“Database administration is for suckers”?
Stephen G. is a DBA and he’s not happy about it. Here are a few selections from his comment on my recent post:
“[Database administration] is for people who really like to be at work all the time and on call all the time. Working 40 hours NON-stop is not unusual. You don’t really NEED sleep do you?
“Want a social life? Well sorry, you are a computer geek. You guys are not allowed to see the sun.
“. . . Your boss probably has no idea what you do and probably thinks of you as a necessary evil. The rewards can be minimal. At least a developer can point at something and say, ‘I did that.’ What can a DBA point too?
“Looking back, I think being an accountant or laywer would have been a better career path. After all, if you have been doing that for 20 years, you get a bit of respect. If you have been in IT for 20 years, you are seen as over the hill and out of date and ready to be replaced by a 16 year-old know-it-all. IT is for suckers.”
Sure, Stephen is a cynical, grizzled old veteran, but does he have a point? Nobody will argue that the life of a DBA is easy. But surely it has its rewards — with a potential six-figure salary among them — doesn’t it?
To you non-cynical, grizzled old veterans: if a newbie was reading this post, what would you say to him/her about the positive aspects of being a DBA? Or do you agree with Stephen?
Cheers, Tim
Posted: June 13th, 2007 under Uncategorized, Managing an Oracle shop, Oracle careers and certifications.
I agree in large part with Stephen. Although he forgot: “Being constantly viewed as control-freak asshole by developers because you won’t let them use 17-field primary keys or don’t think they should be creating/dropping the same table over and over again as part of some ETL process.”
Comment by Don Seiler — June 13, 2007 @ 10:31 am
I agree so much with Stephen G. that I moved out of the DBA role completely 7 years ago, into pure data architecture. If anything, he understates the environment in which most DBA’s work, simply by ignoring the thrust to offshoring the ‘commodity role’ of DBA.
Bean counters, in their eternal search for the magical 5 pound sack which will hold 10 pounds of meadow muffins, have frequently identified the DBA role as completely offshorable. 30 or 60 days later, a grand announcement trumpets how much money the move saved. What never gets the press is the series of ongoing, crippling failures of the outsourcing companies to own and solve production database problems as they arise. Worse for the companies in question, by the time their own business users are forming lynch mobs the crucial technical talent they let go have found other situations.
Makes me wonder why there’s no move to form a DBA trade union …
Comment by Olgrizz — June 13, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Find a better place to work; they are out there (maybe a little less money). Educate your managers on what it is you do. Give them some color coded metrics, they like pretty pictures. Make a case for more staff if you regularly work too many hours.
Comment by Maggi — June 13, 2007 @ 11:14 am
It is absolutely true. DBAs cannot visibly outperform to senior managers, they can only get blamed for problems. They should work for an outsourcer that specializes in database management, if there is such a thing.
Comment by E. Fudd — June 13, 2007 @ 11:18 am
I have only been a dba for 4 years, but have been in IT for over 20. I first became interested in becoming a dba after seeing what dba’s do, what they have control over, and the amount of autonomy they seemed to have. Now, I am beginning to agree with Stephen G. Taking personal satisfaction in doing something well, getting something done, or struggling through an issue, only goes so far. If nobody else recognizes (or understands) what you had to overcome, what’s the point? Then there’s the old, “where do you see yourself in 5 years” question. What do we have to aspire to? Just becoming an old dba?
Comment by Erik N — June 13, 2007 @ 11:33 am
Larry said that many’s years a go to there Oracle DBA, we don’t need you OEM will do your job in the future.
It cost less to be replaced by graduated guy’s who just learn the most recently version, or to be replaced by outsourcing from INDIA. If you need performance, don’t tune the DB. it’s cheaper to by a new server with more hardware.
Comment by daniel — June 13, 2007 @ 11:35 am
I agree in some parts, like been considered outdated and overpayed with the pass of the years, but been always updated in the database features are a crucial part of this job, yet some companies still use the database as an Oracle 7 database, despite the many features found in the database
Comment by Alejandro Chirinos — June 13, 2007 @ 11:47 am
There is much truth to the negativity espoused by many dba’s. Whereas in the technical area there is a non-management technical path in which salary keeps pace with managment counterparts, this seems to never happen to a dba.
Promotions to higher positions in the “IT” heriarchy are rare and I love being told that I should be thankful for my pittance of a raise and the fact that I have a job at all. This is especially satisfying when coming from a know nothing manger making 2 or three times what I am. AS I usually sat after my review, “Well I cannot blame you for my staying where I have”.
Comment by Gino S. — June 13, 2007 @ 12:04 pm
I just ranted on this topic on my blog (click on my name above).
But in short, I agree. IT people may get good money to play with technology, but they get long hours (including evenings and week-ends) without compensation (or appreciation), no chance of advancement, packed cubicles with last choice of equipment, and generally decisions (even technical ones) are made by people in other departments, not the ones actually responsible for building, deploying, maintaining, etc.
Why is this? Possibly because there’s so many of us and that we’re interchangeable. Possibly because we accept it, and can live with it. Not to be sexist, but it’s mostly a male occupation meaning we’re more tolerant of the intrusions into our personal time, and the less comfortable working conditions.
Comment by Robert V — June 13, 2007 @ 12:11 pm
I’ve been an Oracle DBA for 18 years. Started with Oracle V5. It has been a heck of a career and I’ve done the 40 hours work day many times although not to much anymore. You can’t be a DBA if you are looking for recognition. There is none. I’ve heard it said that you know you have a good DBA if you don’t even know you have one. Funny and somewhat true. The job has changed a lot over the last 18 years and I think to stay in the game you have to change with it. As the routine functions are automated you have to develop new higher level skills. Today DBAs must all branch into other things like Database Architecture, Storage Management, or Applications Management like People Soft, SAP, or Oracle. I still think it is a great job and I’d rather be doing this than anything else in IT.
Comment by Paul Collins — June 13, 2007 @ 12:16 pm
I’ve seen organizations that don’t have strong dba’s. Their application always looks terrible under the covers because they don’t want or have some one that actually can look at the bigger application system picture. And that is true of some very big development and systems firms. All they want to do is bill for a devliverable. It doesn’t matter if it is easy to maintain, because they won’t have to live with it or if they do have to live with it, they get to charge more because it requires more to maintain. That someone has to be strong enough to say, “Don’t do it that way. Do it this way!”.
