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willtech10577
Starting Member
8 Posts |
 Posted - 2009-12-29 : 10:09:52
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| Hello all! I am posting this (sorry if this is in the wrong forum but it said New to DBA) but I am a networking professional for about 5 years now am I must admit I am getting bored of the networking end of the field.I am looking into studying SQL 2008 to do DB Administration and I find it very challenging and unique. Its also a nice that I recently got married and these crazy on-call shifts and working at client sites on weekends and the such is getting in the way of my family life (not like when I was single). Its my understanding most of the SQL things can be done remotely so that should help in that respect.I started reading MS Press book 70-432 book for the DBA cert and been playing with T-SQL and SQL Mgmt Studio and I have a basic grasp of the concepts. My question is...how is one to break into the DBA field? Any suggestions would be apprciated. Thanks! |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
Posted - 2009-12-29 : 11:01:12
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| It can be very hard to break into the DBA field unless you are willing to take a dramatic pay cut. You'll have to start as an intern or a junior DBA unless you've got some DBA experience already and can prove it during an interview. You need to build relationships with other DBAs and hopefully a position will open. Although I work remotely when I'm on-call, DBAs can get paged quite a bit. That's part of the reason for our salary requirements. The key is to stabilize the environment and be proactive so that the issues do not happen at night.You'll want to get certified as a Microsoft DBA, can't remember the name of the certification at the moment because they keep changing it.Tara KizerMicrosoft MVP for Windows Server System - SQL Serverhttp://weblogs.sqlteam.com/tarad/Subscribe to my blog"Let's begin with the premise that everything you've done up until this point is wrong." |
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GilaMonster
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
4507 Posts |
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willtech10577
Starting Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 2009-12-29 : 21:15:24
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| ^Nice -- thanks for the article, GilaMonster.Well its not only the oncall hours that sparked my interest. The higher pay (higher responsbility) also attracts me as well as the challenge of the material. Learning MCSA administration work is fairly simple once you grasp basic concepts -- I am sure SQL is similiar but I am finding it harder to learn than my past stuides which I could easily "wing it". |
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russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2009-12-29 : 21:59:11
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| since u are already a network admin, i'd suggest paying a lot closer attention to any sql servers on your network. read everything u can on sql server...including here, books, blogs, mdsn, bol, etc.i assume you're already a hardware expert, so learn how, what and why sql server utilizes hardware differently than other apps and file servers etc.get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Server-Performance-Optimization-Handbook/dp/1555582419 read it and digest it. it will come easier to you than the average beginning dba. and it is still relevant for sql 2005/08then make yourself a t-sql expertmy 2c |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
Posted - 2009-12-29 : 23:43:00
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| Due to your current experience, you should look into production DBA responsibilities since you are coming from the server side. The other side is a development DBA which comes easier for application developers. Some DBAs are both, like me, but in some organizations they separate the production DBAs and development DBAs into different groups that have different responsibilities. A production DBA does not necessarily need to be strong in T-SQL, but rather you need to be strong on backups, performance optimizations (indexes, statistics, etc...), proactive administration (monitoring and setting up alerts), etc...Tara KizerMicrosoft MVP for Windows Server System - SQL Serverhttp://weblogs.sqlteam.com/tarad/Subscribe to my blog"Let's begin with the premise that everything you've done up until this point is wrong." |
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willtech10577
Starting Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 2009-12-31 : 16:53:49
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| ^ yeah, I've been poking my head into each Mgmt Studio I find on any server I go into (i do consulting so I find myself in different scenarios). I've been reading the 70-432 book and some other material online. Although doing production DBA would be a good way to break into the field -- I am also studying alot on T-SQL as well since I dont want to be another GUI Admin. I'll also pickup that Optimization book as well and take a read into it. |
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russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-01 : 10:47:57
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quote:
Originally posted by willtech10577
^ I am also studying alot on T-SQL as well since I dont want to be another GUI Admin.
