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RE: Manage Your Career

TrailRunner — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 11:49:47 GMT

I am a SQL server DBA in the San Fran Bay Area. I love what I do as a data professional and think I am well compensated. I believe I can really contribute to any company I work for. I also like my profession because most companies allow DBAs to work flex hours, open to telecommuting and to very relaxed dress codes. I am the most efficient and creative in the above settings. As for managing my career, I would love to work for a start up or some big name technology companies here in the Silicon Valley or on the Redwood Shores peninsula because of perceived challenges that I will have and the feeling of accomplishment that might follow. Yes, I want that risk and excitement. But most of them use MySQL or Oracle. I feel that I am left out of that fun arena as a MS SQL DBA. Guess you can't have everything...glass half full or glass half empty.

RE: Manage Your Career

Steve Jones - SSC Editor — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:10:26 GMT

[quote][b]weldredge (8/9/2011)[/b][hr]Hi Steve, we met briefly at SQL Saturday, and I am really glad to hear that someone as successful as yourself does nto define thier job as thier passion. I think that is totally an overrated concept. Someone said their dream job might be a literature proffessor... yea? better get started. oh and by the time you are one, you will have woken up. It isnt a dream job, it is just a dream. Its a heck of an insane amount of work, polititcs, and sacrifice....[/quote]Glad we met, and thanks. The thing I've learned over time is that most jobs have a lot of work, a lot of drudgery, and political dealing with someone, maybe just your boss or co-worker, but it's there. I've worked for a lots of industries and many of them have a large degree of monotony over time. So my advice is that you pick something that you will enjoy, and can stand some monotony.Lots of people wish they could pick their hobbies, but I think sometimes hobbies get ruined when you have to deal with all the other stuff. You want to do something you enjoy, which could be the work, the place, the hours, or the people. But pick something you don't hate. Being a professor is fine, just understand there are lots of things to do besides standing in front of students.As far as the money goes, I know it's hard, but I really believe that you want to pick the job ahead of the money. We need some amount of money to survive, but I hope you try to live within the means of the job you want, not the other way around. It's up to you, but my thought is that a little less money for a much more enjoyable job is worth the trade.

RE: Manage Your Career

weldredge — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:42:15 GMT

Hi Steve, we met briefly at SQL Saturday, and I am really glad to hear that someone as successful as yourself does nto define thier job as thier passion. I think that is totally an overrated concept. Someone said their dream job might be a literature proffessor... yea? better get started. oh and by the time you are one, you will have woken up. It isnt a dream job, it is just a dream. Its a heck of an insane amount of work, polititcs, and sacrifice....Thats the thing about dream jobs, you love them, they pay well, and require little to no commitment. Maybe the IT field just attracts intelligent people who's true passion (say snowboarding) doesnt pay as well as they would like. and much like the peddlers of old we have a wide range of skills that can be applied in many environments to increase efficiency and reduce waste. However, once the system is tuned (or the pots all banged out) we get bored, they get to pinching pennies, and the system starts to lag for lack of resources. So off we go to find a new sytem (village) where our skills are needed until the first system needs us to intervene directly agani... Well that is what would like to do, continuously grow my skill set both vertically and horizontally so that I can come and go in any environment and ply my trade. think someone called it being an IT whore or some such, but thats sounds a lot more negative... Same concept, but as they say... it is all in the packaging.

RE: Manage Your Career

DPhillips-731960 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:15:09 GMT

That decision between management and worker has been on my mind many times. I've done considerable consulting, for over 30 companies. I worked as an employee a few times, including currently. I've run a small corp. I have maintained a form of sole-prop for over 10 years on the side, just for fun. Still, I love the flexibility I have being a worker bee, having a flexible schedule that allows time for what is more real to me: my family.Sometimes it is give, and sometimes take. Current market conditions put employers in more control, but it will swing back again.I like working with people I can respect and trust.Money means little, as long as my needs and some of my wants are being met. Having a little buffer money in the bank to float between jobs is the biggest stress reliever in any market.

RE: Manage Your Career

Steve Jones - SSC Editor — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:56:48 GMT

Chris,Sounds like you're in a good place and managing your career well. Good for you!