Comment by Rick — June 13, 2007 @ 12:23 pm
While I understand where Stephen is coming from, I do not agree with the blanket statements. Like all things IT based, not just DBA, there are good and bad places to work. I have been very lucky to have worked at 2 great companies for my (so far) 11 year career as a DBA. Yes, your boss really doesn’t understand what you do but when the fire trucks roll out of the station and put out the fires, if you know your job and save the day, you do get the recognition. Just normal day to day stuff, I just assume that I need to do the background tasks that do not get seen but keep those fire trucks in the station as much as possible. And my job satisfaction doesn’t come from recognition but from my own personal knowledge that I am damn good at what I do.
Comment by Dave Kragness — June 13, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
I wholeheartedly agree as well with Stephen G. I was a production DBA for around 7 years and now prefer database architecture and refactoring. Besides, from a database perspective, dealing with overpaid, know-it-all, pin-head developers wears on you after a while.
Being an on-call, 7/24 DBA sucks (no wonder it’s always a salary and not hourly position).
By late 2001, DBA salaries dropped significantly - some 30%-40% - due to the dot.com bust, 9/11 and the influx of overseas DBA-wannabes. Fortunately, salaries are slowly moving back up because IT managers are finally starting to realize that cheap labor is just that, cheap labor and having a language barrier in your IT department hurts more than it helps. IT managers are also understanding that off-shoring wasn’t the great idea they thought it was.
IMHO DBA’s are the most under-appreciated positions in IT. Like was alluded to previously, DBA are only recognized when something’s not working.
If I had to do things all over again 25 years hence, I would not even go into IT (let alone a DBA) as it can be a completely unappreciated and unrewarding field. Outside of the office (and not that it probably matters), you really can’t even talk about your day to anyone (except maybe someone in your field or your dog). First, no one would understand what you’re talking about and second, they really wouldn’t give a crap.
Comment by Ed G — June 13, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
Only if you are managing an Oracle database is your life the pits. If it is DB2 or Informix your life is a breeze, which equates to two good rdbms’s versus one horrible one, i.e Oracle.
Comment by Barb — June 13, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
There is some truth in all of the posts above. It can be rewarding, it can be frustrating. Especially dealing with people who don’t appreciate the enormous amount of responsibility and pressure that comes with the job.
As a DBA, I keep myself interested in what I do by exploring all the “neat” stuff that Oracle can do. Mostly web development using owa-packages. I’ve been able to create some very useful tools for myself and the developers.
For personal gratification, I play golf (what does THAT say about me
Comment by APL — June 13, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
I disagree with Stephen. I have always been in a position where my job is appreciated. And frankly, if you are working a lot of 40 hour days, you’re not doing your job. While a few weeks of those long days are inevitable every year, the DBA’s job is to make everything smoother for everyone, including himself. So the DBA should try and set things up so those hours arent necessary.
And my boss is another Oracle DBA, so he understands almost everything I do. The only difference is that my boss came up on the Unix systems side of the business before he moved into the dba field, so we actually complement each other very well.
As for developers pay, well if a developer is making more than you, switch to the development side of the business. A DBA should be able to do just about anything a developer does, and do it better.
Comment by Andrew Kerber — June 13, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Yes, I’m an upstanding, recovering know-it-all, pointy-head developer. I do know that that DBA discipline is rarely understood by developers because the DBA must be reflective, cautious and deliberate–ALL TRAITS THAT ARE SORELY LACKING IN DEVLOPERS. I want all the DBAs to know that I appreciate ‘ya and you have saved developers from their foolish selves without them even knowing it.
As for Ed G: At least your dog wags its tail! :-)))
Comment by Rashad — June 13, 2007 @ 1:44 pm
I do agree with some of Stephen G’s sentiments.
I have been an Oracle DBA for 17 years and for the most part I have enjoyed the role. However, the last few years have become more of a trial.
It’s an unfortunate fact of life that often our best work is done out of hours when no one is around. You can literally work all night and all weekend, but if you come in at 10:30 on a Monday morning instead of 9:00, you get the usual comments like, “thanks for showing up”, “part timer” and “must be nice to work banker’s hours”. These barbs of side splitting wit often coming from our old friends, the development community.
I’m pretty tired of this politically correct garbage of DBAs and developers allegedly living in perfect harmony, side by side on (piano) keyboards, oh Lord, why can’t weeeeee? In my experience, most of the (Oracle) developers I’ve worked with are wannabe DBAs. They can’t stand the fact I could do their job when they know they couldn’t do mine, despite their claims. Why do DBAs generally loathe developers? A couple of real life examples.
Developers tend to have a narrow view of the database and only see the objects that are directly related to their area of development. Why then, would a developer be a better choice for physical database design than the DBA who has to manage and maintain the entire schema? I’ve had database design wrestled away from me in the past only for the resultant developer driven design and PL/SQL API to perform so poorly as to be next to useless. Guess who got the blame for poor performance and told to fix it?
Some developers are true mavericks and want to try new things which can lead to corrupt test data, dropped objects, screwed up grants and RI, etc. It’s the DBAs who try to prevent that misguided enthusiasm and are seen as villains as a result. But what happens at 5:00PM? The developers go home and it’s the DBA who’s still at work until midnight undoing the developer’s database joy ride. And don’t get me started on developer’s who change production directly without telling the DBA.
We all know the importance of staying current with our skills. How many times have DBAs been in a position where their employer doesn’t have a spare machine on which to install the latest release? Or their manager won’t sanction the introduction of a new feature because ‘things are working just fine as they are’? Or a version upgrade is delayed so long to the point it becomes critical (desupport anyone?) and the window of opportunity reduces to an almost impossible size? How many times have you, my fellow DBAs, felt like you’re expected to be a miracle worker – every day?
I really thought OCP DBA certification would make a difference. A way for us to stand out from the crowd of other Oracle folks on site and get the recognition and respect we deserve. We all know that Oracle introduced the OCP exams as a way of selling more training, right? How come then, I passed my 7.3 to 8.0 upgrade exam in about 22 minutes without doing any formal training? How come Oracle now allows you to take ONE upgrade exam to upgrade your certification by TWO versions? How come I’ve interviewed OCP DBAs who couldn’t tell me what happens when a redo log group switches? How come I’ve known developers who have their developer certification AND the DBA certification? How come some training companies offer OCP DBA boot camp training courses that take people who could not spell Oracle before and churn out cheap, inexperienced, clueless DBA wannabes but with a certification credential? Is it just me, or does anyone else think this is undermines the value of the certification programme?
