Most of you reading this are likely technology professionals of some sort. You might be a software developer in C# or a DBA or a manager of those teams. Maybe you’re an analyst working with data and reporting. You have made this a career choice and (hopefully) are growing and learning more about your craft.

I also expect that you want to continue working in the area you are now, or maybe want to move into a related area. Maybe a report writer wants to move into more warehousing/lake housing. Maybe a DBA wants to be a Reliability Engineer. You have a career and you’re working in that area.

However, I’m sure early in your life, you had other jobs. You might have even continued working in some of those areas as you started earning money from technology. Some of you left those jobs behind, but in my first paid job as a network admin, I kept bartending on the weekend to make extra money.

Today I’m wondering what side jobs have you had at work that weren’t related to databases.

These could be paid or unpaid. They could be volunteer , 1099, W-2, anything. Maybe you have an interest, maybe you want to help others, maybe you have a skill that you enjoy as a hobby.

For me, I’ve been a Scout leader (Boy, Cub, and Girl), a bartender, a fundraising speaker, and been on the board of a few organizations. Today, I’m a coach part-time at night and on weekends for a competitive volleyball team. These are fun ways for me to spend my time away from work, and I love having the break from technology.

Let me know today what side jobs you have, or have had, that let you get away from your data professional work.

Steve Jones

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