RE: Manage Your Career

Cris E — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:13:10 GMT

[quote][b]Pollmak (4/22/2009)[/b][hr]Regarding Careers, here's someting to think about:You know you are doing your Dream Job when you still do it after you have won the lottery.[/quote]Well as soon as I win that lottery I'll let you know if this job is the one... :-DI'm with pretty much everyone else here: a career in IT means you're choosing a profession, not a job. The companies, tools and standards change constantly and anyone not comfortable in such an environment is going to have a tough time enjoying their employment. I prefer learning and developing to simply resting atop what I know, so flipping from one task to another every few years suits me. On the other hand, I know myself well enough to avoid too much tummult so I tend to move around within my company instead of contracting or quitting and interviewing every 36 months. This works for me, but I think I'm in that minority Steve described that can float along and stay happy. The trick is to find what you like to do, avoid what will bother you, and figure out how much of your identity comes from your work. A long time ago, but not until after I'd worked hard for years without looking up, it occurred to me that I didn't want my boss's job nor the jobs above that. The epiphany freed me from focussing on how poorly the place was being run or how I'd do things differently and let me just settle into my job. Management was there to provide work and pay and I was there to bury myself in the task at hand, enjoy the company of coworkers and go home at night. When the work couldn't hold my interest I found different work, sliding from app dev to BI to a sys admin gig and so forth. Much of my perspective changed with the birth of my first kid, and now that there are four the wave of volleyball games and cub scout mtgs and diapers more or less demands I set aside perl configuration problems at 5:30. It's the passion now, and that puts a lot less pressure on my career to satisfy and define me.

RE: Manage Your Career

mtucker-732014 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:11:31 GMT

I think that careers are only a source of true satisfaction to those of us with ambition and the abilities to go with it. For everyone else jobs are a source of income and to various degrees frustration, with the truly satisfying things in other areas of our lives - family, music, art, sport, food, travel, romance and so on. Only a small minority of people truly have their passion coincide with their career, for everyone else it is a compromise.

RE: Manage Your Career

David Reed-223505 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:10:34 GMT

Thanks for a good "first day on the job" editorial, Steve. I completely agree. It's my career. I own it. I make sure that I've got the skills required and to always be looking for the next fun thing to move on to.It ain't workin', if'n you love what you do! :cool:For anybody who's looking, there's an empty chair in Redmond that I vacated yesterday.

RE: Manage Your Career

katedgrt — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:55:11 GMT

I am very happy with my career right now. It can be difficult to steer, but it can be done. There have been two times in my working life when I decided to make a change: once, when I decided to become a programmer, and taught myself FORTRAN while working on a proprietary reporting database, and once when I decided to become a Data Architect after exposure to some very poorly designed databases in contracting. Both times it took some work, some luck, and some back pedaling as far as income and seniority (which is difficult but worth it if you have a goal). Both times I was able to find an employer willing to give me a chance and some time to come up to speed, that I believe was the luck part. But the fact that I have done it twice and succeeded points to a lot more than luck.We have all been through the buffeting of the winds of change in IT. I didn't decide to become a so-called expert in SQL Server (or DB2 or Teradata), the jobs just found me and I took the opportunities. But that's not to say I had absolutely no control. You always have choices. If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice, as the song goes. Now, that may be a legitimate choice and the right one for you but you should recognize that is one. When you do you'll feel you have a lot more control over your life.

RE: Manage Your Career

GilaMonster — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:29:58 GMT

Something my previous manager told me that's stuck in my memory."When you accept a job, have a plan for what you want to do next."

RE: Manage Your Career

Ray Hastie — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:20:16 GMT

I enjoy the work I do. After a career of 14 years in development, 11 of that consulting, I again accepted a permanent gig. The job is not rocket science but I am not a rocket scientist. Going back to a perm gig meant a large cut in pay but I am doing what I am good at and letting the kids' work in the sweatshops.As to keeping up with technology, if it is moving to fast, have you considered moving to the darkside? Into management? That way you can view the tech from the 100ft level and not have to be up on the how-to's of the latest and greatest phase?