I could go on, but you get my drift I’m sure…..
Comment by PT — June 13, 2007 @ 1:46 pm
Hey guys, hang on!!
If you are not getting recognition or appriciation, quit the job or change the career.
For better recognition join universal studios, something like that.
Most of the DBAs work during week ends, late nights,,, because they love the job, they honor their responsibility.
No DBA will work during week ends, just to impress the crap called IT manager, but to get the joy of making somethig better.
lets love the job, profession, career.. let’s have the joy of working for the team….playing the key role.
Comment by Krishna — June 13, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
DB2 and Informix? Yeah, and living in a trailer park is like a living in a resort. What’s in the Kool-Aid you’re drinking. Simple databases for simple dba’s. Managing any database no one uses anymore HAS to be easy. Are those 2 databases still around?
Comment by Ed G — June 13, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
“Only if you are managing an Oracle database is your life the pits. If it is DB2 or Informix your life is a breeze, which equates to two good rdbms’s versus one horrible one, i.e Oracle.”
Rdb/VMS is the same: very easy to manage. But we’re migrating to Oracle 11, so I guess I’m glad that I’m already a telecommuting hermit.
Comment by Ron — June 13, 2007 @ 2:24 pm
The question I think is this ‘why have we chosen to be dbas’.
Been an Oracle DBA for 5 years now and yes it’s a thankless job but the satisfaction I derive from this is enormous. Working for a telco, where the data is the business (as is the case with all serious firms today), my ability to ensure data availability and security (among other things) provides the right amount of adrenaline to keep me going. I see the role has evolved/is evolving from custodian of the data (and it’s supporting structures) to that of a solution provider (implementing RAC, dataguard etc).
Yes, your ability to innovate might be limited by your employer (like you rightfully pointed out that your manager doesn’t know what you are doing), that however shouldn’t stop you from realizing that you are part of an elite group of IT professionals. Had a similar challenge with a non-technical boss I once had and I made him understand the value of the DBA function through in-house workshops/seminars/knowledge sharing sessions for technical people and business users/internal customers.
The day I stop being a DBA that’s the day I stop being involved in the technical side of IT. Take heart Stephen…
Comment by Lekan Fabode — June 13, 2007 @ 2:41 pm
Novell’s CNA program was all the rage in the early 90’s, and each company with a network seemed to need one (on staff or call). With advances in applications and infrastructure they were replaced less skilled employees on inferior & cheaper products.
I see the same thing occurring in the RDBMS/Oracle/OCP world. I’d advise pure production (physical) support DBA’s to start cross training apps, design, and analyst skills. Yes, change (getting current) is the nature of the beast in most high end jobs. It just moves even faster in IT.
Lawyers need to know the most recent cases, Doctors the latest procedure, Engineers the new code restrictions.
It could be worse, you could be in QA. Where everyone gets angry at you when you do your job well. (find a bug hold a release that has been promised, get in the way of progress)
Comment by Sean — June 13, 2007 @ 2:41 pm
I too have worked in IT for over 20 years. I started working with Oracle 10 years ago and recently moved to the DBA team at my company.
I agree there is an under-appreciation of the DBA. I agree a DBA has to take personal satisfaction and commit to a demanding job. But - I think DBAs need to adapt to a changing role. At my company, a DBA is a database ANALYST - not administrator. While sounding like semantics - it means that we don’t just administer the technical database environment. Some of my colleagues don’t accept that but that is the trend I am seeing.
Today’s DBA needs to manage and promote themselves so that non-technical management understands what they do and how valuable they are. They may need to reach out beyond their technical environment to participate in new areas like data modeling, architecture, and security.
Someone else posted “you know you have a good DBA if you don’t even know you have one”. While a great compliment to the DBA, it actually hurts our profession. We do need to show the pretty pictures, the status sheets with metrics, industry speaking engagements - even job offers we don’t intend to take. Being the techhead geek in the backroom is NOT good for your career or the DBA discipline. That is what our offshore competition is all about - we need to show added value.
Comment by DebbieB — June 13, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
“[Database administration] is for people who really like to be at work all the time and on call all the time. Working 40 hours NON-stop is not unusual. You don’t really NEED sleep do you?
—> NOT ALL THE TIME
“Want a social life? Well sorry, you are a computer geek. You guys are not allowed to see the sun.
—> NEVER HAD A PROBLEM HERE EITHER
“. . . Your boss probably has no idea what you do and probably thinks of you as a necessary evil. The rewards can be minimal. At least a developer can point at something and say I did that. What can a DBA point too?
—> THE THINGS THAT DEVELOPERS SCREW UP. DEVELOPERS ARE LIKE KIDS. THEY WILL DO SOMETHING THAT HE/SHE HAS BEEN ASKED NOT TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE.
“Looking back, I think being an accountant or laywer would have been a better career path. After all, if you have been doing that for 20 years, you get a bit of respect. If you have been in IT for 20 years, you are seen as over the hill and out of date and ready to be replaced by a 16 year-old know-it-all.”
—> NEVER AN ACCOUNTANT. THAT’S A NO BRAINER. THEIR SOFTWARE DOES EVERYTHING. LAYWERS ARE THE WORST. THEY OVERCHARGE, DO NOT (IN FACT) HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE, AND WORK FOR THE BIASED JUDICIAL SYSTEM.
Comment by Neil — June 13, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
Hi;
This is my 37th year in DP and my 12th year as an Oracle DBA.
I’m still studying and still learning. That’s why I got into
DP and DBA work in the first place. Things have changed over the
years and not necessarily for the better for the American
worker - with downsizing, outsourcing, and the huge flood
of foreign workers coming into the American workforce, particularly from Idia and China. Today as a consultant
DBA, I’m literally competing with people all over the world.
But, I’ve always had a good living and supported 3 kids through
college and graduate school. Granted my employment hasn’t been
without several interruptions in the last 5 years but I’m
hanging in there. If you have steady full-time employment today
you should be grateful! There is still a lot of job satifaction
of being the last design word on a database that helps support
a $40 billion dollar application or writing a Perl or Java
program that works eloquently, and just having a joke
or bitch session with your co-workers. Live is all in the
eye of the beholder. Look at the good and forgive the bad -
also a good lessopn in marriage.
Mr. T.
