June 16, 2017 at 9:39 am
dlapp 90583 - Friday, June 16, 2017 7:21 AMWhat do you do for a living?
I'm a database administrator.
<blank stare>
I'm a carpenter.
It's my job to build shelves for the programmers to store all of the company's data.
I have to make sure those shelves are large enough and strong enough to hold the data.
If the shelves fill up I have to build bigger shelves.
If the shelves break I have to be able to rebuild them quickly and put everything back.
I have to make sure no one is taking things off of the shelf that they shouldn't be taking.
If someone messes up what's on the shelf I have to be able to put it all back like nothing happened.
<recognition>
OH! OK! I can understand that!
I'm a carpenter.
I've always started with "I'm a computer guy" since most people have no idea how they would differentiate a Windows admin from a SAN admin from a DBA from a developer. If they want to know more, I go with "database guy"
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/way0utwest
Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help
My Blog: www.voiceofthedba.com
June 16, 2017 at 9:40 am
Rod at work - Friday, June 16, 2017 8:33 AMSteve, in your article you said, "So, always apply if you meet 50% of the requirements". WOW, there's probably hundreds of jobs I've never applied for, precisely because all I qualified for was 50% of the requirements. I was certain they'd just throw out my resume/application. Now, you've got me wondering...
I've done this, had friends do this, and seen it in other industries. The descriptions usually want more than they'll ever get.
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/way0utwest
Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help
My Blog: www.voiceofthedba.com
June 16, 2017 at 10:26 am
My job title is Database Administrator, but I tell people I am a software developer. If they are in the industry they will ask for specifics. If not, that suffices. You gave good advice about applying for a job if you have half of the skills posted. I got hired here because my resume mentioned having done ACCESS integration in a long, long ago job, but I didn’t have all the other skills posted in the job listing. There was a short period of time recently when money seemed tight for companies, and they tried to actually find someone with all the skills in the job posting because they wanted one employee to do several jobs, but that unrealistic expectation seems to have gone away. All job postings from my employer include this in the job description "... And other duties as required." We openly joke about that when we are asked to pick up lunch, pull cables, set up someone's printer, install third party software remotely at another of our sites, code in VB Script or try to sell management on a new technology. I loved David Poole's role description. That sums it up.
June 16, 2017 at 10:39 am
I think most of the job descriptions I ever saw utilized the shotgun approach. And most of them were at least 'finalized' by HR folks who were clueless regarding the true needs of the position.
As far as interviewing for a position, you need to be armed and ready with your own pointed questions regarding the expectations, content, and duties of the potential position. Even many interviewers probably know less about your function than you do. You can't be all things to all people. Be specific as to what you want.
I never really worried about the title of a position as much as the content. But be cautious about accepting a title. In my career, about the most a title actually did for me was to attempt to place me within a salary range. If the content was what I wanted, the title really didn't matter that much. And knowing the salary range, if you can get it, tells you lots about how the prospective employer views you when you get an offer. On the other hand, you can always ask for more before you accept. Just be sure you can deliver more in return.
Rick
One of the best days of my IT career was the day I told my boss if the problem was so simple he should go fix it himself.
June 16, 2017 at 10:45 am
David.Poole - Friday, June 16, 2017 2:02 AM...My role varies so much you could write it as "Do stuff with data for money. Mentor others wishing to do stuff with data. Do longer hours than were contracted or anticipated by people committing to deadlines. Show ingenuity on a daily basis"...
Nice description... I tend to describe my job as "I spend half of the time trying to get the technology to do what it's supposed to do, and the other half trying to figure out what people really need it to do versus what they say they want it to do".
My title is DBA, but I often have to reverse-engineer someone else's solution they want me to approve to try and figure out what they are trying to do.
June 16, 2017 at 10:49 am
I have a really meaningless job title 'Coordinator of Information Services'. When I was hired I teched all the administrator machines including the fax and printers. Now I just move and clean and secure data. When people ask what I do Data Geek gets the least amount of 'Oh can you come by and look at my computer its.....'.
My job description has been rewritten twice since I started here, 11th year, and has been split twice. The actual job description is mostly meaningless. The real one would be more along the lines of: Ability to move data from system A to system B so it doesn't have to be mistyped again. Turn data into information and present it in a way that bosses can understand what is happening. Willingness send information to State and Federal departments with ever changing requirements, definitions and formats as required.
June 16, 2017 at 2:06 pm
The job description for most of our organization (local government) includes the line 'Other duties as assigned'. A handy way to get the job done by anybody.
June 16, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Working in a small company, with just my boss and me, what would pass for an official description is "IT Person". I made up my own for emails - "Database/Application programmer". I went to school for programming. While hired mostly to create custom reports and wrangle the third-party database data, I've also done Group Policy, various Active Directory stuff, changed out monitors, video cards, PCs, printers, etc...., programmed ancient hand-held bar code scanners to work with ancient applications, tracked down tripped electrical breakers, troubleshot faxes, troubleshot phone issues, replaced phones, helped reprogram a new vending machine...can't think of anything else right now. Oh, sometimes I get to write reports!!
June 16, 2017 at 8:24 pm
My current title is Associate Director, Data Architect. I think my job description pretty much sums up what I feel most architects are doing, except others may have the luxury of mostly defining the strategy, I still have to get my hands dirty. Thus, I'm designing, developing, and maintaining a data infrastructure. This also includes developing the data pipelines, building data models, establishing standardization, and documentation. Only thing really outside of my scope would be visualization, which I also pitch end to help with front-end reporting. But as the one of the few IT guys in my office, I have been known to help with general PC issues, troubleshooting the network issues for desktop support, and so forth.
