April 16, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I'm a human ETL machine... 😀
April 16, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Greg Edwards-268690 (4/15/2010)
Jack of all trades....don't know that I'm master of any.
Me too!
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April 19, 2010 at 6:48 am
Tom Brown (4/16/2010)
Greg Edwards-268690 (4/15/2010)
Jack of all trades....don't know that I'm master of any.
But that fish looks pretty impressive Greg
Thanks, Not bad for a Minnesota bass.
I was fising for crappies using an ultra light with 2lb test line.
Lucky to get it in.
Catch and Release, so it would be fun to have round 2 this year.
Greg E
April 19, 2010 at 7:58 am
Graphic designer->Video editor-> then website developer->
.net developer
(all the above without much luck)
Finally SQL DBA for past 4 years. Happy everafter
April 19, 2010 at 3:30 pm
The "true" part gets me. What does THAT mean? I have never seen a definition of a "true" DBA nor met anyone who said they were. I have met a lot of people who claimed to be a DBA but couldn't understand why a cursor might be bad and couldn't understand what the fuss was about over SQL injection.
Maybe somebody could list the duties of a DBA?
April 19, 2010 at 3:48 pm
skjoldtc (4/19/2010)
The "true" part gets me. What does THAT mean? I have never seen a definition of a "true" DBA nor met anyone who said they were. I have met a lot of people who claimed to be a DBA but couldn't understand why a cursor might be bad and couldn't understand what the fuss was about over SQL injection.Maybe somebody could list the duties of a DBA?
I'm quite impressed by the traffic this thread has gotten!
I probably should've qualified myself several dozen posts ago! Maybe DBA isn't quite the right term; maybe the better term is "someone whose primary focus is SQL Server."
My original thought was that, although I do quite a bit with SQL Server, it is not my primary role or focus. One previous poster said "jack of all trades," which is probably the most accurate description of what I do (although in my still-relatively new job, I'm not as diverse as I was in my previous position).
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April 19, 2010 at 5:04 pm
skjoldtc (4/19/2010)
The "true" part gets me. What does THAT mean? I have never seen a definition of a "true" DBA nor met anyone who said they were. I have met a lot of people who claimed to be a DBA but couldn't understand why a cursor might be bad and couldn't understand what the fuss was about over SQL injection.
I'd be one of them as far as the Cursor thingy is concerned. Right now I can't remember what that IS, I do know however it's not something you want on your systems. Never needed to know about it, over several years as a production DBA.
I think a better way for the OP to have put it would be "SOLELY a DBA", and in that sense there are very few DBA's who at one time or another didn't have to resolve, or at least wrestle with, an issue that should have been handled by (in descending order in my own experience) a Developer, Apps 1st-line support, Server Admins, Network Admins or Hardware Engineeers.
And don't even get me STARTED on management. 🙂
April 19, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Ray,
It was a good question, and I think the answers are pretty well qualified as to what people do.
How do you qualify "mostly with SQL Server" if you're a developer that writes a lot of C# or VB code against SQL Server. Mostly? not mostly?
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/way0utwest
Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help
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April 20, 2010 at 7:43 am
Jake Shelton (4/19/2010)
I think a better way for the OP to have put it would be "SOLELY a DBA", and in that sense there are very few DBA's who at one time or another didn't have to resolve, or at least wrestle with, an issue that should have been handled by (in descending order in my own experience) a Developer, Apps 1st-line support, Server Admins, Network Admins or Hardware Engineeers.
Speaking as the OP, read the post that precedes yours! 😉
. . . and the next post below!
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April 20, 2010 at 8:14 am
Steve Jones - Editor (4/19/2010)
How do you qualify "mostly with SQL Server" if you're a developer that writes a lot of C# or VB code against SQL Server. Mostly? not mostly?
Good question, Steve. Let me see how I can best answer this.
Right now, I'm just "thinking out loud." What got me thinking about this was my role and how I relate to tasks involving SQL Server. I'm pretty much a jack of all trades (well, more accurately, a "jack of a lot of trades"). Right now, my primary role seems to be interim webmaster (our webmaster left the company a few weeks ago, and since I was his backup, that task pretty much dropped in my lap). Before that, I was doing a lot of data analysis, and some minor coding on the side (mostly ad hoc VB, VBScript, and VB.NET).
A lot (okay, maybe almost all) of my work utilizes SQL Server in some way, shape, or form. I'm pretty well versed with T-SQL (though there's always room for improvement). I understand a lot of concepts with databases. I've done my share of building tables, adding columns, writing stored procedures, writing queries, and so on. To some extent, I can say that I have some pretty good SQL experience. But SQL Server is not my primary role; it's secondary compared to everything else I do.