Comment by Mr. T — June 13, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
Geez, if you hate the job so much, get out of the business! Your career is in your control. Find a better company - they’re out there. DBA work isn’t for everyone - switch if you don’t like it. I’ve been in IT for 20 years and have done everything from development to data modeling to database architecture and I prefer DBA work. I agree, if you’re working too much, it’s typically your own fault. If you aren’t appreciated, then do something to show what you do. If management doesn’t see a value to you, then provide them an explanation of what you do and the importance of your job. Take responsiblity for yourself and stop whining.
Comment by Brenda — June 13, 2007 @ 3:04 pm
This is true of any technical support job, not just DBA. I am as Systems Administrator/DBA that looks after the JDEdwards ERP/Linux/Windows/SQLServer/Oracle…. and if I do my job nobody thinks I am doing anything, because nothing is ever broken.
I once worked with a old hand in the IT industry who said any time you feel undervalued just go on holiday for 4 weeks and when you get back everybody life will be great (until everybody forgets again).
Comment by Ian — June 13, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
If you are willing to study more and have more accomplishements, DBA job is best for you. I am a 5-year DBA but I won’t limit myself to database only. There are tons of new stuff out there to explore (like content management, RAC, wiki, app servers, and more). You need to love your what you are doing to move ahead and enjoy your life. Otherwise, change your career.
Comment by Amir O — June 13, 2007 @ 3:48 pm
I have worked for mgr’s that were DBA’s and mgr’s that were developers. The mgr’s with a DBA background were nearly ALWAYS easier to work for and willing to “go to bat” for me. When working for these mgr’s, the job of a DBA was rewarding enough to keep me happy (or less disgruntled at least). Working for development-background mgr’s (or worse DUH-management) makes me consider a career change to something simpler, like landscaping or circus elephant dung clean-up crew.
Comment by Stephen A — June 13, 2007 @ 4:08 pm
Interesting enough I do agree with Stephen. it takes lots to get to becoming a DBA as well as it takes more of your time to stay abreast with the ever changing environment. What usually motivates each individual is usaully his determination to become perfect. Scaling this perfection is one thing and recognition for what you’ve done or you are doing is another. Sometimes i think my choice becoming a
DBA was an ABD (Absolute Bad Decision).But some of us are stuck
Comment by Larry Cumber — June 13, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
i,ve worked as a Consultant DBA for 10years on different projects. For me i think becoming a DBA was the best thing to happen to me. I have put in lots of hours to my job and at the end of the day i get my satisfaction. Our users and developers have great respect and satisfaction for me as their DBA, coz of the miracles we do. Biggest concern though is as mentioned on the issue of newbies who come for interviews with the latest certifications but absolutely no clue on even what is sqlplus. Oracle needs to review its certification.
Comment by CNM — June 14, 2007 @ 1:45 am
Every body seems to be right.
Where is the real face of the Truth ?
Comment by PICARD Isabelle — June 14, 2007 @ 3:58 am
I have 20+ yrs exp, but not all in DBA. Yes , I have worked for a Database company - long enough from Version 7.0 . I have worked in devlp/apps/consulting.
1. First I don’t like this Offshore/outsorce pitch in any IT debate. I have worked 7 yrs in US, 2 Yrs in Singapore. IT is not just from/for developed countries. DBA-wanneebies/Language issues in IT department? Do you have to speak English with only American accent to be a recognisable DBA/IT guy? Come on folks!
2. In my opinion, bulk of DBAs are just plain Database operators. If you have been working as operator only, Database technology has passed by you.(I worked in Flatfile(COBOL/RMS/VMS)/IDMS in ‘85 and in Oracle 7/8/9i/10g ).
3. In-house database and in-house DBAs will be a thing of past.Long time back (1985-86) my co-worker ( 50 yrs old ,an older gentlement then) was a hardware engieer (whose job was a to be stand by “support/repair/maintainenace” guy for hardware problems on mainframe 24X7 365 days). His worry was “what will I do after 5 yrs or even earlier”. Does it sound SIMILAR?
My answer to him was (then, 1985-86) to pick up networking(much before internet/Cisco). Sounds prophetic!
4. No body will build ERP s/w/system inhouse. There was a time when lots of companies around the world used to do that on their mainframe (in-house). Time now for Oracle/SAP and what not.
Next THING: No body will manage/maintain S/W in-house or even BUY S/W for use in house. S/W as SERVICE has already COME. And they (who?)will maintain these whirring machines globally by global team around the world and around the clock!Does it sound that DBAs/System Admin/Network Admin/Storage Admin have a career path there?
Comment by pradip Biswas — June 14, 2007 @ 4:16 am
I have been working as a Oracle DBA for last 3 years with big gaints and enjoying my work without any complain. As far as reward is concern, its true that all rewards and appreciations go to developers only. Still, when there is any issue and developers come to me for solution, it seems to me that I am above them and after solving them, their smiles and thanks become my rewards. It seems to me that their rewards are of no meaning if I am not standing behind them.
Working as a DBA is real a challange and its not a child play. Working in night shift and solving issue has its own pleasure.
After all it all depends on mind set of different people, how they want to enjoy their life and how they love to take new challanges and resposibilties.
Comment by Suprio Sarkar — June 14, 2007 @ 8:29 am
I have to say the 15 years as an Oracle DBA has been fulfilling (you learn that you have to make own rewards) and frustrating (when the smart comments fly, you learn to send them back 2 fold in a politically correct manner). Being the DBA does give you some god-like status to some and the root of all evil to others.
I always seem to end up in positions where you have to wear many hats, so I’ve seen what it is like being a developer, an architect, support and a DBA. When things go right you’re the best thing since sliced white bread, when they don’t you’re the dregs of the earth. To work in any position in IT you need thick skin and with being a DBA you know all the crap that goes along with it, either embrace it or do something else. The job is never going to change.
A lot of valid comments have been made in the posts. I just know that to save my sanity, I just look at what’s going on today. I don’t think about what happened last week or what might happen next. The job is as it is, and since the technology is constantly changing I have enough to do to do my job and keep up on how to do it. I must like it or I wouldn’t still be doing it.
Comment by Carol — June 14, 2007 @ 9:25 am
I Absolutely do not agree with Stepehn am a dba for about 10 years now and i absolutely love the thrill and challenge that piles up on my desk. and i do have a fmaily life too with 2 adorable kids. As far as DBA’s being database operators comment form a poster. be real have you ever looked at a real it shop. it is the dba’s that help the sysadmin the developers and even the business analysts identify and figure out issues.
DBA is a very broad term and calling DBA an operator is really outragous.