June 17, 2017 at 4:08 pm
My current title, which I landed just over a month ago, is IT Systems Engineer. In effect, I'm a one-man IT department. Combine equal parts System Admin, DBA, and lead developer, add a dash of help desk, shake well and you have me. Not complaining, I pretty much knew this going in which is a large part of why I took the job, to say nothing of getting a paycheck after seven months of unemployment. I go play around in a big toybox and they pay me for it. Every so often something useful pops out. How cool is that? My goal is simple: I succeed at my job by helping others to succeed at theirs by making sure they have the data and systems they need when they need them.
____________
Just my $0.02 from over here in the cheap seats of the peanut gallery - please adjust for inflation and/or your local currency.
June 17, 2017 at 9:30 pm
David.Poole - Friday, June 16, 2017 2:02 AMI think many job descriptions aren't worth the paper they are printed on. My role varies so much you could write it as "Do stuff with data for money. Mentor others wishing to do stuff with data. Do longer hours than were contracted or anticipated by people committing to deadlines. Show ingenuity on a daily basis".I also think HR muddy the waters. Candidates must have 5 years experience in a 2 year old technology. Salaries up to £x for the right candidate. As per the post the right candidate doesn't exist.
My job title is "Senior Data Engineer".
David.Poole - Friday, June 16, 2017 2:02 AMI think many job descriptions aren't worth the paper they are printed on. My role varies so much you could write it as "Do stuff with data for money. Mentor others wishing to do stuff with data. Do longer hours than were contracted or anticipated by people committing to deadlines. Show ingenuity on a daily basis".I also think HR muddy the waters. Candidates must have 5 years experience in a 2 year old technology. Salaries up to £x for the right candidate. As per the post the right candidate doesn't exist.
My job title is "Senior Data Engineer".
One of the best jobs I ever had came with a very simple, short, and to the point job description. It was quite literally "Basically, we need someone that can look at SQL, figure out what's wrong, and fix it".
--Jeff Moden
June 19, 2017 at 2:52 am
I'm a DBA, but my job title is still Database Developer from quite a few years ago. I always just tell people I work in IT, and almost always the reply is 'oh I know nothing about computers!'. I know so many people in professions that I'm clueless about, so sometimes the blank stare is on my side 😀
Having said all this I'm about to give up my IT career after twenty years to be at home with my kids. The job title for that post is still quite vague, and the job description is long and varied!
June 19, 2017 at 7:43 am
One problem with having a vanity job description like "Data Artist" or "Software Application Czar" is that you can't easily line up your compensation with Salary.com or some other industry survey. Another problem is that if your IT organization is bought out by a larger company, or for whatever reason there is a shakeup at the executive level, it may not be obvious to the new management what it is you do. You may have been best of friends with your old boss, but the new boss may consider you an over-payed jack-of-all-trades with an absurd title. A formal and standardized title helps define the boundaries of what you're primarily responsible for and were you fit in the IT organizational structure.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
June 19, 2017 at 8:44 am
Eric M Russell - Monday, June 19, 2017 7:43 AMOne problem with having a vanity job description like "Data Artist" or "Software Application Czar" is that you can't easily line up your compensation with Salary.com or some other industry survey. Another problem is that if your IT organization is bought out by a larger company, or for whatever reason there is a shakeup at the executive level, it may not be obvious to the new management what it is you do. You may have been best of friends with your old boss, but the new boss may consider you an over-payed jack-of-all-trades with an absurd title. A formal and standardized title helps define the boundaries of what you're primarily responsible for and were you fit in the IT organizational structure.
I agree with you, but wonder how inconsistent our industry is, when it comes to titles. At my previous job I was in it for several years. It was a part of the university, then we were put under the university hospital. Then we were put back under the university. My job and tasks didn't change all that much, but I title changed each time we changed. I started as a Programmer Analyst 3. Then became a Web Analyst 3. And finally a Analyst Programmer 3. Same person, same job, 3 different titles? Really?
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
June 19, 2017 at 9:02 am
Rod at work - Monday, June 19, 2017 8:44 AMEric M Russell - Monday, June 19, 2017 7:43 AMOne problem with having a vanity job description like "Data Artist" or "Software Application Czar" is that you can't easily line up your compensation with Salary.com or some other industry survey. Another problem is that if your IT organization is bought out by a larger company, or for whatever reason there is a shakeup at the executive level, it may not be obvious to the new management what it is you do. You may have been best of friends with your old boss, but the new boss may consider you an over-payed jack-of-all-trades with an absurd title. A formal and standardized title helps define the boundaries of what you're primarily responsible for and were you fit in the IT organizational structure.I agree with you, but wonder how inconsistent our industry is, when it comes to titles. At my previous job I was in it for several years. It was a part of the university, then we were put under the university hospital. Then we were put back under the university. My job and tasks didn't change all that much, but I title changed each time we changed. I started as a Programmer Analyst 3. Then became a Web Analyst 3. And finally a Analyst Programmer 3. Same person, same job, 3 different titles? Really?
I don't have a problem with multiple titles, if you are called upon to fill multiple roles. For example, many of us could be called both "Database Administrator", "Database Developer", and "Business Analyst".
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 39 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply