Voice of the DBA

Tag: career

  • The Khan Academy

    It’s completely unrelated to work, though there is a computer science section at The Kahn Academy.

    I can’t take credit for this, that goes to Andy Warren (LinkedIn | Blog | @sqlandy) for turning me onto the Khan Academy. It’s similar to what we built at SQL Share, but much broader in scope, and much more successful. Hopefully we’ll rectify that at some point.

    It’s almost an online learning site with a series of videos on a variety of topics. It was built with the idea that we can provide a free, high quality education to anyone that can view the videos. Students can sign up and pace themselves through the classes. Parents, coaches, teachers, can watch students and build a course with a series of steps.

    Or you can do what I did, just watch a few videos. I saw some algebra ones that I might show my kids when they need math help, and I started going through the calculus ones, as a brush up on my skills. I loved math in school and thought I’d play around with some of the topics and exercises.

    Check it out and see what you think.

  • Build Your Own Event at the PASS Summit

    There’s a bunch of stuff scheduled for the PASS Summit next week. You can see some of the events on the After Hours page, but there are a few other events happening during the week as well. Most are private, which is fine for the people that get invited, but what about everyone else?

    There are well over 1,000 people coming to the Summit, and the majority of them won’t get invited to private vendor parties, or many other events. However outside of the Gameworks party on Thur night, I have a feeling many of them will end up being “that guy”, spending the evenings alone or even working.

    Andy Warren and I have started a few events that are relatively open to anyone. We have our Monday Night Networking event, which is full right because of capacity limits. We also started the SQLServerCentral party, which I run and is open if you have a ticket.

    However we think you can start your own event. If you want to go see a band in Seattle, then wouldn’t you want to see if anyone else wants to go with you? Maybe share a cab? Perhaps you’re interested in a workout at a local dojo, or you want to attend the Underground Tour (which is very cool).

    If you want to do something, and would like to network, have a little company from people that similar interests, we’d like you to do two things:

    1. Create an event at EventBrite. It’s free if you aren’t charging. Just tell people what you event will cost and let them pay their own way. Put a limit on the number of guests, if it’s appropriate.
    2. Post your event at http://passsummitevents.info/. MVP/MCM Denny Cherry (blog | @mrdenny) has set up the site to track what’s happening at the Summit.

     

    That’s it. Post your event and let people sign up.

    If you are looking for something to do, check out the page at http://passsummitevents.info/ and see if there’s something you’re interested in. The site will tweet your event, but feel free to publicize it around.

    A week at a conference should be a lot of fun, packed with plenty of events for everyone. I hope we can get people to build their own get togethers, for anything from tasting beer at the Tap House to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory to taking a tour of the Museum of Flight.

    Whatever interests you, set something up or look for people that have a similar interest at http://passsummitevents.info/.

  • An Awesome Job

    Life is awesome and if you can't see it, read this book.

    I recently watched The 3 As of Awesome with my daughter and loved it. It’s a short talk (17 min) from Neil Pasricha, the author of the 1000 awesome things blog. The talk goes through a roller coaster of emotions, at least for me, with a pleasant start, a sad middle, and a positive end. There’s some humor in it, and I highly recommend you watch it.

    When we finished, my daughter and I talked about what awesome thing had happened to each of us that day. She said that me giving her 5 extra minutes to play with a friend before we left was great. I told her the crazy, illegal, solo, 5 hit volleyball return I made at her practice that made everyone laugh was the highlight of my day. We challenged the rest of the family to find an awesome thing from that day, and everyone enjoyed it. Since then we’ve made it a point to regular ask what awesome thing happened to each other.

    The philosophy espoused in the talk is one I try to follow. I stop and appreciate the cool, little things in my life. A refill of my drink when I’m flying economy class makes me smile. I get a good feeling when I can stop and hold the door for someone behind me. I appreciate the health I have, and the fact I can run regularly. A good cup of coffee, the cat wanting to snuggle up when I’m typing in bed, or the chance to step away from my desk and give my wife a kiss during the day are awesome and amazing things in my life.

    Work isn’t always awesome, but I’d like to think that you find little things you can appreciate on a regular basis. Maybe it’s code you write that works. Maybe it’s the knowledge that you saved someone else time because of something you did. Maybe it’s that second monitor that lets the work flow a little smoother. Maybe it’s that burst of bandwidth that made a download smoother. Maybe it’s the comment someone made on SQLServerCentral or on Twitter that grew a smile on your face.

    We spend a lot of time at work, and it’s often work. I hope you enjoy your job overall, but even when it’s not the job for you, hopefully you can find and appreciate some little thing that occurs every week that shows the universe likes you.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Networking for your career

    The more I learn about building a better career, and the more I talk to people that get new jobs or have success in business, the more I believe that networking is one of the most important things you can do for your career. It just seems to work better, be more reliable, and more effective than any other career improvement strategy. Even blogging, which I think really helps, isn’t as effective as having someone that’s willing to recommend you.

    I never really knew how to go about networking, but a few years ago I attended Don Gabor’s seminar at the PASS Summit and it was well worth my money. I learned a lot and have practiced some of his techniques since then. I’ve even purchased a few of his books, which contain even more information on how to better network and work with others.

    If you’re attending the 2011 PASS Summit, you can see Don’s Networking to Build Business Contacts seminar on Tuesday, Oct 11, from 3-5pm. It doesn’t interfere with the other pre-cons, and if you’re going to be in town, take this seminar. You will learn some practical tips and exercises you can use to build more contacts, grow your network, and hopefully use it to advance your career at some point. Even if you don’t need a job, at some point you will and the time to build a network is before you need it. If you’ve already registered, call PASS to add this seminar to your registration, or do it on site.

    Don has become a friend over the last few years, and was helpful in working on The Mentoring Experiment with me. I find him very insightful and experienced in the world of business and interpersonal interactions and a very interesting person. If you get the chance to sit and talk with Don, take it.