Voice of the DBA

Tag: career

  • Reviewing 2019 Career Goals

    According to this post, I rate 2019 as a Failure. Of the books I planned to read, I read 2. I started 2 others, but they’re in progress, even right now.

    This post is a look at what happened and why, along with a few ideas on what to do better in 2020. Look for the new goal post next week.

    The Challenges of 2019

    This is really a set of excuses, or at least it sounds that way to me. Ultimately, I just didn’t focus on my career very well. I’m somewhat hoping that doesn’t matter, but I’ve tried to live by “hope for the best, plan for the worst.”

    I started out strong with my reading, going through these books 3-4 times a week at night, practicing with some code. It was a nice break after work or after the gym to learn something. Despite coaching and being busy with my family, I was making progress.

    That failed in March for a couple reasons. One, I was struggling with a project in my life that needed time and two, I committed to deliver some content for another vendor. Those items created a lot of stress, and reduced the energy I had for career time outside of work.

    Add to that the amount of travel I did in 2019. I spent a lot of time on planes, going over 140,000 miles from April to November. While one would think that sitting on a plane is a good time to read, it’s not a good time to learn for me. For a number of these topics, I need to be in front of a PC, and often on a plane, I don’t. I want to relax and escape. If I work, it’s because I need to, and then I’m writing or reviewing something for work.

    I had planned to skip a few months of reading work, and even wrote about this. However, I never got back to this and I got used to dismissing my reminders to check goals. That was a mistake on my part.

    I also got distracted with other technologies, doing more work with containers last year, which is OK, but it wasn’t part of my plan, and more importantly, I didn’t update the plan.

    Doing Better in the Future

    How can I do better in 2020? That really starts for me this week, with my return from a sabbatical.

    First, I need to keep a plan handy. This year, I’m going to put the plan in my reminder appointment, and that way I can review it each time the reminder comes up. I’ll also be able to adjust it and write a post that reflects the updates.

    That’s the second thing. Each update needs to include the plan and progress indicators. I’ll do that, if for no other reason than to understand where I am. I don’t mind not making the goals, but I want to know and decide to not make them for good reasons.

    I also need to account for the fact that I am a busy person and some portion of my schedule is out of my hands. I think aiming for 4 books a year is realistic for me, with 6 being the likely goal. I do get busy, and I realize that part of why I love reading is that it takes me away from life. I need to account for the need to spend time reading non-technical books.

    I also think I need to better think about the things I do outside of work and career. I have a lot of interests, and those things need time. That means less learning for me.

    I also think about the need to cement some of this learning in other areas, so I’d like to actually add in some project work that uses skills I’ll work on. I think that’s important, and like many of you, my work doesn’t always give me the chance to use new skills. To ensure I do capture some learning, I likely need to actually build something.

    I’m not sure how things will go, but I plan on creating goals now and then writing an update every month.

  • Reviewing Your Past Efforts

    It’s about the start of a new year for me now. I know, it’s late February, and we’re almost a sixth of the way through the year, but I’ve been on sabbatical. In fact, with planning for the break, I’ve really missed almost two months of work at this point. I deliberately did not make any resolutions or planning at the end of 2019, since 2020 wouldn’t really start for my career until about now.

    Now is the time to plan, and I will do some writing on my blog for the things I want to tackle, but I also want to think about my plan. The main reason for this is the SQLskills newsletter from Jan 7 (#214), in which Paul Randal wrote an interesting editorial on the start of the New Year. There are a few things in the newsletter, but one of the items was about resolutions and planning for the new year, but by starting the process while looking at the previous year.

    I wrote about learning goals last year, and then blogged a bit about them throughout the first third of the year. I then pivoted a bit, with an outside commitment that ate up a bunch of my personal time. Despite having a reminder in my calendar, I never got back to the books I’d planned on reading.

    2019 Rating : Failure

    I’ll do more of a review on my blog, and then planning, but the important things I got from Paul’s note is that I didn’t go a good job of not only reviewing last year, but also I didn’t end up reviewing it periodically after a few months. Not only did my goal fail, but my review of my goal failed.

    There’s a lot to be gained from some self-analysis, and maybe even a review of your analysis by a spouse, partner, mentor, or close friend. In my case, I ended up doing more speaking and traveling than I’d expected, didn’t even complete my commitment, focused my reading time on fiction and escaping from life, and really ignored a bit of my career goals.

