Voice of the DBA

Tag: career

  • A Little Learning with Pluralsight

    I’ve been working on a new presentation on testing using the tSQLt framework and was curious how other people are using the framework. I read through the documentation and various articles on Simple Talk. I also went through the Google Group and StackOverflow tags for tSQLt, gathering lots of viewpoints on how the framework is used.

    However I wanted more. I’ve tested T-SQL code before, but usually in the simplistic way that I see most SQL Server developers running tests. Contriving a bit of data, building a query that checks things, and moving on. I’ve never written formal SQL tests, and wanted to learn something.

    I turned to my friend, Google, and was surprised to see a course on Pluralsight pop up. I didn’t think tSQLt was popular enough to build a course, but apparently it was, so I signed on and went through the course. It was interesting, and I got a nice set of hints on how Dave Green uses tSQLt and some ideas on how I could enhance my presentation.

    Then I went looking for a few more courses. Since I was a bit laid up with my knee surgery, I was stuck in bed and rather than watch TV, I wandered around the Pluralsight site a bit. I was surprised to find a course on SQL Prompt and went through that, getting a few tips and tricks that I hadn’t used before. I also started a course on CTEs from Joe Sack, and I’ve learned a couple tricks in there.

    Overall, I’m impressed with Pluralsight. I’ve had a subscription for some time as an MVP, but hadn’t accessed it. However I’ll be spending a few minutes here and there working my way through the offerings, trying to learn a bit more about SQL Server, as well as tackle some C# and security.

  • The MCM Saga

    There was a comment posted on my Connect item for Open Sourcing the MCM. It said:

    “I have been able to contact the MS Learning team and they have given me some information about the content. My restatement of that, is that the ownership of the content is a bit complex. Some content is owned by other groups at Microsoft and is being repurposed for delivery in other workshops. In some cases the content is canibalized into a substantially different form. In some cases content was paid for and licensed content for a specific use, and it can’t just be reissued. At any rate, Microsoft doesn’t want to waste the money spent on it, and efforts are being made to use it in some manner. But you won’t see a consistent publishing pattern.”

    That’s reasonable, and I’m sure it’s true. I know multiple people worked on the project, and perhaps there is IP from some people that they don’t want released. I understand that, though I don’t like it.

    I made my case for this, and while plenty of MCMs disagreed, I was looking at this as a way to improve the community’s knowledge in building applications. Having specific scenarios to work through could help administrators and developers understand what types of real world problems they may face, or even introduce in their designs.

    It’s easy to say there’s all this information out there, but it’s incredibly unorganized. I’ve started to try and organize my content, build shorter, smaller posts that lead through a solution. I’m trying to help people (and myself) grow knowledge in a targeted way. Too much of the stuff out there doesn’t do that.

  • What are you worth?

    Each of us is reponsible for negotiating his or her own salary for a position. Often we don’t have much leverage to exact a higher salary, and even if it’s deserved, so many companies don’t have the flexibility for managers to pay higher salaries than what is set in some range by their HR group. That’s discussed a bit in this post from Chris Shaw that looks at hiring and salaries.

    I’ve always felt that the way we handle salary was developed by owners and managers, and the process benefits them, not the employees. We rarely discuss salaries at work, with disclosure sometimes forbidden. Your salary adjustments over time seem to be highly based on your current salary. That means that your starting salary often determines your future salaries at a company, regardless of your abilities relative to others or the market. Even changes in supply and demand may not affect your salary.

    A few companies have set salary ranges publicly within the company and some even disclose salaries among employees. It sounds strange to many of us, but I’ve talked with a few people that work in those environments and it’s not a big deal. You earn your salary or you don’t, and if you do a good job, no one complains. If you don’t do a good job, then many of these companies are quicker than most to ask you to take a pay cut or leave. Personally, I like that type of environment.

    I doubt we’ll have open disclosure going forward, but fortunately many of us have the ability to change employers easily with our skills if the markets change and we feel we’re underpaid. The flip side is that there can be competition for your job and companies might find it easier to let you go and choose someone else that provides the company a better value.

    The only advice I would give most people looking to negotiate salary these days is that you should ask for what you’re worth, even if it seems high to you. The worst thing that usually happens is the employer says no and offers you a lesser amount. However, if you don’t ask, you won’t get the salary you want.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 2.4MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn. feed

    The Voice of the DBA podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com.

  • Failure

    Tim O’Reilly has written some great pieces over the years on many aspects of technology and change. I’ve followed him for years and I’ve enjoyed many of his thoughts and views on our industry. I think he’s thoughtful and truly envisions the amazing things that technology can do to change the world, mostly for the better. I think it’s worth randomly reading through (or listening to) some of his thoughts.

    He recently wrote a long piece on the failures he’s had in business with his company, O’Reilly Media. It’s an interesting tale that looks at process, at mis-communications, and business. I think about my career, looking back on past decisions, looking at the way in which companies I’ve been associated with are run, and at the way that others around me have worked. I realize that there are many failures to go with the successes in my life. The piece made me take a good, hard look at my past, drawing parallels to the ways in which leadership at O’Reilly has worked as well as how it has come up short.

    This week, Mr. O’Reilly’s look back led me to this question, which I don’t expect to get many responses from. However I do hope it makes you think, and examine where you are, how you got here, and perhaps where you’d like to go from here.

    How have you failed in your career?

    Maybe you should compare your own experiences to those of Mr. O’Reilly, and think about how you might manage your own business, the business of running your career, differently.

    Like many people, at times in my career I have bounced  from job to job, often taking a position that was available rather than deliberately thinking about my future and moving in that direction. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last ten years, it’s that I should think deliberately think about what I like and don’t at work. I should honestly state to myself what I want to do and what isn’t worth the pay. 

    I re-examine my career each year, and seriously consider alternatives. I’ve been lucky in that I work for an amazing company and have a great job. No other alternative has measured up against my job so far.

    However I also realize that I’ve had some failures before this success, and I hope not to repeat many of them in the future by learning from my past.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 2.6MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn. feed

    The Voice of the DBA podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com.