Voice of the DBA

Tag: career

  • Should I Learn PostgreSQL

    I got asked this question recently:

    I constantly see PostgreSQL on Microsoft slides, email, ads, etc. My MCADAA exam started with an entire section on it. I’m trying to determine if it’s worth focused study and training time. Roughly how much of the Azure cloud database space does PostgreSQL occupy? Should I include it in my personal training program?

    It’s a good question, though I am assuming that MCADDA is the Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate cert. That page describing the exam only mentions Azure SQL (SQL Server), and not PostgreSQL, so while I think Azure SQL for PostgreSQL is good to learn, I think the cert preparation needs an update if that topic is on the exam.

    In any case, should you learn PostgreSQL?

    I’ll give you the DBA answer: it depends.

    Ask yourself some questions:

    • Does your org use PostgreSQL or are they planning to do so?
    • Are you going to stick with your company for a few more years?
    • Are there more things you should be learning in the area you do work now?
    • Are there things you should become more skilled at that your company values?
    • Do you know what the opportunities are for people that know PostgreSQL well?

    Depending on the answers, I may or may not recommend you spend time there. If you have other things to learn that might be better at your current job, either the job you have or one you might want, then focus there. If your company does (or doesn’t) value PostgreSQL, then that influences your choice as well.

    PostgreSQL is growing fast. DB-Engines shows growth across a few platforms, and PostgreSQL is doing well.

    2024-10_0140

    The StackOverflow developer survey shows similar results:

    2024-10_0141

    However, those are general results. Your specific situation is different. Think about it and ask the question above to lots of people.

  • Small Data SF 2024

    I have often made an effort to attend conferences in the past to grow my career. Even today, when I speak at a conference, I’ll try to go to a few sessions and learn something, but I can be distracted. It’s rare I focus on just learning stuff without other responsibilities.

    I’m at Small Data today and tomorrow doing precisely that. I’m just an attendee, and today is a couple of workshops for me with a variety of talks tomorrow. It’s a real career growth opportunity for me and I’m excited. I’m doing the Data Warehousing and Design workshops today and sitting in sessions all day tomorrow.

    I can’t remember where I heard of this conference, but when I saw the manifesto and sessions, I was intrigued. There were tentative plans this week for me to do a customer visit, but when that got delayed, I jumped on the opportunity to visit San Fran and learn something.

    As I’ve worked with a lot of customers, I see the value of small data sets providing lots of agility for teams, while also allowing them to get work done, as long as the data sets are relevant and representative. That’s a big part of me pushing the Subsetter at Redgate.

    In this case, the conference focuses more on analytics and AI, and likely more developers than DBAs, but I think it’s a chance to get different perspectives, maybe learn a few things, and perhaps get others to see my data viewpoint in the hallways discussions.

  • Branding Yourself for a Dream Job Slides

    It was very cool to come back to Syracuse for the first SQL Saturday. It was neat for me, since I used to live here, Shaw Residence Hall at Syracuse University:

    Shaw Hall at Syracuse

    In any case, the slides for my talk are here: Branding Yourself for a Dream Job.pptx

    If you have questions, please reach out to me or leave a comment below.

  • Fifty Percent

    Most of us will have more than one job in our career. In fact many of us will likely find a new job in the next five years. I hope I’m not in that group, but I recognize that it’s a possibility. We never know when our situation will change, or our employer’s situation will change. That is one reason I recommend you keep your resume up to date and continue to work on improving your skills.

    I saw an office hours short recently from Brent Ozar, in which someone had asked him if they should apply for a job even though they didn’t meet all of the requirements or know all of the desired technologies. Brent recommended the person apply, and his reasoning was that often a DBA (or other data pro) often gets asked to do a variety of tasks in an organization. The DBA job often crosses lots of boundaries and may end up working on a Active Directory issues, reporting, ETL, and more. When A DBA leaves a job, the organization looks for a replacement that can handle that same wide variety of things.

    I think this is good advice, and I usually tell people that if you meet 50% of the requirements, apply. Part of this is Brent’s reasoning, part of it is because I’ve had to write job descriptions, part of it is because I’ve interviewed people. While we often have a standard description, usually I then think about how our technology matrix has changed over time and add items to the job description. If I ask another employee what else we might need in a candidate, more requirements get added. At some point, the job description isn’t realistic anymore and it’s unlikely we’d ever find a person that meets 100% of our desires.

    The other thing I’ve learned in interviews is that sometimes a candidate impresses us and makes the interviewer think about the position differently. Maybe the candidate is impressive enough in some areas that we can ignore their deficiencies in others. Sometimes the candidate might say something that causes me (as the interviewer) to pivot the job slightly to address other possibilities I think of at that moment.

    Job hiring isn’t a meritocracy. It’s a mix of many things, often depending on what the interviewer thinks at that time, how the candidate impresses them, and maybe some restrictions on who they can hire. I’ve seen companies that won’t hire developers without a CS degree, regardless of experience. I’ve seen situations where the hiring manager creates a new position because the candidate is so desirable. I’ve sometimes chosen a weaker technical candidate over a near expert in an area because of soft skills.

    There are lots of variables, and you can’t control them, but you can control a few things. You can work on the way you communicate with others and improve your skills, both verbal and written. You can also showcase your ability to learn and adapt, whether that’s with stories and examples or a blog that you can point to, documenting the work you’ve done on your skills.

    This is a tough time for many tech professionals, but it’s also a time where there are many open positions in lots of companies. Part of this is an mismatch of candidates and opportunities not finding each other. Part is a more discriminating approach from companies who don’t just want people, but talented people, talented in multiple ways including soft skills.

    You never know when you’ll need a new job, so make sure you’re prepared to impress others. Make sure you spend time on your career on a regular basis.

    Steve Jones

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