RE: Manage Your Career

nelsonj-902869 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:00:17 GMT

My 2 cents worth....It seems that your editorial addresses two items: jobs and careers...and there is a big difference. A career requires planning, education, 'jobs', advanced training, networking, seminar attendance and many more disciplines and events. Jobs, however, are stepping stones in your career. I've always felt that if I know what I want to do (or have "found my passion in life") then all things should support that idea/goal. Everyone decides 'when' they have reached that goal. Some get sidetracked into specializations that they discover along the way. Some find that their choice while in the 'learning phase' is not panning out to be want they envisioned it to have been and they decide to change their goal or career. This could mean changing jobs, going to a tech school, going back to college...whatever. Basically, you need a goal(career) and a plan. And stay flexible. Not everything goes your way in life or in work. Some times you have to work the crap schedule, or take on the crap tasks, or even jump at the opportunity to accept MORE responsibility in your current position. Anything that furthers your quest for the goal, be it more/less pay, a nicer office, a new position at a new company, getting married or whatever it may be. That's life.

RE: Manage Your Career

kwitzell — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:34:23 GMT

I don't mind doing this job, most of the time, however as I get closer to retirement age I find my interests have shifted. Instead of climbing the career ladder (not that we have one here) I am more interested in climbing on an organ or piano bench and practice. Steve mentioned finding passion in something and I think I found mine. My job is a means to an end; it allows me to provide for my soon to be college bound daughter and pay my mortgage. As for managing my career I have gone as far (up the ladder) as I can with my current employer, and this is fine with me, I have security and have no interest in starting over in a new job for a little more money. As the years go by I find myself focusing on non-job related activities, anyway my two cents worth.....

RE: Manage Your Career

Alvin Ramard — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:03:58 GMT

[quote][b]Steve Jones - Editor (4/22/2009)[/b][hr][quote][b]blandry (4/22/2009)[/b][hr]I've made great money, I like my work, but the truth is the truth - any career in high technology manages you, you don't manage it. [/quote]I'd disagree here that you have to accept this. Being asked to learn a new technology or figure out a gadget isn't the same as choosing to move to a new employer. You can manage your career, you can choose to learn what you want, or develop the skills that you want in the long term. Perhaps not the short term, but over a few years you can change your direction.I still believe you should be thinking about what you want and make steps to move in that direction.[/quote]The key is not too learn only what you need for that job.

RE: Manage Your Career

Steve Jones - SSC Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:56:32 GMT

[quote][b]richard.rabe (4/22/2009)[/b][hr]do it right, or do it over and over, it's up to you[/quote]Excellent quote, Richard. And congrats for finding a place that works for you.

RE: Manage Your Career

Steve Jones - SSC Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:52:55 GMT

[quote][b]blandry (4/22/2009)[/b][hr]I've made great money, I like my work, but the truth is the truth - any career in high technology manages you, you don't manage it. [/quote]I'd disagree here that you have to accept this. Being asked to learn a new technology or figure out a gadget isn't the same as choosing to move to a new employer. You can manage your career, you can choose to learn what you want, or develop the skills that you want in the long term. Perhaps not the short term, but over a few years you can change your direction.I still believe you should be thinking about what you want and make steps to move in that direction.

RE: Manage Your Career

Steve Jones - SSC Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:44:19 GMT

[quote][b]GSquared (4/22/2009)[/b][hr]Steve: You should read the first chapter of [url=http://www.amazon.com/Problems-Work-L-Ron-Hubbard/dp/1403144257/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240404300&sr=8-1]Problems of Work[/url]. The editorial reads like an excerpt from it. The book has some very good advice on how to handle careers, jobs, etc. At least, I find it tremendously useful.[/quote]Thanks, and I pinged the publisher for a Kindle version. We'll see if they get one. Otherwise, perhaps I'll pick it up for a camping trip. Got a few where the Kindle might not be a good idea.

RE: Manage Your Career

sbagley — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:17:00 GMT

Sometimes managing your career means making choices about what you are willing to accept - work environment, salary, and those intangibles that are hard to define.I LIKE being a DBA, but I would have a much different career if it paid better. I have settled on this career mostly due to income, its challenging, and I am successful in this field.