    I don’t know if I’ll do better this year, but just writing this and thinking about the process will help me do something different. Hopefully you are keeping up with your goals, but if not, maybe you need a mid year review, as I’m doing now.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher or iTunes.

  • The Cost of SQL Bits v the PASS Summit

    UPDATE: This post originally priced Charlotte, NC, but the Summit is in Houston, TX. I have corrected costs and locations. The difference is about $300 less for a flight and about $20-30 more for hotels.

    Recently I was chatting with someone about SQL Bits. It’s my favorite conference of the year, and unfortunately, I can’t attend again this year because of a schedule conflict.

    Still, I think you should go if you can. I’ve had people over the years think it’s too expensive and too costly to go to England for a conference and my friend was speculating if that was the case. I decided to take a look.

    Cost of Attending

    The costs of attending the conference are (generally)

    • Admission
    • Travel
    • Lodging
    • (some) Food
    • Pre-Conference Days (optional)

    I’ve been fortunate to often not pay admission as I speak at events, but I do attend sometimes. Lodging is expensive, and certainly not all meals are covered by the event. If I’m traveling, I do like to do a pre-con, since it’s a good chance to get focused learning in an area.

    With that in mind, let me price out what it costs for each event. I’m looking forward, so I’ll take a look at SQL Bits 2020 v going to the PASS Summit later this year.

    SQL Bits 2020

    SQL Bits takes place from Mar 31-Apr 4. I’m coaching on the 30th and the 4th, so I can’t actually get there and back. Well, I could get there Tuesday, but I’d have to leave on Friday. The event has pre-conference days on Tuesday and Wednesday (called Training Days), and the conference on Thursday/Friday/Saturday. Saturday is a free day, like a SQL Saturday, and I’ll assume two training days here. After all, if I’m flying to England, I want to make the most of the time.

    Pricing is available, and right now I’d be paying £1199 = US$1600. I’m rounding a bit, but this is roughly my cost in the US. This also includes two training days, which are each around US$490. If I dally and don’t register until after 15 Feb, this is about US$2000.

    Flights for me (on United) would be US$966 from Denver. This is the direct, and traveling 29 Mar to 5 Apr. This is a good time of year to fly to the UK, and I’ve done it often. I’m giving myself a day to adjust. In reality, I’d likely make this a longer trip and take my wife. Let’s also factor in another $50 for the train to and from the airport.

    2020-01-10 10_25_19-Review trip itinerary _ United Airlines

    Lodging is always pricey in London. I usually stay ion Hilton hotels, and the DoubleTree near the venue is £122, or £620 for the week. That’s about US$810-ish. Call it $900. I usually travel back to Heathrow that night, so another US$150 for a night there.

    If I were to look for something else in a hotel, I see similar rates. As low as US$90 for a Holiday Inn to $160 for Aloft (where I’ve stayed). AirBnB in this areacan be as low as a room for $30-50 to a flat for about $100.

    Food can be pricey in London. The lunches are covered by the conference, and two dinners at the Thur and Fri night events. Breakfast is provided all the days and there are lots of snacks. I’ve eaten really well at SQL Bits.

    That means I’d be looking at these meals

    • Breakfast – Sun
    • Lunch – Mon
    • Dinner – Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat

    Let’s say $12 for breakfast (it’s a big city) and $50 for dinner. Lunch, call it $20. That’s a total of $242. I do like a few drinks, though you might be able to get sponsors to cover some of your costs here. I’ve roughly included a drink with dinner. I’m guessing that I’d spend another $150 in drinks.

    Total for attending, in round numbers: US$4,062

    • Flight $1020
    • Lodging: $1050
    • Conference: $1600
    • Food: $392

    You could do better by shopping around a bit, but these would roughly be the costs I’d need to go to my boss to cover. Or split the cost with them.

    If I spoke, this would be closer to $2000. Maybe more of you ought to try and speak Winking smile

    The PASS Summit in 2020

    Let’s look forward to the Summit. Their pricing is more staggered, and if you can register really early (like now), it’s cheaper. US$2599 now, but I’ll assume I won’t be able to get this until summer. At that time, the cost of attendance is US$3299. This includes two pre-con sessions as well.

