Category Archives: Opinion

Are You a Giver or a Taker?

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I have been involved in the SQL Server community since 2000, and during the past nine years I have seen hundreds of volunteers donate large amounts of their time to the community. For example:

  • DBAs who answer tens of thousands of questions on SQL Server news groups and forums.
  • DBAs who write blogs and articles for no pay.
  • DBAs who volunteer for the PASS Community Summit. Most Summit attendees don’t realize the thousands of hours that are donated to putting the conference together.
  • DBAs who volunteer to run their local users group.
  • DBAs who volunteer to organize local events, such as SQL Saturdays, TechFests, CodeCamps, among other similar events.
  • DBAs who volunteer their time to speak at local, national, and international events, often spending their own money out of pocket to attend.
  • DBAs who volunteer to mentor others, whether it is someone at work or across the world.
  • SQL Server MVPs who contributed their time to write the MVP SQL Server Deep Dive book for the financial benefit of War Child International.
  • And much, much more.

There are lots of reasons DBAs volunteer their time. Some do it for the networking and camaraderie; others because it’s fun to help others, some do it to learn new skills, and others to market themselves. Whatever the personal motivation, the SQL Server community would not be what it is today without volunteers who step up and take to help others.

If you are one of those volunteers, I want to thank you personally. I have met many of you, and corresponded with many others, and I greatly appreciate your time and effort.

If you are not a volunteer, I would encourage you to give some of your time to the SQL Server community. Yes, there are lots of reasons why you might not have time to give; but there are hundreds of DBAs who do find that time, even if it means giving up their evenings and weekends to participate. Volunteering can be very rewarding, and I suggest you give it a try.

(Originally appeared in the November 30, 2009 issue of the SQLServerCentral.com Newsletter.)

What Do You Do When Your Employer Doesn’t Want to Support Your DBA Career?

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At the 2009 PASS Community Summit, I have gotten the opportunity to talk to many DBAs, and to find out about what it is like to work for their organizations. In my book, How to Become an Exceptional DBA, and in many of my presentations, I highly recommend DBAs get as much training as they can so that they can stay at the top of their game; and to also get involved in the SQL Server Community as much as possible, such as posting in forums, speaking at user group meetings, writing articles, blogging, or whatever most interests them. I feel these two activities, among many others, can help enhance one’s career.

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Have You Checked Out the SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP Yet?

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Ever since the Community Technology Preview (CTP) of SQL Server 2008 R2 became widely available for download on August 12, I haven’t seen much discussion of this new version in the SQL Server media, websites, or blogs. Yes, there has been some coverage, but not to the level I would have expected for such a major announcement about SQL Server.

SQL Server 2008 R2 includes many new enhancements, a few of which include: Continue reading →

Backup to the Cloud – No Excuses

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I used to work at a multi-billion dollar organization and, like most organizations that big, they kept backups of all their databases offsite in case some major catastrophe destroyed the data center. There was only one problem with their otherwise excellent plan; the offsite location for the backup tapes was the building next door, a mere 50 yards from the data center. Any disaster spectacular enough to take out the data center would most probably have damaged or leveled the building next door. Continue reading →

What's Your Ideal DBA Job?

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As a DBA, you most often have little control over what duties you perform, how much time you allocate to specific tasks, your work environment and, of course, your salary and benefits. Here is what I was thinking: If you could “design” yourself the perfect DBA job, what would it entail? To get you started thinking, here are some ideas:

  • Working Hours: 32 – 40 hours a week. No more overtime or working nights or weekends.
  • Flexible Hours: You pick when you work.
  • Work Environment: Work from home, have a private office at work.
  • Location: The ability to pick the physical location of where you work, such as a particular city, or even location within a city.
  • Amiable Co-Workers: Everybody gets along well with everyone else, and everybody tries to help each other.
  • Job Duties: You can pick and choose what you do every day, focusing your efforts on those areas that interest you most.
  • Salary: Enough to cover current expenses, enough extra to have some fun, and enough to retire by the time you are 50.
  • Benefits: 100% paid health care for your entire family, 4 weeks of paid vacation.
  • Learning Opportunities: 2,3 or 4 weeks of paid training/conferences every year.
  • Corporate Culture: A place where all managers understand the value of DBAs.
  • Stable Company: A financially strong company that values its investment in its employees and never lays them off.
  • Work for Yourself: You work for yourself as a highly paid SQL Server consultant with so many clients you have to shoo them away.

I know these are crazy wishes, but let’s have some summer fun and dream a little bit. Tell us what your perfect DBA job would be like. And you can’t say that you want to win the lottery and not work at all. That would be cheating.  😉

Support Your Local SQL Server User’s Group

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SQL Server user groups can be a powerful tool in advancing your DBA career. I attend dozens of them every year, and I can personally vouch that taking a few hours out of your busy schedule each month to attend a meeting can produce a high rate of return. For example:

Learn Something New: The focus of most meetings is continuing education. Where else can you get free training on a monthly basis?

Network: Whether it is to keep up with old contacts, or to make new contacts, attending user group meetings allows you to connect with people who share the same career goals, and interests, you do.

Get Answers to Your Questions: If you have a difficult DBA-related question, ask other members for their help and advice.

Look for a New Job: If you are looking for a new job, let everyone know. Many job opportunities are never published, and a group of DBAs is the best source of this inside information.

Fill Vacant Positions: On the flip side, if your company has a DBA opening, share it with the group. It is a lot less expensive than taking out an ad or paying a technical recruiter.

Get Free Stuff: Most user groups meetings give out lots of free prizes, including tee-shirts, books, software, high-tech gadgets, and much more.

Get Involved: Besides attending user group meetings, many members like to get directly involved with the group, participating in user group governance, speaking, managing the user groups’ website, or volunteering  for helping out at a community event, such as local Code Camp, TechFest, or SQLSaturday. This high-level participation is great personal branding; helping to get your name known throughout the SQL Server community.

SQL Server user groups are scattered throughout the United States, and the world. In fact, there are more SQL Server user groups outside of the United States than inside. To find out if there is a user group in your area, visit the SQLPASS Chapters webpage. And if there isn’t a SQL Server user’s group in your area, start one. Information on how to start one is available from the SQLPASS’s Potential Chapter Resources webpage. Additional information on user groups can be found atwww.ugss.codezone.com.

So tell us what you think about SQL Server user groups. What benefits have you received from attending, and why would you recommend other DBAs to participate?