Comment by Fuad Arshad — June 14, 2007 @ 10:36 am
Hi All,
This is the Frame set of mind one get into - negative, boring and helpless mindset mainly becoz of the following reasons:
1. Either Stephen needs more technical knowledge to make technology work harder for him ie automation, correct implementation, upgrades, fine tunning and so on..instead of himself working harder (unless sometimes as there is no choice).
2. Or becoz he is not given adequate control & responsibility to control, decide and execute his DBA role due to improper, unprofessional decisions, unnecessary expectations and meaningless do work always attitude of IT Managers/ Management.
Stephen you should analyse yourself if you are facing one of the above or both of them together.
Dont worry you need change, which will bring the happiness back and will make you proud to proclaim the whole companies data is managed by me.
All the best..
Syed
Singapore.
Comment by Syed — June 15, 2007 @ 1:32 am
[…] Writers of Eye on Oracle blog community wrote very interesting entries about Oracle world. Tim DiChiara asked a provoking question “Is Database administration for suckers“ ? In my opinion being DBA is for real volunteers. Please don’t forget to read the comments of this post, I bet you will enjoy them. Another Eye on Oracle writer Mark Brunelli summarized the thoughts of other bloggers about upcoming Oracle release 11g. Read them to be ready, when your boss ask “tell me my dba what does 11g promise us”. Believe me they will ask :)) . Finally Elisa Gabbert wrote about some headlines from Oracle blogosphere agenda. […]
Pingback by Log Buffer #49: a Carnival of the Vanities for DBAs « Coskans Approach to Oracle — June 15, 2007 @ 7:49 am
If I don’t like my career, get out of it??? Huh? What should I do after 27 years in IT, open a friggin’ bistro. Wake up (or, rather, grow up).
At this stage in my life walking away from a marriage can be easier than walking away from a career.
I think some of you are missing the point to this topic and those that are are probably in their late 20’s to early 30’s. When you’ve got 15-20 years under your belt, then decide if this career path is something you could put on your headstone (”I could have worked more weekends”).
I don’t think I’d like doing the elephant dung clean-up crew stuff again. Did that at my last job.
Comment by Ed G — June 15, 2007 @ 10:10 am
Something to read:
http://www.dba-oracle.com/art_dbazine_what_kind_dba.htm
Comment by Ed G — June 15, 2007 @ 11:32 am
I actually feel sorry for someone that feels as sour about their profession as some of these posters do. I’ve been a DBA for 12 years and thoroughly love it. Of course if you’re looking for glory and love then this is the wrong field. DBAs are the cornerbacks of IT.
As for outdated skills; developers have more to worry about skillwise. There’s always another hot developer tool to be learned. Oracle is Oracle from release to release you just need to learn the new bells which I actually enjoy doing.
Actually it sounds like Steve G is working at a crappy place. I recently left one of those. Life as a DBA can be miserable or it can be a joy. Part of it is your environment and part of it is your outlook.
Comment by chuck k — June 15, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
I enjoy being a DBA here at a mid-sized university. There is plenty of respect and nearly-reasonable pay. I actually work as 1/2 developer and 1/2 DBA, although I sometimes am doing mostly one or the other. Staying in development provides the enjoyment of writing app’s that are appreciated. DP (IT) has been a very rewarding field, since my initial days with DP at Wal-Mart. The early 80’s were particularly fun years, as so much was just being developed (I remember when DB2 was first announced). Anyone who does not IT should simply get out of the business. It is not for those who do not enjoy it. Admittedly, it may be that you’re just working for the wrong employer. Consider working for a university instead of private industry… the pay is less, but the stress is also less. I go home at 5 and I don’t work weekends.
Comment by Larry — June 18, 2007 @ 12:23 pm
I think IT people miss always the business perspective. We try to be recognized for the great job we do in terms of technological features.
Forget it, we are talking to managers, and managers only understand one thing. Money!!!!
Try to put your job in economical terms and you will see something can change.
How much money will your company lose if your ERP database is down for 24 hours?
How much money will your company waste for a bad data retention policy?
And so on, try to convert your job into money saved to your organisation and now managers will start to understand what is the real value of your job.
Comment by Ceci P — June 18, 2007 @ 12:58 pm
I have been an Oracle DBA for 9 years. Unfortunately, I concur with the ‘unrecognized effort’ comments. At one point, I was actually told my position was a ‘black box’ according to senior management (the very people who hired me). They had absolutely no idea what DBA’s do or what purpose they serve.
It’s disheartening to know that while your report developers, your project managers and your business analysts are being recognized for the successful rollout of a major accounting system release, your long hours building new servers, new databases, new backup strategies and storage configurations are considered ‘just part of your job’.
The only thing that keeps me committed is I truly like the work.
Comment by chris — June 18, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
Oft-times developers and DBAs feel they’re pitted against one another in the IT arena. That’s because of the dynamic tension that exists between the opposing purposes to create (develop) vs control (administrate). However, as a developer I sincerely respect the skill of a competent DBA. They’re worth their weight in gold, especially in matters of performance, and data recovery. The issue then is competency, and neither developers nor DBAs have a corner on that market.
As far as job satisfaction is concerned, technical people always tend to gravitate toward a niche of expertise that alienates them from the general public and (unfortunately) management. It’s a hazard of the profession…deal with it (significant relationships should revolve around committment and shared experiences outside the professional environment). All happy technicians find joy in knowing they’ve done the best job possible under the circumstances, no matter what anybody else thinks. A good work ethic promotes and conveys confidence, and is the best andicdote to poor self-esteem on the job. So work hard, be happy, and realize the alternatives could include treading rice paddies in a third-world country where 98% of your income will go to your next meal. That’s reality for the majority of the worlds population.
Comment by Mark Dale — June 18, 2007 @ 1:17 pm
Stephen G. you need to take a vacation. Then if you’re still feeling the same way, look at getting another job.
I’ve been in IT for 24 years and a DBA for 20 years. So far, it’s been an eventful, crazy ride. I’ve worked at good companies and sweat shops; ones that bought companies and others that were bought out; even outsourced IT departments.
In those environments, the only people that really appreciated my work were bosses that were former DBAs and fellow DBAs. No one else in IT or the org even has a clue to what we do. They never will. What we do is both an art and a science. As long as I’ve been a DBA, on whatever platform, in whatever org, that’s been the job description.
Seriously, you need to get out of the negative vortex you’re in.
