way0utwest

Author: way0utwest

Goals for 2010 – Q1 Review

Here were the goals I posted for 2010 on the last day of December:
Continue managing the forums, but at a reduced, 300 post a month level.
Blog 5 times a week, M-F, on at least 2 SQL Server technical topics a week.
Learn Reporting Services – at something better than an average level. Maybe not an expert, but work towards being able to use it and answer > 50% of the questions I see.
Attend one SQL Saturday – At least, though I think I’m slated to hit 2 in 2010 at least.
Write a book – I’ve had three topics in mind for awhile, but I haven’t moved forward well on this. I need to finish one in 2010.
Build 2 new presentations. I’ve given one of two presentations pretty regularly over the last few years, but I need to expand, and find some other things to talk about. Not that these aren’t still relevant and good presentations, but I need to try some new ones.
Take all my vacation in 2010 – I’ve been bad about this in the past, carrying some over, selling some back. With some good guest writers, there’s no reason for me not to get away from work more.
Travel to one new city for work – Likely this will be Vegas, but I ought to spread my time around the community.
It’s been a quarter, and while I have a reminder to check these every month, I wanted to do a blog review after each quarter, noting how I’m doing on each of these. I’ll repeat them below with my comments:

Forums – I’m still posting, and trying to get a few items on ASK SSC as well, though I’m a little below my goal of 300. With a lot of travel, and some vacation packed into the first quarter, I’m only doing about
Blogging – I think I’ve done a great job here. While I’m not positive that I have 2 technical posts every week, I have tried to focus on writing a couple of T-SQL technical nuggets each week.
Learn Reporting Services – I have installed a new VM for this and it’s up, but I haven’t done much else. I have tried to read the SSRS articles we’ve gotten more closely, but I haven’t cracked my SSRS 2008 book.
Attend one SQL Saturday – Made it to #33 in Charlotte, also committed to Pensacola and Baton Rouge. I may try to get back to Orlando as well.
Write a book – I actually had good intentions here, but progress hasn’t been great. I did an outline of one book my boss had asked for, which is a good start there. I also tracked down the history of SSC and started working on those chapters. I had about 6 or 7 in rough draft, and managed to devote a few days to cleaning up one of those chapters. Still a long way to go.
Build 2 new presentations – I did one, a SQL Server for non-technical people at the Rocky Mountain Tech Fest, but I need to do another one, one I’ve actually committed to Pensacola. So that will occupy a good slice of April.
Take all my vacation in 2010 – I have taken more to date, but my one day a week to ski hasn’t worked out great. I am planning on scheduling out more vacation this spring and summer, and have scheduled time off for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Travel to one new city for work – Duplicated with #4, I went to Charlotte, where I had never been before. Not sure if I’ll make another new one this year.

Overall I’m doing OK, but these goals are a bit of a stretch for me and I’m feeling it as I try to work on them. A busy family life this year hasn’t helped, but I think I’ll get through most of them in 2010.

Outtakes

Sometimes I think I’m quite the goober. Alternately I’ll laugh or put my head in my hands as I try and clean up the video for an editorial.

I typically save some blooper reels for holidays and try and get a break from all the writing, but I always have tons more bloopers than I can fit in one of those reels. So I decided to put a few of them here on my blog as well.

Here’s a series of outtakes that didn’t make the blooper reel, but are still kind of funny.

or sad.

April Fools is Fun

Some good jokes going around, and the few I wrote for SQLServerCentral went over well. There was a good one at work as well, with my boss “delaying” April Fools until next week so we could get work done, and perhaps another one on the free food. Not sure if that is true or not, but I guess we’ll see.

I found some other good ones on the Net as well. Top 10 ones for 2010 was good. And I suspect, though I’m not sure, some of the ThinkGeek items on the front page are fake. Things like the Wireless extension cords and programmable tatoos. They were actually good enough that I decided to grab a couple shirts from there for the podcasts. Never can have too many of them.

A few I like

And this one, which seems to be my woodworking motto at times

Career Advice – Moving to Oracle

I’ve always said that it didn’t matter what the database was. If it could do the job then it’s worth using. I have never worried about whether I had an Oracle database, SQL Server database, or any other platform. If someone wanted to pay me to work on it, then I’d do it.

Someone asked me for some career advice this past week, and I thought that I’d put some out there for SQL Server DBAs that are looking for jobs, looking to grow their career, or make more money. The advice that I came up with was this:

FORGET SQL Server, and learn Oracle

PL/SQL, Oracle 11g, those are the platforms of the future. As I look at some of the numbers, it seems that Oracle is finally turned the corner and is starting to crush SQL Server overall in the US. More units sold, more license revenue, and more importantly.

Higher DBA salaries.

When the product costs more, it’s easy to argue with the HR people and managers that the people administering it should be paid more. And that’s what I find. Consistently there are more jobs listed on the major search engines at higher salaries than for SQL Server. And with Microsoft panicking and releasing a new version of SQL Server every 18 months, Oracle is looking better and better to decision makers.

Finally

This is the most important part of my career advice. Smile, and have fun. This is a complete fabrication, and Happy April Fools day.

I don’t see Oracle as better in the job market, and while it’s true that many Oracle DBAs make more money than SQL Server DBAs, there are more opportunities for SQL Server people. Stick with SQL Server and you’ll be fine.