Voice of the DBA

Tag: career2

  • When Work Gets in the Way of Work

    It seems I find myself in this situation more and more. I’ve got work to do at SQLServerCentral. There’s a constant stream of articles to edit, content to review and schedule, questions to build, and of course, writing these pieces on data related topics. That goes on 220+ days a year, as we keep the site going and send a newsletter every weekday of the year.

    However the last few years I find myself crunched to get work done in my work week with the addition of other tasks to my routine. I’ve moved from 2-3 events and 5-6 presentations to 20+ events and closer to 40 talks a year that I deliver. Not only is there a high frequency of events, but there’s also a number of new presentations to build. It seems I have 3-4 (at least) new talks to assemble, which can be quite time consuming. That’s in addition to keeping SQLServerCentral moving.

    This isn’t different than many of the jobs I’ve had in the past. Often I’ve had a set of tasks that I need to work through regularly. Whether these were admin tasks, or development projects, I usually have found that I can develop a routine throughout most weeks. However things crop up. Bug fixes are reported, or hardware fails, or some other project takes some priority, but I need to somehow fit this into my week, along with everything I normally do.

    It’s tough, and I think far too many people with salaried jobs try to just work harder and longer to complete their work. That makes some sense for a short period of time (2-4 weeks), but after that it’s a mistake. Productivity declines and people burn out. They become cranky, and more importantly, they lose a substantial portion of their life over time.

    I’ve learned to push back when things become too busy, and while I’ve had managers that weren’t thrilled, even angry, almost all of them understood the problem and worked with me and others to change things.These days that means I cancel or skip events. More often I decline to accept engagements in the future to bring balance into life. 

    This month is tough, with a lot of commitments made months ago, and flying to the UK this week doesn’t help. However I’ve learned a few things about scheduling my time this year and hopefully I’ll do a better job next year.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 3.0MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.

  • Learning Options in Seattle Next Month

    The 2014 PASS Summit takes place next month. Actually a few weeks, on Nov 3-7, 2014 in Seattle. While many people attend the conference, there are some additional options for learning that you might think about in addition to the conference itself. While the conference is great, getting deeper dives on topics that last more than an hour is something you may consider.

    Make SQL Server Go Faster – A two day class, Monday Nov 3 and Tuesday Nov 4, from Brent Ozar Unlimited. You’ll get two days in depth training on practical tips for improving SQL Server performance. $695, but worth it.

    SQL in the City 2014 – Seattle – From Red Gate, my employer. We’ll have the hour long sessions, but we’ve split things into two tracks and have linked sessions. Our development track, focusing on Continuous Delivery, is really 3 hours of content that has breaks. Lots of admin stuff, and the chance to see how Red Gate tools make your job easier and faster, but we cover concepts that can be applied to other tools, or your own processes.

    Pre-Conference Sessions – Each year there are two days of pre-conference, all day sessions. We’ve had post-conference sessions as well, but not for a few years. This year there are lots of choices, and a couple I struggled to choose between. I decided on Allan Hirt’s pre-con as I could use some HA skills beefing and as a former sysadmin, I find it interesting. If you can swing the $495, it’s a good investment.

    SQL Saturday #337 – Oregon – The Saturday before, if you’re in the area early, Portland is a short drive/train/flight away from Seattle. A free, full day of SQL to get you warmed up for the Summit.

    Also, don’t forget about our Monday Networking Dinner as well. Come join us. It’s free, and you get to meet other SQL Server pros.

  • Networking at the PASS Summit

    The 2014 PASS Summit is coming up in a few weeks and thousands of SQL Server professionals will be coming to Seattle for the event. Many will arrive early, and many will be there for the first or second time in their careers.

    Many of them will be that guy (or girl).

    Don’t start the week off by yourself, or with a few friends. Come network a bit and meet your fellow SQL Server professionals and #sqlfamily. If you live in Seattle, you’re welcome as well, whether you’re attending the Summit or not. It’s free and everyone is welcome.

    The last few years have had Andy Warren and I holding a Networking Dinner on Monday night. It’s been a large success, which by our standards, means that lots of people come and meet each other. We meet new people, and they have a good time. That’s it.

    Anyone can come, just register so we have some idea of how many people to expect. Andy has written a short post, but I wanted to add a bit more detail and spread the word.

    This is a self-funded event, meaning everyone buys their own food and drinks. Or buy something for a friend. We really built this event with the idea that we wanted to organize something for people to come to and meet each other. No pressure, and no expectation of costs or expenses. The first few years we packed a restaurant on the Seattle waterfront and heard from many people that they really enjoyed it.

    Since then, we’ve tried to look for more open environments where people can talk and enjoy some SQL Server talk in a casual atmosphere. We try for a venue that’s not more than 3-4 blocks from the convention center, and we should have a venue soon.

    Our goal is to get people to meet each other. Whether its your first Summit or 14th, whether you started working with SQL Server in the last decade or yesterday, this is just a chance and an organized event to meet others.

    Come join us, tell friends, and be prepared to introduce yourself and have a conversation with someone else. That’s networking, and it’s the most valuable thing you can do for your career.

    We’ve organized a time (and place to be disclosed soon). You can do the same thing. Lots is happening in Seattle, and if you know 20 people, think about creating your own event, dinner, or just casual get together. Pick a time and place, and let PASS know so others can attend.

    Register today and I’ll see you in a couple Mondays.

  • Mercenary

    I was listening to a few people talk at an event about the software they were working on. For some of them, there was a true passion in solving the problems they faced. However these weren’t applications that eased poverty with cleaner water, or more efficient transportation. These weren’t applications that dealt with medical issues impacting human health. In many cases these were simple, consumer applications that entertained people, but these developers were quite proud of the applications they worked on.

    However the challenge of practicing their craft well elicited quite a bit of passion from these developers. They not only took a lot of pride in building an efficient set of methods in Java or C# quickly, they really enjoyed the process of taking a development task, writing code and tests, and delivering software that worked. They would even find pleasure in receiving a bug report, finding the issue, and delivering a corrected version of code. Most of all, however, they believed their software was making the world better in some way.

    There were also plenty of developers that didn’t really care what they worked on. They didn’t find anything special about software development, and were happy to get assigned a task, write some code, and deliver it. They weren’t looking to produce shoddy applications quickly, and many of them were talented developers. They just didn’t much care where they worked or what the function the software performed.

    Is this you? Are you willing to work on whatever application comes your way? Or do you have a passion to build something in particular, to work on projects that have some meaning to you? I think I’ve usually been one of the former, willing to work on any application. I’ve always been more concerned about the coworkers I have than the project we work on, but there are times I’ve felt our applications were a little special, and made a difference in some way.

    Without a doubt I think most of us would prefer to work in an area that means something to us, an area that elicits some passion. I just wonder how many of us actively seek out such positions or projects.

    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.