December 1, 2009 at 6:30 am
I think it would be safe to say that this site is one of the reasons that SQL Server development remains as popular as it is. There's nothing like this for any other DBMS. Reading this site regularly has definitely helped me become a more effective DBA and that in turn has benefited those I've worked for.
Thank you
December 1, 2009 at 7:27 am
Thank you for running SQLServerCentral Steve. Like, many of my peers on this, site, I look forward to your editorials each morning and appreciate the feedback you have provided in other postings, always helpful.
Again, Thank You Steve.
December 1, 2009 at 7:32 am
I've always appreciated the work you do, and the challege of the grind. As far as passion, I think relatively few people stay passionate about a job over the long term, it's the nature of a job that it usually includes some stuff that we just would rather not do. It's also good to remember that while your job has mainly stayed the same, you haven't.
Unsolicited, some ideas:
- Try to find ways to get the un-fun stuff done faster so that you can spend more time on the stuff that excites you
- How much of the things you do have to done by you?
- Another thought is that before turnng to greener pastures it's useful to take a few weeks off, decompress, think about where you want to go
December 1, 2009 at 7:40 am
I can truly see eye to eye with what Steve says. I believe it is hard to be 'passionate' about this kind of technology, atleast for me, if i was somewhere in MS labs dreaming up the next version of SQL, then perhaps it would be a passion. As a DBA like so many others, i feel burnt out and tired in so many ways. I wanted to start a technical blog for years but am so discouraged since everything i think of is thought of by someone else..one day i'll get there and get going but right now it does not feel one bit like something worth doing. So what makes it worthwhile - the difference we make to people. I run a UG and even in small way i hear lot of people say to me 'thank you' for the sql saturday, for that sql talk, for connecting me with so and so that helped me find a job and so on. As Steve rightly said the difference it makes with people is what keeps us going. With just my job i would be lost, it is the UG and volunteering efforts that enrich my soul and keep me going. There was a blog post that Brad McGhee wrote about volunteering for the community - if you feel the same please do consider that.
And Steve, thank you so very much for everything you do, the website is the greatest ever in terms of content and your efforts in keeping it up are appreciated wholeheartedly.
December 1, 2009 at 8:12 am
hey steve, i wanted to say 'passion' in work is important but then again, not all people are crazy like me.
and 'crazy' as i may be, i am split apart into so many directions - network, OS, sql, programming, security, IT inventory, budget, management of coworkers-jealousy-over-the-other's-laptop-since-having-a-desktop-only, managing my foreign boss who is more passionate over his LinkedIn resume and travel profile, etc. etc.
...that i can only just get the essentials of what i need in SQL. this site has been a big help for my constraints. as i am typing this, i am waiting for a SQL update to finish then have to get back on to extracting the report; then importing and updating new data.
oh gosh, its close to 12 midnight my time and i am still not through for the big meeting tomorrow.
December 1, 2009 at 8:19 am
Thanks for all the kind words. It really feels like a community on days like this.
December 1, 2009 at 9:14 am
Just to add yet another drive-by-appreciation: Thanks for the site, Steve. May not be 100% your creation, may not be "your passion", may not be a lot of things, but it is an awesome thing for what it is.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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December 1, 2009 at 10:07 am
Keep up the good work SSC team!
The interesting side note in this thread for me is the talk about passion and motivation. Steve and some others have said they have greater passions outside of their main job. I suspect that's normal but not often admitted.
There's a school of thought that thinks in hiring people, it's a good idea to filter out people where their top passion doesn't match the position. I'm not in that school. I wouldn't even factor that in much in an "all else being equal" situation.
The passion matches the position is in part a solution to the problems of motivation. People don't have as many motivational problems doing their passion. The motivation comes naturally. So supposedly that lowers monitoring costs and raises productivity.
There are other solutions to motivational problems, however. In fact - showing that one is willing to stay highly productive even without all this natural passion proves the existence of internal drive and discipline. Doing what one is naturally passionate about does not. So if someone admits that a position isn't their top passion, but they've demonstrated discipline and drive, I think that at least evens things out if not tips the scale in their direction.
A person who zeroes in on the one thing they're most passionate about can be a sign (though not necessarily) that they have a problem doing things outside of that. Couple that with the fact that any given job profile often includes a broad spectrum of tasks - any of which aren't going to be found as naturally motivating - one can see that it's not likely that anyone is super passionate about every aspect of any particular job. Hence there's always a need for drive and discipline.
Also, as someone else pointed out, the target for natural passion can shift around in the course of one's life. So it's not always a fixed target anyway.
Bill Nicolich: www.SQLFave.com.
Daily tweet of what's new and interesting: AppendNow
December 1, 2009 at 10:25 am
Count me in for those thankful to Steve and everyone who helped launch this site and those who keep it going. This was probably one of my most-used resources in my early days (that and the MSNews USENET service - wow we've come a long way).
I appreciate all of your hard work in managing this site and everything tied to it. I also appreciate the new content that helps us keep up with what's going on in the world of SQL Server.
December 1, 2009 at 11:15 am
Interesting post, Bill. Natural passion *usually* goes with creativity, or the freedom to design/create/do something original. The occasional tough query to crack or server issue to resolve can provide moments of that but like Andy said a lot of the work is stuff that *has to get done*. The problem is when stuff that has to get done far exceeds the occasional creative work that comes our way, that is usually true of most DBAs atleast. Second, and this may not be true of consultants or people who work for themselves but for those employed with corporate america, the rules you abide by have a tendency to kill creativity - the things you have to do to abide with audit, to make your boss happy, any number of them. I know two things to survive, one is volunteering and making myself valuable to others with no strings attached, two keep alive the 'real natural passion', even though the time devoted to it is minimal. Kalen Delaney made a great statement at PASS this year - 'This is not me this is what i do for a living'. A line to remember for all of us.
December 1, 2009 at 12:24 pm
but I don't see this job as my great passion
You know full well why I usually don't post anywhere else but SSC... I'll reiterate what has already been said... it's because of you, Steve Jones, and the way you run this site and the way you write.
That notwithstanding, I for one would like to know... what IS your passion?
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
December 1, 2009 at 1:43 pm
You are doing a great job with the site, Steve - please keep up the good work. It is obvious that a lot of people have benefited from it - including me. So "Thanks!"
It was good seeing you at PASS Summit 2009 in Seattle last month.
December 1, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Thanks for all of your hard work Steve. It's appreciated beyond measure.
I used to be passionate about photography, BD. (Before Digital and usually in B & W film). I was passionate about the way filters worked and how simple changes in lighting can give a photograph just the right look. I am a great fan and student of Ansel Adams' work.
The passion began to drain once I made photography my career. Each successive wedding (that's how a photographer used to make his bread and butter) became a chore and I found I had no time for the artisitic side.
So, your wife may regret her decision to make horses her job. I hope not. Good luck to her.
I recently decided to again try photography (digital this time) and am hoping the passion returns.
Again, thanks for your hard work.
December 1, 2009 at 9:01 pm
I've warned my wife a few times that a full time horse job may not be as much fun as it is now. She's keeping it in mind, and making changes slowly to try and decide what makes sense. An injury recently has also helped put that in perspective.
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