Good! |
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willtech10577
Starting Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-03 : 12:03:50
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| ^ Haha -- Russell do you find that the field has alot of GUI DBAs? I was hoping to lose those people since in the networking field people rather use GUI than actually KNOW what they are doing which kinda ticks me off when I studied and know more than another guy yet hes on my level -- or worse -- above. |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-03 : 18:55:27
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| Even though you addressed your question to russell, I'll give my two cents on it. Most DBAs use the GUI in some form. Those who can also use the actual commands to do the work are typically the more experienced DBAs.When I said that a production DBA doesn't necessarily need to be strong in T-SQL, I meant the development part not the admin part. Typically the T-SQL books are all about the development part. The admin part deals with CREATE/ALTER/DBCC/... commands, whereas the development part deals with SELECT/INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/...A good DBA needs to have skills in all aspects, just need to find out where your strengths are.Tara KizerMicrosoft MVP for Windows Server System - SQL Serverhttp://weblogs.sqlteam.com/tarad/Subscribe to my blog"Let's begin with the premise that everything you've done up until this point is wrong." |
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willtech10577
Starting Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-03 : 22:47:44
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| tkizer, Of course -- the GUI makes life little easier but like I mentioned before I rather get strong in T-SQL and not 100% rely on the GUI to do the work for me. I noticed a couple of commands that simply cant be done in the GUI so I found that to be of interest. |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
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Lumbago
Norsk Yak Master
3271 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-04 : 03:36:54
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| A mix between the GUI and TSQL is what works for me...and you'll see that you'll probably end up with the same conclusion. Working with the SQL Server Agent setting up jobs and such is a pain through tsql, while getting your backup/restore procedures in order is a pain using the GUI. The GUI usually adds a lot of overhead though so trying to learn the tsql is a great choice. I have learnt more or less all I know about SQL Server from this forum and built a pretty solid career on it, and as long as you ask the questions and take the time to study the answers you can come a long way just using the free advice of all the great people here.- Lumbagohttp://xkcd.com/327/ |
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russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-04 : 11:09:26
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| the book i reccomended is a dba book, not a t-sql book. for admins, not developers. and still one of the best out there.all of kalen delaney's internals stuff is worth a look too. |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
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russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-04 : 15:27:01
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  sorry |
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russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-04 : 15:38:03
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About the only thing I use the GUI for is to create sql agent jobs. Sometimes to check security/permissions.Pretty much everything else I use commands for.Oh yeah, I use it occasionally to set up replication too  |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
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Transact Charlie
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
3451 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-05 : 05:04:51
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| Here's a (slightly) off topic question about performance for tkizer and russel, et al:In your shop when you come across some process that you think isn't performing well what do you recommend and where does your input start and stop?You mentioned indexing and obviously blocking / deadlocking, but are you involved with suggesting code changes with your sql skills or is their a cut off point where you just say "go rewrite this somehow".I'm interested because I work for quite a small company and we all have probably too many hats. It would be an interesting insight into a bigger organisation.Thanks,Charlie===============================================================Msg 3903, Level 16, State 1, Line 1736The ROLLBACK TRANSACTION request has no corresponding BEGIN TRANSACTION |
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Lumbago
Norsk Yak Master
3271 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-05 : 06:24:46
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| Even though the question wasn't directed at me I'll give my 2 cents Hardly any of the developers I've worked with over the years are pure sql server developers, they're usually application developers that needs a sql server for storage. And an application developer has a tendency to spend way more time optimizing his/her java/c#/whatever than their sql queries hence their knowledge of the capabilities are limited. And it is because of this I think that the better a DBA is at database/query development the better he/she will be at their job because they are more qualified to see things from both sides and give more qualified advice.- Lumbagohttp://xkcd.com/327/ |
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Transact Charlie
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
3451 Posts |
Posted - 2010-01-05 : 09:16:40
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| Sorry Lumbago -- didn't see your earlier reply. have edited my question. Thanks for the reply.Charlie===============================================================Msg 3903, Level 16, State 1, Line 1736The ROLLBACK TRANSACTION request has no corresponding BEGIN TRANSACTION |
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Breaking into the DB field...