    This year the event is in Houston, TX. For me, this is a nonstop flight from Denver, but not that cheap. I can get a $350 flight if I want to travel early, but I don’t. There are flights around $400 as well. The convenient flights for my schedule are around US$475. The exact pricing for me is $476.80, call it $480 after I tip the car guy. You’ll need a couple Uber/Lyft items, so say $50 here.

    Lodging is better in Houston than Seattle, where the event usually is held. It’s still pricey. A hotel for me is around US$200 a night or more. I want to be close, so I’ll split the difference with a Garden Inn. This givers me a cost of $1,395.23. Call it $1400 ish with a few tips, as I’ll go over this.

    Other hotels are similar, as low as $125 and well into the $300 range. AirBnbs are like London. I see lots of $50-60 a night for rooms or small 1 bedroom places. Closer to downtown we’re more into the $120 range and up.

    Food will be similar. Charlotte has cheap and expensive places. The conference does cover breakfast and lunch. Dinner is two nights, the opening and the next night in the exhibition hall. I’d need these:

    • Breakfast: Saturday
    • Lunch: Sun
    • Dinner: Sun, Mon, Thur, Fri

    If I go with similar costs, I’d be with a similar $242 + $150 for drinks.

    Total to attend PASS: $5,6921

    • Conference $3299
    • Flight: $480 + $50
    • Lodging: $1,400
    • Food: $392

    The big difference here is the cost of the conference, which overwhelms the small flight difference.

    Conclusion

    It’s cheaper to attend SQL Bits from the US than the PASS Summit. I think so, and while you can do it cheaper than I’ve outlined, you can still likely make SQL Bits cheaper. What’s more, you get to experience another country and culture, along with many, many more people from even other, different cultures. That means a lot to me.

    I also find that SQL Bits is a more casual conference, with less security and hassles. People have been able to bring their wives and kids to the event, or at least the party. Dressing up on Friday night at SQL Bits is a blast.

    ENJJCcTXsAAvm54 orig

    The PASS Summit is an iconic event. I’ve been very lucky to attend most of them, and it’s a huge gathering place for SQL professionals. I enjoy going, learning, and seeing lots of friends. However, it has grown to be an expensive event.

    No matter what you choose, you’ll see some amazing speakers, meet lots of experts and get the chance for incredible networking. If you’ve been to one, consider the other.

    What I would say is that SQL Bits is my favorite, and if you’re in the US, it’s not that expensive to go, even to London. When they move the event to other locations, the transport cost will rise, but hotels will be cheaper. I’d expect I’d save another $300-400 on the trip in Liverpool or Nottingham.

    You do need a passport, so factor in $100 and 4-6 weeks, but you should have one anyway. Traveling is a great way to enjoy and experience more of life.

  • Great Writers Get Hired

    It’s not a guarantee that great writers get hired, but this interview with Basecamp CEO, Jason Fried, talks about their process selecting new employees. Recently they got 4,000 applications for 5 jobs, which is a lot, though not that unusual. As I talk with many human resources staff, they often talk about receiving hundreds of resumes for each job they post. With those types of odds, it is important that you find a way to stand out from the crowd.

    While I suspect many people reviewing resumes don’t review them all, it is possible that some do. Given the large workload, not much time is going to be spent looking at your resume or CV. This really means that it is important that your resume attracts attention and interests a reader. Your goal is to get someone thinking that you are a good candidate and worth hiring.

    In some sense, this means you need to communicate well and write something interesting. Certainly you also want to apply early for a position. Why? Most resumes are boring, and as someone that has had to review them, I find my attention wavering as I go through them. I’ve wanted to do a good job and review all that are received for a position, but when you get over a hundred, I’m not sure that’s even possible.

    We are human, and our focus degrades over time. If you see essentially the same information over and over, it becomes hard to make good decisions about the differences. This is why a resume that stands out, is written well, and intrigues the reader is important. It’s also why it’s important to use networking and get submitted to places quickly.

    Great writers get hired, or at least get opportunities. If for no other reason than because an HR staffer or hiring manager finds the first contact, the resume, to be interesting. Learn to write better, to communicate and showcase your skills, and you’ll get more chances to interview and more opportunities to win the position.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher or iTunes.