Comment by Jen B — June 18, 2007 @ 1:19 pm
Like all things it depends … I have been working with or on computers since 1963 and Oracle since 1983 (yeah there a few of us left). My career has spanned Satellite payload design to IT Sr. Mgt , international consulting to my own consulting company and I have always found something to interest me. My current job title is DBA for my last client (probably) but in reality I spend much of my time developing people to carry the industry forward. I will admit that I look on my current “job” as a relatively low stress semi-retirement job but there are always opportunities to get involved both at work and at home.
As to the off-shore question - the quality of expertise has been mixed but those that are competent are REALLY good. I do have a problem with Bush and Swartzenager preaching that silicon valley can’t find people so needs to import them ‘h1b’ sound familiar. At one time there we hundreds of the per year now there are hundreds of thousand. If I wasn’t seeing people being laid off around me the last few years I might be more believing in the cant. In closing - keep your spirits up , if you are unhappy then retrain. You didn’t get your current job because you were dumb.
Comment by Ron Waganer — June 18, 2007 @ 2:06 pm
I think that all that people up there are a has a lot of complex. The DBA is the god of data, he know all about the company, who works, whats service provides and when. All other departments depends of data. So you are on the top … Managers call the dba when something is not working properly this means that they cant live without us (no a nesesary evil). In the $$$ we have better income than developers, managers etc…
If you want to be recognize do some reports about your performance and what benefits the company has having a good DBA.
Also i travel a lot because we has to update our certificatios, get new trainings and a lot of conventios… i feellgreat doing dba consultant. ;P
Comment by Luixo — June 18, 2007 @ 2:19 pm
I have been an Oracle DBA since 5.1C. I have worked in state/local goverment as an employee, spent several years consulting, and am now working with a startup pet insurance company. I have never felt as if I was not appreciated, even by management. I believe the most important skill for a DBA is communication and checking your ego at the door. I have a healthy respect for developers. Working together, I have showed them a better tuned query (or whatever the issue happens to be), without making them feel badly, or making myself look like the ‘Control Freak’. Oracle can be very humbling experience. Developers have shown me some pretty cool tricks along the years, and I appreciate their efforts. I have spent my share of evenings and weekends working. But it was usually for an upgrade, most recently to 10gR2. The extra hours I spent upgrading were later used with my family on a wonderful 5-day camping trip in Idaho….I do see the sun! I think Stephen needs a vacation and a lesson in the power of positive thinking. I have a 16 year-old-know-it-all computer geek for a son. Don’t under estimate them, join them, listen to them, you may learn something new. I absolutely love being a DBA. I thrive on the occasional challenges and can’t wait to get my hands on the latest realeases.
Comment by Karen S — June 18, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
I am a developer. Have only 1 DBA friend. I treat him with a lot of respect; of the 49 comments above (or it below) the +ve rest their case. Peace
Comment by Premkumar — June 18, 2007 @ 9:38 pm
Basically, there is a positive and a negative side of being a DBA.
The positive side being the satisfaction that you feel when you have struggled with a DBA problem and resolved it. The negative side is not being recognized for resolving the problem. So it depends on what you are looking for.
Nivedita D.
Comment by Nivedita Dighe — June 19, 2007 @ 12:22 am
I don’t agree entirely. I am a senior Oracle DBA. I have my own office, a company car, lunch vouchers, a nice salary and some recognition. Of course, nothing is perfect but when there is an issue and that 200 people can’t work and that after a couple of commands, everything is back to normal… because of me, well, I feel good. I live in Belgium and here, legally, the maximum is 39 hours a week of work. If you work more, you get day off. At 150% the saterday and 200% the sunday. I am also on call… one week every month (with other dbas) and we have extra money for doing it. The ice on the cake is that by being pro-active in my job and by using automated script to resolve issue, I am never called but still get the extra money. Recently we can also work from home up to 2 days a week. A nice opportunity for beeing with my familly like the 26 days of holidays we have here. I feel myself privileged. Sure I don’t have a title as a “CIO” or something but when I enter my Mercedes C220 full options, leaving the office at 04:45 pm I know that the title only means nothing. I red somewhere : success is beeing abble to fetch your kids at school. (meaning that everything else is resolved already).
Comment by Michel S (Belgium) — June 19, 2007 @ 3:29 am
I’ve worked in the IT industry from 30+ years. I’ve seen total fools move job to bigger and better things (must be desperation from the employing companies) and VERY good technical people squander their lives earning a crust.
In various guises I’ve been an Operations and Technical Manager, a Technical Consultant for a computer company and DBA Manager for well over half those years and truly believe its all IT professionals who are unappreciated and generally ‘crapped on’.
The ups where the 70’s when it really was ‘fun’ working in an industry that was growing fast and people wanted you to learn as quickly as possible. I remember that there was a lot of drinking then as well, so college life just seemed to merge into the new work environment. You were there to work and work hard but still had time to have fun. (rosy specs?)
For me, the 80’s moved from Sysadmin on a mainframe to that and administrator on Unix, Mini’s and MS Windows. Wow, the world had opened to Technical people. DOS, Windows, VMS, SVR4 and mainframes to ‘play’ on…it was like being a pig in mud. Working all hours didn’t seem to matter too much as the company still plied us with free booze each week. Overtime payments…no chance, this was for love and technical kudos! But…the expectation was that you just DID it, no one thanked you, or applauded your skill and ingenuity.
The 90’s seem to come with companies trying to catch up to the world that had embraced new technologies and cost cutting redundancies. Still working on quite a few tasty projects but still no thanks…just here’s the next one. Save the company a £250K on new software…”that’s your job!”
Into the noughties (!?) sounds better than it is. The world is full of Auditors who believe anyone with Administrator in their role is going to ‘rip’ the company off. The job has now moved to proving one’s innocence several ways before they’re nearly almost with you. They read a book about hacking databases or see the news of some cretin losing a laptop with several million-customer accounts on.
Would I have working in the industry if I’d known what life would be? Probably!
Comment by Alain — June 19, 2007 @ 5:04 am
I agree with several of these comments such as, “There is none. I’ve heard it said that you know you have a good DBA if you don’t even know you have one. “, my response in agreement is “I don’t want my name known in high places; else I am not doing my job”. I do want to keep the fire trucks out of my “house” and yes management doesn’t know what I am doing behind the scenes to prevent fires. But isn’t that my job and chosen career.
