February 20, 2015 at 3:52 pm
I think many of us in the DB world are lucky and needed enough that we can chart our own path much more than other people. I know my plan is to work hard for a couple more years paying off all our bills and saving enough for retirement then finding a way to do something 'more'. Not sure what that is yet but I'm looking forward to it.
I kinda want to do the Ultraman or the Badwater marathon so I guess old DBAs become running idiots.
February 22, 2015 at 2:03 pm
Good article, interesting opinions and some fun banter...
...and for those really wanting to know: I wouldn't land, I would bounce 😛
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
February 23, 2015 at 12:52 pm
I'm one who values stability.
February 24, 2015 at 10:34 am
Rod at work (2/22/2015)
WOW, awesome article, Steve!
Thanks
February 25, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Why assume all of us accidental DBAs want to be DBAs? Some of us are just well trained jack-of-all trades that get stuck using SQL Server as part of the job.
I need to know enough SQL Server in order to program and manage it well. (And communicate with Real DBAs...) There's much more rewarding fun programming and testing code, than being on call on the weekends or working insane hours just to watch logs grow...
😛
February 26, 2015 at 6:53 am
Well so far I've gone through data architecture and now have the title of "Big Data Manager".
I'm managing a team, engaging with business people, working out new ways of working. None of it technical but all definitely adding to my skillset.
I don't see this as my final role and to be honest I prefer a role with technical involvement.
March 1, 2015 at 7:25 am
David.Poole (2/26/2015)
Well so far I've gone through data architecture and now have the title of "Big Data Manager".I'm managing a team, engaging with business people, working out new ways of working. None of it technical but all definitely adding to my skillset.
I don't see this as my final role and to be honest I prefer a role with technical involvement.
If you need more people let me know, please.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
May 14, 2019 at 10:35 am
Coming back to this after 4 years and at this stage in my career serves as a timely reminder that all things change.
What I thought I wanted in my 30s I began to doubt in my 40s and they aren't what I want in my 50s.
There is no right or wrong answer to the question or where your ambitions lie but time brings new perspectives and in my case some really big wakeup calls.
May 14, 2019 at 11:02 am
Some people are restless and want to look for new opportunities on a regular basis, no matter what their situation. If that's you, I would think you should consider consulting, either with a company or by yourself. Which you choose probably depends on your tolerance for the non-technical parts of a business, as your own consulting business will have lots of non-technical work to manage.
Now that is some pretty naive view at things. I have been running my own company for 9 years straight until I decided I don't want to deal with that much paperwork anymore, which includes time-tracking, handing off receipts to the tax consulant and writing a bill.
Now I do: time-tracking, handing off receipts to colleagues, adjust to constantly changing requirements to hand-off those receipts, not talking about how complex a simple question regarding your holidays can get and you still get feedback questions.
So the big difference is: While I previously had to store and deliver my bills to my tax consultant which did result in about an 2 hour chat at the end of the year, I've managed to pull up 8 hours because of feedback questions regarding less than 20 receipts in total (which all were fine in the end) in the last 9 months or to put it in perspective view: 9 months of employment stole as much time dealing with travelling cost as 4 years getting your companys financial records explained to and managed by the tax consultant.
As I did not have any employees in my company I actually got to enjoy less "non-technical work to manage" while I had to do all the crap myself, now my work pays additional heads and on top I have to spend more time on "non-technical work", and not to forget those "let's get all employees to write something for our LinkedIn Profile" initiatives from HR which you should either have time at your hands anyways for (no, I don't have that time, I'm full time with my customer) or do it in your free time which is not going to happen.
Lucky if your life goes well with those naive eyes but at least some people might agree with me that not being CEO might bring you a lot more "junk" at work to deal with than running a business yourself. After all I don't have to write my own bills either, there's enough services for that, too including tracking which bills have been paid and which not.
All I have to really do is my work and if necessary (in my case due to my work history, not necessary. I didn't even advertise on my business, my Xing profile did everything for me, those who REALLY had a problem and were willing to pay to get their problem solved, found me all by themselves) acquire new customers.
May 14, 2019 at 1:06 pm
I'm in this specific position right now. I've been a bit restless, and on-call support is wearing me down. The work is pleasant enough, but not stimulating, and initiatives for projects I want to do can be met with some resistance because it's a financial institution.
Former employer I left but reached back to contacted me and has said they may have something for me. It's still DBA work, but coupled with automation and cloud stuff which I'm ramping up, and more importantly, will have little on-call support except maybe for the odd project deployment. Plus, they are a growing company and always looking for ideas and initiatives, AND I got along with the developers (yes, a rare thing in DBA-land, but the product was very SQL Server heavy and performance tuning was of utmost importance).
In summary, this senior DBA is ending up still doing SQL work, but also powershell, cloud, automation, etc.
Gaby________________________________________________________________"In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not." - Albert Einstein
May 14, 2019 at 1:42 pm
An interesting article and got me to thinking. I am primarily a developer. Although I've served in roles as an "accidental DBA" that is not the situation in my current position. In fact, the environment here is so locked down, we can't even, as developers, look at query plans, execute DMVs, etc. That is frustrating. But, back on topic...
I thoroughly enjoy what I do--develop; write T-SQL queries and SSIS packages. My hands are a bit more tied here than in other positions, but I work with a great bunch of people and at any time can ask someone to come look over my shoulder at a problem I'm having to get a second opinion, and I'm willing to respond likewise.
Are there things about my job I would change if I could, is there anything that would draw me away from here to another position? Sure, but at this point in my life they aren't so pressing that I'm talking to any recruiter who calls me. In fact, the very few calls I do take (from those I've worked with in the past--25 years as a consultant), my 'requirements' are such that they tell me good luck and hang up.
Money isn't the issue. Location, environment, time off that I can spend with family, and a minimally stressful environment are important. I don't expect totally stress-free; I don't think that is reality. Deadlines, production issues, being pulled in 10 directions at once, will always be a part of the job, and you deal with it, but not on a full-time basis.
May 14, 2019 at 1:44 pm
I hired on with a regional bank as a developer 21 years ago, and I'll retire in a month. Sixteen years ago, after using SQL Server heavily in my development, it became obvious that not only my bank didn't have a DBA, they weren't aware of their need for one. I chatted with my boss, and when my evalation came around, we raised the subject successfully with his boss at lunch. I was sent to some SQL 2000 classes, and then privileged to pioneer the DBA position in our bank.
Since then we have grown from 35 to 80 branches, and IT has moved desktops from Windows 3.1 to Windows 10. VMs came into existence. "The cloud" has taken on a whole new meaning. And during those changes I have worked with a good team, some of whom have gracefully become old-timers along with me, and many new folks have joined us to become the ones who support the infrastructure, and who keep our bank running.
And while that's been going on, I've been married for 29 years, we have five kids around the CONUS, and five grandsons. To quote Joe Walsh, "Life's been good to me so far."
Mike Hinds Lead Database Administrator1st Source BankMCP, MCTS
May 14, 2019 at 3:46 pm
The higher a DBA climbs up the mountain, the more he or she will realize how big the world is, and how many more mountains there are. Of course, if you live under a rock, repeating the same tasks in the same role every day, it's easy to think you know everything.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
May 14, 2019 at 4:24 pm
This is something I think about quite a lot these days. I am about 2.5 years away from traditional retirement age, but I have no desire to retire. Yet, it gets more and more difficult to find new contracts. Age is one big reason. Still I find the work enjoyable and collaborating with my coworkers is rewarding.
I hear that Wal-Mart is eliminating their greeters. I fear my options are becoming more limited.
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