InstantForum.NET v2.9.0SQLServerCentralhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/notifications@sqlservercentral.comSat, 18 May 2013 13:24:14 GMT20http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1123911-263-1.aspx[quote][b]mark-754480 (6/13/2011)[/b][hr]There is just so much to get your head around and new technology being pushed out all the time[/quote]There is. There's too far too much to be an expert on everything, even an expert on everything SQL, and it's just getting worse. Half the stuff on my to-learn list is being supplanted by new stuff coming "Any day now" My preferred style is to know a little about a lot (from podcasts, blogs, webcasts, etc) and then a lot about a little (specialise in an area and go deep)Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:44:55 GMTGilaMonsterhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1123911-263-1.aspxHey Mark,I'd be the last person to presume to have definitive answers (it always depends), but here's the impression I get:If it helps, I'm also in a field where it feels like everyone with any kind of public presence is more capable. I've been wanting to start blogging and making myself more visible for some time now, but I'm still a bit reserved about it, for many of the same reasons you've mentioned. But I also bear in mind that it's all relative. The guys who are out here writing, blogging and answering questions are just the visible tip of a very large iceberg, and the majority of people are facing the same challenges you are. On the face of it, that's scant reassurance but, more to the point, the guys who are now answering all the questions where hitting [url=http://www.brentozar.com/archive/2010/04/rock-stars-normal-people-and-you/][u][b]similar challenges[/b][/u][/url] as you now face, and also started out blogging and writing about the small stuff - they're incredibly smart [i]now[/i] because they went for it anyway. They put themselves out there, were open about the fact that they were still learning, and things grew from there. I know that sounds trite and cliché but, to shoot for recursion, it probably sounds cliché for a reason ;-) Like you said, there's a huge amount of information out there, and what you need to know seems to change all the time, so finding a path through all that (on your own time, with little or no support from your company) seems pretty darned tricky. The fact that you're aware of the gap does you credit, though. My suggestion would be to get in touch with people like [url=http://www.bradmcgehee.com/][u][b]Brad McGegee[/b][/u][/url] and [url=http://chrisshaw.wordpress.com/][u][b]Chris Shaw[/b][/u][/url], as they both do a lot of thinking about how best to help DBAs get their skills. Our glorious webmaster, [url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/steve_jones/default.aspx][b][u]Steve Jones[/u][/b][/url], does a lot of thinking and talking about DBAs managing and driving their careers, so he's also worth getting in touch with. In fact, talk to any of the people you see who are highly visible and seem to have all the answers, and ask them for advice - unless I'm very much mistaken, they'll all be willing to help. Also, if you want to talk to someone about starting to blog but not being sure what you have to say, I recommend you get in touch with [url=http://www.simple-talk.com/community/blogs/jonathanallen/default.aspx][b][u]Jonathan Allen[/u][/b][/url] (also known as [url=http://twitter.com/#!/fatherjack][b][u]@FatherJack[/u][/b][/url]). You'll also find him on [url=http://ask.sqlservercentral.com/][b][u]ASK.SQLServerCentral[/u][/b][/url] which, if you don't use it already, is also a great place to look for help on specific issues.For myself, I recently went out and got myself a domain name to make my home, and am going to start building a presence for myself. I know it won't be a bastion of unique knowledge, and I know that it's going to take me a long time to develop my writing style, my topics, and the knowledge to really sink my teeth into things that people will care about. But I also know that I'll be opening myself up to advice, connections, and offers of help which I wouldn't receive otherwise.Hopefully I'm not just retreading ground you've already covered yourself. I'm really hoping one of those expert DBAs we're talking about jumps in soon!Tue, 14 Jun 2011 05:39:10 GMTcamasseyhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1123911-263-1.aspxI think what's holding me back is this...I'm in my 50's now, and I worked as a developer most of my career until I got layed off about 5 years ago. About a year later I got the opportunity to work for a financial institution because they saw SQL on my resume. So now, my title is not software engineer but DBA. But I'm not really a DBA and the more I work with SQL the more I see I don't know. Training is not existent ( if it wasn't for SQL ServerCentral and PASS I would have no training ) and so I am trying to learn OTJ. There is just so much to get your head around and new technology being pushed out all the time, and then there's the incredibly smart individuals who seem to be able to diagnose and fix all these complex SQL problems...who wouldn't be reserved or have the feeling there's just to much out there for me to be spouting off about I did this with SQL or I did that with SQL.Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:24:20 GMTmark-754480http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1123911-263-1.aspxComments posted to this topic are about the item [B]<A HREF="/articles/Editorial/74233/">What's holding you back?</A>[/B]Sun, 12 Jun 2011 09:14:20 GMTcamassey