What does upset me is the number of projects in so many of the application areas that I have to support these days that I no longer have time to perform the behind the scenes new feature and preventive maintenance activities, required to be a proactive, productive, and invisible DBA. I did do a study and presentation to management looking for additional DBA resources (see response #3), which hasn’t help me or my team to date.
So, our DBA team is getting more visibility and recognition because of projects, not our day-to-day activities, and our work load and hours have increased with it. It was much nicer when we could flex our time around the night and weekend schedules required to be a DBA, but now it takes those extra hours plus the regular 7:00am - 5:00pm, M-F days work schedule to perform our job at a minimal level, not an exceptional level.
I do want to provide my own self-satisfaction, but with demands they way the are coming, it is getting more difficult.
Comment by Terry S. — June 19, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
I’ve been in IT for 18 years and DBA’ing for 7. I’d like to point out that many of the gripes re hours, conditions and recognition are not at all confined to DBAs or even IT staff. Everywhere people are having to work longer hours due to lower staff levels and increased inefficiency. These is the malaise of the modern corporation which, inevitably, most DBAs work for, and this malaise is largely due to the ridiculously competitive commercial environment which stifles true innovation, particularly in technological fields.
I would also say that most DBAs I have met do not do themselves any favours within the organisation. Management and clients bemoan the lack of, or overly-technical, communication from IT staff. Many DBAs seem reluctant to begin open and frank debate with their peers or management. Perhaps many are afraid of what will happen to them if they do, to which I would say have some guts! Rolling your eyes, sighing and then grumbling about the situation achieves nothing except stress for all.
I agree with the previous comments that as a DBA it is in fact preferable be fairly unknown within the organisation, quietly ensuring everything runs smoothly, albeit with little recognition for our efforts. But if you’re being pushed too hard it is also easy to made your presence felt. A few distressed emails here and there, followed by some bouts of (carefully planned!) “downtime” can work wonders. And if it’s that bad, leave. They’ll soon realise what you’re there for.
DBAing isn’t a career for the fainthearted, nor for the meek. If you weren’t warned about the out-of-hours work, well that sucks, but most of us were when we took the job.
Take back your power - you’ll feel better for it. If the database IS the organisation, then WE are the true masters!
Comment by longjon — June 20, 2007 @ 11:48 am
though most of the negative comments are accurate, one way i found to get recognition is to involve the manager or project manager in risk managemnt. by discussing all the possible ways things can go wrong (bad disk, os, network, app, etc) managers can appreciate your skill and input at a high-level. they will probably never know the full extent, but they get the big picture. also, once in a while remind them that you have kept the systems up and making the company lots of money.
of course, to be successful with this strategy you have to communicate well and be personable; many IT folks still can’t do that.
Comment by james — June 20, 2007 @ 2:50 pm
I have been in IT for 30 years. I have been a DBA for 7 years.
I do it for the money……… When the going gets tough I
quit.
When things get tight I start a count down after 6 months I find another job
When I need a new skill I down load the software and learn it.
Or I buy the trial version and run it on a PC.
When the hours get long look for another job.
When the raises stop look for another job.
Houston, Atlanta, Austin and Dallas are begging for DBA’s
Never stay anywhere longer than 2 to 3 years
This is a business not a religion
Comment by yarrl — June 20, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
We just posted an article that may help out those having a hard time as a DBA:
http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid41_gci1261659,00.html
Here’s an excerpt:
“It seems that many DBAs are falling into the rut of career regret and/or falling into a self-pity mode.
“Don’t let yourself become that regretful and bitter DBA! Bitter DBAs tend to spread their bitterness among others and quickly become the “virus” of the IT organization. Rather than becoming a virus, stay positive and focus instead on improving your current situation. Sharpen your technical and soft skills, expand your knowledge into new areas and learn how to deal with management. Embrace change instead of resisting it.
“If you follow the guidelines presented [in this article] and take responsibility for your own future, you will soon reap the rewards and become the invaluable and respected employee that most of us want to be.”
–Tim
Comment by Tim DiChiara — June 21, 2007 @ 8:51 am
I’ve been working with Oracle for 18 years (15 as a DBA), and have heard far too much whining about long hours and dumb developers. Yes, they do exist, but there are far to many perks to pass up on a gig like this. I get paid well, I get to problem solve for a living, no one cares if what time I come to work or go home. I can take the 90min lunch without any complaints from management, heck usually a day off is just considered comp time.
No, I won’t win employee of the month and when things break, I am on the hotseat, but I take that as a challenge. In the medical field it is all the specialists who get the glory. However, somewhere along the way there was probably a general practitioner who knew to ask the right questions. DBA’s are much like that. We know a lot about the database, but enough about everything else to ask the right questions and play a critical role in keeping our customers happy. So what if we don’t get the recognition, we at least get the paycheck.
My personal motto is “a DBA’s job is to make bad application and poor hardware look good”. Anyone can throw a lousy application on over-powered hardware and have it run well. However, it takes creativity and ingenuity to take a bad app and poor hardware and make it work anyway. Believe it or not most developers don’t write bad code for the DB intentionally. No one (you the DBA) has ever offered to show them how to do it better. So rather than whining, why not use some of that wasted breath and actually sit down with developers and provide then the tools and knowledge they need to write good code. Afterall if we are really the brainiacs we like to believe we are, I think we should at least be able to offer something a little more constructive than whining.
Comment by Pastor Dave — June 21, 2007 @ 2:19 pm
I have been in IT (DP, MIS) for twenty-five years; DBA work since the early 90s.
This discussion thread is spanning several topics and I’d like to respond just to one, the one of mgmt not understanding (Select * from clueless;).
I have been using a monthly status report for many years as a communication tool to management. It has been a forum to let the boss know what I did, what the problems were, and what the risks to the company are (mgmt issues). The status report should be excutive summary format, and watch your wording as not to put anyone down, or to whine. And for the more important subjects I would publish a specific mangement report with exectuive summary and detail. Also, the monthly status report is like a data mart of information for updates to your resume as well as job interviews (great preparation tool).
I had one experience concerning source control and developers that I published the risk to the company in my status report if the situation continued. Mgmt read it but did nothing until what I identified as a risk to the company happened, then I was called into the office to discuss a solution.
I like DBA work and I take the bad with the good. What counts for me is how I feel about my work at the end of the day.
Comment by Lenore — June 25, 2007 @ 11:15 am
From what I’ve seen Stephen’s statement is probably true in a lot of places. How a DBA’s job turns out is influenced by a lot of things, mostly the following I believe: 1) Are your DBAs proactive or reactive (and do they have the resources to be proactive), 2) is design/development controlled/managed by DBAs or developers, 3) how rushed is your software lifecycle.