My point was reinforced about a couple of months back in a casual conversation with my boss (who, BTW, is a DBA) who said to me that I was barely scratching the surface. As an example, we talked about how DB pages work in memory. Although I do understand the theory, I have never actually worked with it in practice, and would probably have no clue as to how to do it if I was asked.
That's when it occurred to me about how much I don't know about SQL Server (although I do try to keep my skills in shape; hence, my participation here on SSC and my attendance at SQL Saturday in NYC this weekend). I'm probably not the person to contact if there's an issue with the database (that is, the DB itself, not with the data). But I figure that the more I can learn, the more effective I can be in my job.
No, SQL Server is not my primary responsibility. I have no illusions about being a SQL expert. But I know enough to do my job. And that's okay.
Whew! Apologies if that seems long winded! 🙂 But I hope that answers the question!
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April 20, 2010 at 8:48 am
Ray K (4/20/2010)
Jake Shelton (4/19/2010)
I think a better way for the OP to have put it would be "SOLELY a DBA", and in that sense there are very few DBA's who at one time or another didn't have to resolve, or at least wrestle with, an issue that should have been handled by (in descending order in my own experience) a Developer, Apps 1st-line support, Server Admins, Network Admins or Hardware Engineeers.Speaking as the OP, read the post that precedes yours! 😉
Duly read and digested, but speaking as myself 😀 I had been replying to the post that preceded yours!!
Jocularity aside, seems like your experiences vary from mine up until recently, I'd rarely had to delve much into TSQL or coding of any sort, yet nowadays I find myself doing it all the time, and as I'm learning IS I'm also having to familiarise myself with VB.net scripting. I attribute this to the recession, which has made "Jacks" of almost all of us.
What do you do, design/admin/??
April 20, 2010 at 9:07 am
Jake Shelton (4/20/2010)
Ray K (4/20/2010)
Jake Shelton (4/19/2010)
I think a better way for the OP to have put it would be "SOLELY a DBA", and in that sense there are very few DBA's who at one time or another didn't have to resolve, or at least wrestle with, an issue that should have been handled by (in descending order in my own experience) a Developer, Apps 1st-line support, Server Admins, Network Admins or Hardware Engineeers.Speaking as the OP, read the post that precedes yours! 😉
Duly read and digested, but speaking as myself 😀 I had been replying to the post that preceded yours!!
Jocularity aside, seems like your experiences vary from mine up until recently, I'd rarely had to delve much into TSQL or coding of any sort, yet nowadays I find myself doing it all the time, and as I'm learning IS I'm also having to familiarise myself with VB.net scripting. I attribute this to the recession, which has made "Jacks" of almost all of us.
What do you do, design/admin/??
Mainly, admin and development, although I can design.
Funny thing, now that I think about it -- I've pretty much worked with databases since my first job out of college (back then, it was mainly computer ops -- change tapes, making sure things are running properly, etc.), but somehow, I was never steered in the direction of databases as my career.
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April 21, 2010 at 9:10 am
I am not a DBA, nor do I aspire to be one. I do occasionally assist our sole DBA (he wears many hats). I'm a systems analyst and I have learned soooo much from this community. Thanks so much, it is deeply appreciated.
May 12, 2010 at 6:21 am
I wouldn't consider myself a DBA. My boss couldn't of put it better about my role:- "He's in charge of the SQL servers - but that's only cos he knows more than anyone else here about them".
"... I have learned soooo much from this community. Thanks so much, it is deeply appreciated." (from post above) - SECONDED 😀
-------------------------------Posting Data Etiquette - Jeff Moden [/url]Smart way to ask a question
There are naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand (the world). There is no such thing as a dumb question. ― Carl Sagan
I would never join a club that would allow me as a member - Groucho Marx
May 13, 2010 at 9:52 am
Steve Cullen (4/8/2010)
My job title is DBA. I've never met anyone who's title was "True DBA".Converting oxygen into carbon dioxide, since 1955.
First, I love your tag line.
Second, I am a DBA by title, but I don't consider myself a "True DBA," because to me a "True DBA" is a state to which I aspire but that I have not, and may never, reach. There just seems to be too much to learn to claim that I can be a "True" master of the field.
But I always strive to be as careful, competent, and curious as I can. I used to have "courteous" in that list, but perhaps "civil" is a better choice, because I am finding that the best DBAs live by telling their clients the Rolling Stones maxim "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." In other words, I have long been too accommodating as a DBA, and sometimes it's hard but necessary to say No, or (yes, you guessed it), It Depends.
- webrunner
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A SQL query walks into a bar and sees two tables. He walks up to them and asks, "Can I join you?"
Ref.: http://tkyte.blogspot.com/2009/02/sql-joke.html
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