Voice of the DBA

Tag: career2

  • Minor Problems

    When I speak to people about blogging to increase the visibility of their brand, one of the questions I often hear from them is “what do I write about?” My advice is to take the every day occurrences, the things that come up in the course of your job, and write about them. It doesn’t matter if everyone else has written about backing up SQL Server databases, or writing a query to find duplicate rows; it matters if you have written about it. A potential employer often your blog as due diligence on your skills, including the way you communicate information to others through your writing.

    However most of us also encounter these seemingly trivial, minor problems that plague our environments. We find creative solutions to the problems, solutions that others might not think of. They don’t seem to be worth sharing. I hear so many SQL Server professionals belittle their work, thinking that anyone could build the same solution. That might be true, but for every problem you solve, there are probably others working with SQL Server that would benefit from hearing about your work.

    New people come into the SQL Server community all the time. There will be people that connect to SQL Server with Management Studio for the first time and back up a database. This week someone is writing their first T-SQL query and executing it. The trivial, simple solutions that you develop for common problems might just help one of these beginners learn something, and solve a problem their first week as an accidental DBA.

    Write about the common things you do. Share the solutions you develop. Pay it forward, since most of us have gotten help already from someone else in the community doing the same thing.

    Steve Jones

     

  • Grow Your Family

    Yesterday I wrote a piece on the networking event that Andy Warren and I host on the Monday before the Summit conference each year. It’s a great event, and I hope more of you can come next year. Our event is really a microcosm of something amazing in the SQL Server community. I haven’t seen it in other technologies I’ve been a part of, and I’m proud that we, as a community, have done something amazing.

    The hashtag on Twitter for many events is #sqlfamily. It seems as though the various community members, some speakers, some authors, some watchers, all treat this professional group as a family. We greet each other warmly, we hug, we help each other solve problems or find jobs. And we argue and disagree. We act like a family, a large group of people bonded together.

    If you choose to join and participate, it seems that someone will be willing to help you, cheer you up, laugh with you, and be your friend. It’s an amazing group of people, and I have a question for you this Friday.

    Will you join the #sqlfamily and meet 3 new people at your next event?

    That’s my recommendation for networking and becoming more involved in the community. At your next user group, SQL Saturday, or other event, make an effort to talk to 3 people. Introduce yourself and ask them what they do with SQL Server. It’s that simple to network with people and you never know what will come of a new relationship. Most will be casual “hi, how are you” relationships and some will be “I don’t want to talk to them anymore”, but I bet you get a few closer relationships where you enjoy seeing and talking to the individual.

    You might find a new good friend, a contact that you can call for help, or a colleague that calls to offer you a new job.

    Steve Jones

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  • Open Arms

    This past Monday night was the annual networking dinner that Andy Warren and I put on before the PASS Summit. Actually “put on” is a bit of an overstatement. We pick a location, call them to ask if a large group can come in, and send out an invitation. People learn about it and if they can, they come and meet people and buy their own food or drinks.

    Apparently people still like the idea as we had over 200 people fill up the Buffalo Wild Wings at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. I stood out front for 45 minutes or so, greeting people and making sure they knew were to go. I bet I shook more than 100 hands in that time, introducing myself to at least half of the people and greeting the others that I’ve known for years. I probably got 50 hugs as well during a long night. I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner until 10pm.

    Despite the main event not starting until Wednesday, a lot of people were in town early. Some had pre-conference sessions scheduled, some arrived early to sight-see and adjust to the new time zone, and quite a few attended our SQL in the City on Monday and weren’t even attending the larger conference. All of them came to meet others on Monday night.

    It’s an amazing happy hour opportunity for people to meet each other. Andy and I try to make the even welcoming, introducing people to each other whenever we have the chance. We encourage everyone to not just sit with their friends, but meet 3-5 new people and have a short conversation.

    I think it works well and even though I’m not attending the conference, I did want to make it to this event and I met some new people that I’ll remember in the future. @sqlhammer and Erroll from Charlotte are two that stand out, but I had lots of short conversations with others that are too numerous to mention.

    If you come to the conference next year, think about attending our Monday night event. If you don’t, think about going early (or staying late) at your local user group and doing a little networking. If you go to a SQL Saturday, be sure to say hi to at least 3 new people.

    Steve Jones

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    Today’s podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com.

    Follow Steve Jones on Twitter to find links and database related items and announcements.
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  • Union Benefits

    This editorial was originally published on Mar 19, 2009. It is being re-run today as Steve is away at SQL in the City.

    I know lots of you don’t think unions are good, they create inefficiencies, etc., etc., blah, blah. We’ve debated that topic before and I’m not sure that anyone would change their mind.

    Suspend those thoughts for a moment. Not because you’re wrong, but because I want you to have a bit of fun this Friday. For this Friday’s poll:

    What benefits would you like if we were unionized?

    Stop and think about it for a minute. If you could argue for better benefits in your job, something that you think would make you more productive, or your company more productive, what kinds of things would you want your union to get?

    For a few thoughts, I was thinking along the lines of these things:

    • Retraining – Some guarantee of xx days of training for every xx years of service if they get rid of your technology?
    • Ergo Chairs – Or any other equipment that might make you more productive for your whole career
    • extra vacation – The US standard is still 2 weeks, though many companies combine sick and vacation time as one 3 week block. What would you want? 4 weeks? 5?
    • Medical benefits – Perhaps some base level of benefits that’s higher than you normally get?
    • Telecommuting – Some guarantee to commute xx days a year?
    • Professional Advancement – Certification payment with no penalty? Something else?
    • Overtime – Should we get paid for extra work?
    • Holidays – More holidays?
    • Retirement – Pensions?

    I’m not necessarily thinking that we’d get all these things, but it would be interesting to think about what benefits would benefit the group as a whole. So let us know what you think, and what might improve if we had a union. I’m not asking you to support one, or even calling for one, but just thinking a little outside the box.

    Steve Jones

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