a developer (.NET) who interacts with SQL Server and I have often known much more about it than the DBA. I will pass along the suggestions to managers and tactfully pass it along to some DBAs I know who could REALLY use it.
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September 15, 2009 at 11:12 pm
as a relatively old person but still young, ok, middle-age person, i had a year of general education followed then by gradual, specific scientific courses.
currently, there is a school which includes IT certification courses so that the college graduates enter IT with no more training at all. it is well and good although the school has to ask for donations.
like the author, i always keep an eye around for free microsoft training, the ones which takes only one- or half-day.
September 16, 2009 at 12:25 am
I have never been one for opening a book and studying...hands-on is more my style...
But yes, I do think that education is vital. Most employers are amazed when you can prove your 10 year track record as a DBA, but still, they prefer some certifications...
Here in South Africa, the general feeling towards training is: If you posses the skills, you dont need further training, thats another reason why SSC is such a great and resourceful site.
I always encourage younger people to study and get certified, but also to obtain as much as possible experience.
Showing off your degree, but you cant to anything with it , is also worthless.
A good balance should be maintained.
I am relatively young, 26, but feel I could have been higher up the ladder, have I used my time better to get a proper education after school, instead of a course here and there to keep me up to speed.
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This thing is addressing problems that dont exist. Its solution-ism at its worst. We are dumbing down machines that are inherently superior. - Gilfoyle
September 16, 2009 at 9:05 am
I'm not sure you need a proper education, but just some education. That could be hands on.
However I was curious, is it worth something in terms of time per week or month? Or is it worth something in terms of cost? Is it worth $1000 a year for you to spend on books, magazines, or even a class to learn something?
September 16, 2009 at 9:42 pm
The ethical hacking course I took was about $1,000. Some MS courses take about $400, but what I couldn't afford was the Cisco ASA course, just one course on administration of the router. It was outside of our country.
My meager budget for IT training is around $400 only so based on this bitter example, I think the figure of $1,000 is just a minimum...
September 16, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Steve - why I said "proper education" is because the training acadamies in South Africa are more about making money, than actually training people, and sending them in a good direction, if you know what mean?
If I had control over my own training budget, I would invest R15 000 ($2036.66) a Year, as its a lot more expensive here to attend these types of courses, of get hold of the material.
To give you an example, taking the MCITP (DBA) Course, sets you back roughly R25 000 ($3394.43) and then each exam will cost another R1200 ($162.93) - which is relatively expensive.
But I feel a buget shouldnt stop anyone from learning or training themselves for that matter?
There are alot, and I do mean Alot of free material available, and finding a mentor, makes it eaven better.
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This thing is addressing problems that dont exist. Its solution-ism at its worst. We are dumbing down machines that are inherently superior. - Gilfoyle
September 16, 2009 at 11:15 pm
that is so true, learning on our own. thanks to the Internet including this website, i have solved very many problems. the course examples are within bounds so the student still has to fit things in for the business, take for example, when we took up SQL reporting services.
the nicest example i found was in the Internet, an MS file to check the server's SQL health.
i read countless articles and codes contributed by selfless people..etc. which is why when i was able to, i posted my own code on some esoteric SQL programming.
September 17, 2009 at 8:39 am
Henrico,
With that budget I'd suggest getting books and asking for an hour every other day to study. Then ask questions as you go. It's slower, but sometimes you trade time for $$
September 17, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Steve, I make use of every little piece of paper and example I can get my hands on, I'm part of that self-taught-DBA-generation 🙂
Still, sometimes you need someone more experienced to show you a bit of finer methods.
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This thing is addressing problems that dont exist. Its solution-ism at its worst. We are dumbing down machines that are inherently superior. - Gilfoyle
September 18, 2009 at 10:15 am
Hopefully we can help you with that here. Feel free to ask questions on those finer areas and hopefully we can help.
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