Voice of the DBA

Tag: career2

  • The Wish List

    It’s the holiday season and a joyous time for many of us. I do hope you are feeling the giving spirit and looking to creates smiles for others as you prepare for your particular celebration during the break from work next week. This is certainly a time to remember that many others are less fortunate that most of us that work in technology, and I’d encourage you to consider giving something to help others.

    Howver, many of us will receive gifts this holiday season, and in the spirit of having some fun, I wanted to make a fun poll this week.

    What is on the top of your wish list that would help improve your time at work?

    If you are like me, the one thing you’d really like is more time. It’s unlikely I (or you) will receive that particular gift, but I know that it’s the one resource that is always limited for me. Barring that, I think there are a few things that might make work time a bit better for me.

    I’m not in an office, but having a nice set of headphones to help me concentrate on a task, or even relax while traveling would be good. My laptop is starting to have some issues, so I’ll be looking to replace it at some point, but many of you might find yourself working faster with a newer, more powerful machine. No matter what your hardware, you need a place to work, so maybe 2015 is the time to try a taller, or faster, desk. Perhaps you just need a few more USB ports, a little power on the go, or even a new way to commute to the office.

    The array of possibilities for changing work continues to grow as technology advances the world. We can work anywhere, though it is important to stop working and relax. Perhaps the best thing for many of us might be a way to refresh and recharge away from work so that we’ll be ready to hit the ground running when we return. The best way to do that is to take your vacation.

    Let us know what might be on your fun list, and have a fantastic holiday season. I know I will as I’m leaving tomorrow for a week in Steamboat Springs.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 2.3MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.

  • The Last Job

    I was chatting with one of the more experienced SQL Server professionals I know recently and was surprised to know this person had actually retired, but come back to technology because they were bored with not working. I suspect that’s how I’ll be later in life, and am not really looking forward to retiring anytime soon.

    However I do think about jobs and employment as I age. I know that it can be tougher to keep a job over the long term. It seems the flexibility many of us appreciate as younger workers can be a detriment later in life when you value stability. With that in mind, here’s this week’s question:

    Is this the last full time, technology job you’ll have?

    I have an amazing job, perhaps the best one I could have imagined. I love what I do, but I do think about my options every year. I take some time to think about how my employment has gone in the past year, what else I might do and what I want to do in the future. I re-evaluate how I feel and try to be honest with myself about how I feel about my career. If I decide to make a change, I want it to be my decision, not something that’s forced upon me by a change in my employment status.

    I wonder if this will be my last job. I certainly think it could be, and the way it’s gone the last few years, I hope it is.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 1.5MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.

  • Holiday Struggles

    It’s the slow time of year. As I saw tweeted recently, “And now for the month when nothing gets done.” I haven’t usually felt this way at a few jobs as the budget and planning process has typically been a part of a busy month. As I’ve run SQLServerCentral, I’ve also been looking back and forward this month, trying to think about our industry and data in a long term way. I have found December to be frenetic as times as I try to get in some ski days while still getting work done.

    However this year I’ve been in a situation that I think many people get into. I had a number of vacation days I needed to take, so I scheduled them a day here and there across the weeks. Between being off for Thanksgiving week, and missing almost the complete last two weeks of the year, I’m finding it a bit difficult to get into the swing of things as I have a few days back at work. It seems that work naturally slows down in teams as various people take holiday time off, but this is the first time that I’ve struggled to actually get my own work done as I’m in and out of the office on an irregular schedule.

    Perhaps this is the time when those of us who don’t work in Christmas related industries can catch up on work that we are often too busy to do otherwise. Are there maintenance items you can schedule? Maybe tackle some in-depth query tuning that is needed for end of year processes? Is it the time to “scratch an itch” at work? Red Gate has their Down Tools Week scheduled this week, and it’s a time when people can tackle fun projects that improve the business, but are rarely worked on. Our SQLServerCentral Scripts plug in for SSMS came out of one of these weeks.

    Pitch an idea to your boss to take a week or two and dig into something that is needed, but never prioritized. Maybe you’ll get your wish as a Christmas present.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 2.5MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.

  • What Have You Learned Lately?

    Recently we had the 60th T-SQL Tuesday blog party. This was hosted by Chris Yates, and had the theme of Something New Learned. That’s a great topic and a lot of fun to write about.

    There were some great posts, and while it’s good to see people participating, it’s also the chance for everyone in the community to learn a few things. I’d bookmark some of these posts, and across the next few months, read one and dig into the topic a little. Do you know about the PSR in SQL Server? Do you know how to determine who has access to what in your SQL Server?

    These posts, and many other posts written for the various T-SQL Tuesday events are a great way to dig into a particular topic area, learn a few things and help guide your learning. There have been a few times that the topic itself has gotten me to experiment with some aspect of SQL Server prior to writing something, but you could just as easily go back and look at previous topics and start improving your learning.

    While there are many sites like SQLServerCentral to help you learn new skills, it can be fun to pick a single topic and dive in for a few weeks, practicing using the skill to solve some problems. This might be a great way for those of you that aren’t challenged at work to gain some new skills.

    I’ve had far too many friends find the need to unexpectedly look for a new job in the last year. I never take my employment for granted, and it’s one reason I try to continue to learn more about my craft, and build skills that might be in demand. After all, you never know when your company might make a change and you’ll need to look for new employment.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 2.0MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.