May 10, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Strongly thinking about joining a consulting firm later this summer. It would be my first jump into the consulting arena.
Anyone have wit, wisdom, advice on what to do or expect?
David
May 11, 2010 at 5:09 am
May 11, 2010 at 6:07 am
When at a new site, don't assume anything. Not even that they have backups of their important data, run DBCC on the important databases after backing them up. That their servers are protected from flooding (!) and that the backup servers / clustered nodes are not in that same flooded room. :w00t:
May 11, 2010 at 6:37 am
Assume the worst !
In addition to the above (all of which is quite likely from my experience) check database recovery models are appropriate - the number I've seen that were set to Full when it wasn't needed or business critial ones set to simple when an hours lost data could be crucial defies belief.
Expect to work hard and un-sociable hours.
But don’t forget to pack your sense of humour and patience– you will need these more than most other skills you have. (Gleaned from working free lance for three years)
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May 12, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Go into it figuring nothing is documented, so you will need to document it all. By doing this, you will learn as much about the system and processes as you can. It will also help you find things that are not set up properly or set up at all. Some things may have just 'gotten lost in the shuffle' with the other DBA's work. Again, creating documentation should help you find those legacy items that need taken care of.
-SQLBIll
May 12, 2010 at 4:34 pm
All of the suggestions so far are really good.
I would add that you treat the consulting gig at each client just like you are starting a new job each time. There is plenty of documentation to do, plenty of server discovery to do, and plenty of maintenance to do.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
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May 12, 2010 at 4:58 pm
One caution... Don't go around complaining about how bad the previous consultants or former employess left the databases or documentation. It is better to keep most of that to yourself and just fix the problems or propose solutions. Consultants I've hired that did this usually didn't last long or weren't invited back for additional projects later down the line. In one particular case the complainer was covering up for his own in-adequecies.
I've also been the consultant/contractor. A few things to remember 1) You don't know why they did what they did. 2) The person you're working for wants you to fix the problems not waste your time complaining about what was done. 3) The person you're bad mouthing may have a personal tie to the person you are complaining to. When you start complaining about the former work done they may question if you know what you're doing. 4) The complaints do not make you look any better, what will make you look better is if you are able to solve the issues. 5) Always try and leave the company/system/job in better shape then it was when you got there.
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