How Do I Measure My DBA Skills Part 5

Development DBA

We’ve been on a journey recently in this series as we discuss measuring your DBA skills. Previous posts have been intriguing to you. You like where this is going and yet, your skills are different from what we’ve been discussing in this initial part of the series.

Maybe you are a Developer who works with databases and you find SQL Server very interesting. You build some tables and write some queries as part of your work and you really like doing it. You like trying to figure out how to make your initial draft query for your project run faster. You have conversations about this with other Developers or maybe even a DBA or two at your company. What you hear resonates with you and deepens the interest in SQL Server. You wonder, “Is there a place for me in the SQL Server world? What would I do if I did a career pivot to work with SQL Server almost exclusively?” Enter the Development Database Administrator.

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How Do I Measure My DBA Skills Part 4

Dear reader, we’ve been on a bit of a journey recently so that you can discover what skills are needed at various levels or phases of your career.  The first three phases have been covered in previous blog posts and you have now come to the Senior level for the Production DBA. So, how do you measure the skills a Senior Production DBA should have?

Senior Production DBA – 7+ years of experience

1. Most competencies from the previous levels.
2. Advanced analysis of SQL Server issues using native tools such as Extended Events, Perfmon, Query Store and 3rd party monitoring tools.
3. Makes decisions regarding SQL Server architecture, hardware, virtualization and storage, often in tandem with an infrastructure team.
4. Designs high availability and DR solutions and may provide guidance to other team members during implementation.
5. Plans SQL Server migrations.
6. Leads knowledge sharing in four or more areas.
7. May possess some competencies from DEV DBA levels up to level 2 or 3.
8. Regularly demonstrates good self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management skills (emotional intelligence)

You will notice that in previous lists of skills, I have listed skill 1 as “All competencies from the previous level.” However, I have not done that in this case, why? There are at least two reasons that I will detail.

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How Do I Measure My DBA Skills Part 3

In this series on measuring your DBA skills, we’ve been discussing what skills you should have at each phase of your career.  So far we’ve covered the entry level skills and the phase 2 skills a Production DBA needs. In this part of the series you’re discovering what a Production DBA needs to know or be able to do at each stop along the career journey.  If you want career development, you need to work on these skills in order to move forward.

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You may be wondering, “How can I know what phase of my career I am in? How can I see what the next steps might look like in terms of skills I may need to move forward?”

As people change jobs, the gears of career progression are turning.  Some new roles may be the same as the recent previous one. Some new roles will have larger spheres of influence and some may have better titles that require new skills. Like the gears in this picture, your job roles fit together and show a progression of sorts.

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How Do I Measure My DBA Skills Part - 1

Career development and progression is a hot topic for everyone.  It starts really early in life like when some adult asks you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” You might have said “firefighter”, “ballerina”, “ice skater”, or “gymnast”.  I’m certain you didn’t say “DBA”, but here you are anyway, at my blog, trying to figure out a career as a Database Administrator.

So, what does career progression look like for a Database Administrator?  How do you move forward in your career with SQL Server? What skills should you have at year 2? Year 5? Year 10? This post will help you answer those questions.

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How Do You Find Good SQL Server Training Resources?

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What process can you use to find SQL Server training resources that will be valuable? After all, not everything on the internet can or should be trusted.  If you want training on something in this constantly changing world of technology, how do you locate that training?  How do you find information that is worth spending your time on?  How much of it costs something?  How much of it is free and is the free stuff any good?

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What Is the Value of Mentoring?

There aren’t many formal mentoring relationships these days. It seems to be rare when two people enter into an arrangement where one person agrees to give of their time energy and resources to answer questions and assist another person. Oh sure, you do it casually when you give an assignment to someone and say, “Let me know if you need any help.”

However, that’s different from a recent offer made to people in the SQL Server community. Paul Randal is once again offering his time to multiple people, inviting others to engage in discussion about non-technical subjects. To be sure, it is a unique and wonderful opportunity.

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