I remember when I first started - lots of extra hours and irregular hours. I spent years building proactive solutions to problems and my life as a DBA has been great since. Recently we’re starting to see more things pop-up straight out of development without my team involved to the level we should be and increasingly tight deadlines. I’m seeing things getting a little more like Stephen indicates (but far from it).
Unfortunately, I think for the majority of us, what Stephen describes in true. I really wonder how I would feel if I went somewhere else.
I’d also like to point out that my comment about design/dev being managed by DBA or Developers is not a hit on developers, but unless you work the production environment and have to deal with the issues and be up at night fixing things, you don’t take the time to avoid it.
Comment by Jed Walker — June 27, 2007 @ 9:25 am
22 years in the field 12 as DB & I say the author and comment #1 said it very well.
This is not a position for the meek or someone with a real life or someone who wants a future and it can easily burn you out if your not careful. You need to be a true believer to stay with it.
Comment by David Colbourn — June 27, 2007 @ 11:28 am
Beeing a DBA for almost 20 years now I agree with almost every comment given, at least I can understand both sides. In my opinion a DBA has to be tough and no sissy. I personally will not waste my time whining and grining, that’s too much energy spent without any sense.
I love challenges and in this job I get almost each and every day a whole bunch of challenges. I work as a freelance consultant for Oracle and DB2 for z/OS, so I never feel bored or am running some old routine jobs.
Every day I have the possibility to learn something new and extend my ability to help my customers in solving their heavy problems, this is very rewarding and overcompensates my tributes (yes, I also had and have them) to the job by far.
If someone is not able to keep up against the pressure of working as a dba and is not able to be in control all the time he/she is probably in the wrong job and should change career paths, otherwise some good part of their health sure is at risk.
Comment by Alexander Lavecchia — June 28, 2007 @ 11:52 am
I believe every job is a result of attitude and desire. If your desire is to work with databases and you enjoy your work, you will exceed. If you grow tired of the work that was once exciting and energizing, try something else. There is nothing that requires someone to stay in one field. You may find a new passion or discover that you truly do enjoy your work and just needed to try something else to rediscover your passion. DBA skills can be applied to many different roles. Just imagine a Project Manager who was once a DBA? It takes a bit of cross training, yet there are plenty of after hours classes to learn new things. Attitude and desrire.
Comment by Vincent — July 5, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
As a DBA, I can honestly say that I have near-absolute control over my workflow. Except for recovery scenerios, a victim mentality will leave you with long hours, feeling frazzled.
Here are some guidelines I use to make my work very enjoyable (I truly love my work as a DBA).
- Script out the 80% of your work that is repetative and tedious.
- If you have common errors, fix the problem. It may sound silly, but you can easily spend more time mitigating a problem than planning & selling a simple upgrade solution that will eliminate your issue.
- Expand your horizons - When was the last time you’ve learned something new about the product you use?
- Establish good relationships with your developers. Make their jobs easier, listen to their needs, apply reasoned guidence when appropriate. When it comes time to spend social credit because of a hardware/software limitation, the good will will be available to you.
- Beat your own drum. Does management know how long it has been since the last unscheduled outage? If not, enlighten them. The next step is explaining why that number is so large.
- Lastly, if you don’t enjoy your job, see if you can adjust it to your liking. If you cannot bring yourself or your job as a DBA to the point where you like it, why not prepare to move in a direction that will see you satisfied. If you hate your job, chances are you won’t reach your potential.
In closing, being a DBA isn’t for ’suckers’, but pursuing a job you don’t like and refuse to charge of definitely is. Please don’t be a ’sucker’.
Comment by Brian Fedorko — July 6, 2007 @ 6:48 am
Hi All,
I personally do not agree, it all depends upon the way u look @ it.
U will need to take initiative and be at the forefront.
Don’t Critize the Career that have given many of us DBAs a job and a life that gives us the drive and Passion.
No Matter what kind of DBA you are, ORACLE,DB2, SQL Server etc, you do have the common sense to perform administrative tasks.
And last but not least, tools are available to make ur job more Easier
Cheers to All DBAs
Anil Mahadev
Database Consultant and Trainer
Bangalore
INDIA
Comment by ANIL MAHADEV — July 23, 2007 @ 9:29 am
A bid Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers to all Database Administrators out dere who are saving the Company’s Money, time and more over adding more value for the avaialability of DATA.
Comment by Krishna Chaitanya Reddy.R — August 2, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
‘Uthman
I do think you right on the spot with this post, i could use a lot a struff for my new study thank you very much.
Greets
Trackback by 'Uthman — September 4, 2007 @ 6:26 am
newbie wants to thank you all for the posts.I am entering DBA soon,
and have enjoyed every bit of this column!
Comment by vleeds — November 27, 2007 @ 1:09 pm
Eric
Thanks for the post. I couldn’t agree with you more.
Trackback by Eric — January 29, 2008 @ 6:03 am
Eric
I’m toying between a Tony Robbins course or a Tony Buzan course in the UK. I’m enjoying your site and will start writing more comments from now on.
Trackback by Eric — February 7, 2008 @ 5:16 pm
Working for a smaller company has rewards and recognition.
Comment by Phillip — February 26, 2008 @ 1:14 pm
Carol
…By this, if your main documents are lost during a crash or another problem, you will have another set of back up files that you can access anytime…
Trackback by Carol — March 4, 2008 @ 5:51 am
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Elnora
Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.
Trackback by Elnora — April 1, 2008 @ 9:24 am
I am interested in entering the DBA field and currently working on my Master’s in Information Systems Management degree, with the focus on Database Administration. ALL of the comments have been so helpful. Although, some a bit scary. However, a BIG thanks to all of you that approach the career field with vigor and optimism. You have really helped me decide that I still want to pursue the DBA career field, despite what I have read.
My biggest concern is, how can someone like myself, with no experience, begin to gain experience so I can get hired? I currently work as a Budget Analyst and my background is all accounting. I am currently attending Keller with a projected graduation date of June 2009.
Thanks
Comment by Kenneth — April 25, 2008 @ 8:58 pm
I am a 30 year old PHP/Mysql webmaster who is very interested in getting a extra marketable skill.
I’m glad to see a few positive comments.
Comment by Marcel — May 15, 2008 @ 10:26 am