It’s your career. It’s something you have to take ownership of and work on. I know that life is busy, and training budgets are tight. That’s one reason we started SQL Saturday; it’s a way to bring a training event and a conference experience to many people.
I posted this tweet almost a year ago, seeing Brent in a class somewhere, learning and taking notes during some session. It was in humor, but I’m a little serious here. We all have more to learn, and while you don’t need to cram it all in this year, you should be taking advantage of your user group, local events, conferences, classes, even reading something in a newsletter on a regular basis.
Many of us are out here to help. I’ve spoken at 12 events this year, 10 of them free, and will be at another free event this week (SQL in the City – LA). However, you’ve got to make the effort to improve yourself. I , and many others, will try to help you, teach you, but you’ve got to do some work yourself.
Pace yourself, learn at a reasonable rate given the other responsibilities in your life, but don’t ignore this aspect of your career.
PS – If you’re in the LA area, there’s still time to register for SQL in the City and get a free day of training. I’ll also be at DevConnections next week and SQLInspire the week after that.
Voice of the DBA 
I know when this was taken. An important point to make was it was at a multiple day conference, one where Brent also did a pre-con, spoke at the last session the previous day, and then went to the speaker get together that night and who knows what else. If that wasn’t enough, this was the first session of the morning, so first thing in the morning. The reason I make this point is that folks like Brent (and you, since you took the picture) don’t make excuses for why they can’t stay up to date on their knowledge. They just get the job done.
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