Reed Me : IT guy

Amen, brother. Preach it, SQL-type dude!

reedme — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:30:02 GMT

My pal, Steve, over @ SQL Server Central has been riffing on the DBA-train-thyself mantra again. Bizactly!!

Too many people seem to believe that everything about their career should be paid for by their current employer... despite the fact that they usually went to school on their own nickel in the first place and probably did a ton of self-study (if they’re successful) to get where they are.

There is no excuse for you not to be able to improve your skills and career. There is no excuse | SQL Musings | SQL Server Central

Remember that you will “Fight like you train.” So, if you aren’t training... You’re unlikely to remember that T-SQL syntax for that database restore under pressure. Or those darn big O notation rules during an interview! I’m just sayin’.

Like Steve said, go learn something new every week. Didn’t somebody famous like Eleanor Roosevelt say that, too? Heh. I’ll only add that you need to train (review and practice) stuff that you already think you know, too.

This whole blog chain echoes something that I’ve told every person that I’ve ever advised or mentored:

You own your own career.

Period. Nobody else will ever be as invested in your career success (or failure) than you are. Not even your mommy.

It’s nice to be wanted!

reedme — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:43:58 GMT

Personally, I’ve always believed that “It’s the data, stupid!” when it comes to enterprise application development. I’m gratified to see that enterprises are figuring this out! It’s unfortunate that salaries seem to be slumping in all but three IT areas, but I’m glad to be part of one that’s not!

That counter-trending is what Foote called "an urgent demand for talent" in three areas: management/methodology/process, database, and messaging and communications skills. IT pay up in three areas, down elsewhere (infoworld.com)

As I’m sitting on the review board today for prospective MCA|SQL Server candidates (formerly known by the less politically correct monicker “SQL Rangers”), I see yet more validation that companies are learning more every day that the data is where the real value is. The database architects that we certify through the MCA program are top notch, all-around gurus; most of them come from previous lives with deep experience in non-Microsoft database platforms, and many of them know SQL Server better than they know themselves!

Just remember, there are lots of way to get to the data… and it doesn’t always have to be a web app!

Can your IT guy do this? Can you?

reedme — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:58:14 GMT

Ah, this brings back memories.

The 30 skills every IT person should have (infoworld.com)

It's probably funnier to me since over the course of history, I've been:

The nerd guy
The pizza guy
The delivery guy
The police guy
The computer guy
The network guy
The security guy
The consulting guy
And the list goes on...

Ted's ranting and raving over @ SSC about not wanting to be the IT Guy. You are, Ted. Get over it. People generalize, so just be glad that it's a relatively innocuous stereotype that you're caught in.

I agree that I'm not a typical IT admin monkey, but... Like it or not, we're "IT guys," Ted. You might convince somebody to call you the database guy, but there's strength in numbers. I recommend T-shirts and bumper stickers:

I'm an IT guy, and I vote.

Heh.

p.s. Three cheers for the Supreme Court! They finally got one right this week in Heller. w00t!