RE: Manage Your Career

Anye Mercy — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:16:28 GMT

Two things - Regarding staying current, I agree 100%. I have worked with many "dinosaurs" who call themselves technical but are wholly resistant to change and they are nothing but trouble. That's not to say that every new technology should be used just for the sake of using it, but if I see a developer who is still perfectly happy with VB6 or a "database person" happy doing nothing but FoxPro... I run the other direction. Regarding how people feel about their job, that really depends on the person. There are people who live to work and people who work to live and people inbetween. The people who live to work become defined by what their job is, it is the most dominant factor in their lives and their biggest priority - they have to have something they are passionate about because it IS their life. They wouldn't quit even if they won the lottery (which they probably don't play). People who work to live really don't care - they work because they need a paycheck, and they usually will accept a less-than-satisfying job if it provides them the means to live their other passions, be they family, friends etc. If they won the lottery (which, if they aren't so good at math they probably do), they would quit their job the next day. Then there are the rest of us in the middle - we admit that if we had millions of dollars, we'd probably find something besides our current day job to fill our time - but we do need to feel useful and enjoy what we do for the 8-10 hours a day we are earning our living. So, we strive to find a job we will find fulfilling but that provides us a life-work balance so we can enjoy our family, friends and hobbies. People in the "work to live" category are probably more likely to not be good at their job than people in the other categories, but even this is not always true - I have known some who are still quite good at what they do and don't just do the minimum - but when they go home, they don't think about work the way I do and the way people in the "live to work" category would. They admit they work just to support their families, not because of some big love for the job, but they still do their job to the best of their ability. Certainly when I'm hiring I'd rather put my trust in the other end of the spectrum, so if a person is in the work-to-live category, they should hide it from me during the interview if they want me to consider them!

RE: Manage Your Career

Alex Rosa — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:13:09 GMT

Hi,I'm happy with my profession.I believe that I have a profession and not just a job.I've been working hard to improve my skills in English, Operating System, and Databases.I don't like to waste time, so I like what I do.I have bad days sometimes, like everyone, but I believe that I have two options: to have positive or negative thoughts.Don't matter what you do, if you don't believe in yourself and in your goals.If you don't like what you are doing right now: stop, think, innovate, change something.

RE: Manage Your Career

Pollmak — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:46:57 GMT

Lol on the Digital Whore comment. :-DI'm definatly a Digital Whore, with a Gadget Junkie habbit.Regarding Careers, here's someting to think about:You know you are doing your Dream Job when you still do it after you have won the lottery.

RE: Manage Your Career

richard.rabe — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:09:44 GMT

Steve,Five years ago I was the CEO (again) of a mid-life crisis startup. I was up to my eyeballs in managing money, people, customers, and software development (again!). I'd done the same thing years earlier, founded, ran (for 16 years), and sold a software company. One day I decided to take a class at a local university in Flash development and programming. I started my career in computers in 1973, so let's just say I was the oldest person in the class. What I found in that class was a passion I had forgotten, the thrill of hands-on development.Fast forward to today. I am a DBA and manage a data warehouse and a team of 2 in a small organization that is part of a massive global company. Everyday I write code, debug problems, deal with system level changes, your readers know the drill. It was a conscious decision I made to unshackle myself from the stresses of being “the one that everyone turns to for answers.” To get here, I returned to school and finished with a BS in business systems and am now in a Masters program. My decision to not pursue high-end high stress opportunities meant taking a big cut in pay at a time when we were putting three kids through college but it also meant coming home every night, no travel (which previously was every week) and a chance to reconnect with my local community. It was a plan that I carefully thought through, discussed with my family and pursued. Now I carpool with my wife to work, perform in local musicals, volunteer in our community, and travel with my family for fun. All of us agree the family has benefited despite the reduction in salary. When I interviewed for this job, after reading through a resume’ with 30 plus years of IT experience, my boss asked me “won’t you be bored here?” to which I replied, “that’s what hobbies are for!”:-D

RE: Manage Your Career

Timothy-313907 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:07:53 GMT

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who's happy at his job! :-D I knew when I was 10 when I first started programming that that was where my passion lay. Consequent to that, any job that lets me exercise a degree of creativity in programming is a job I love. Lots of times I noticed the creativity I crave is in problem solving, deciding how to create an efficient expression of a solution in a computer language. I've learned many languages and worked on a few different platforms, so even though the scenery changes at times the passion is still there for me.Good luck to those still searching for their passion.

RE: Manage Your Career

Bill Nicolich — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:50:48 GMT

In the past I've been in job interviews where several questions were pointed at showing if the job matches my passion in life. Even with the law of numbers and the variability of our species taken into account, I imagine there couldn't be a single human soul that could honestly say that some of these jobs are somebody's dream job.I suspect that not only do most people not work at their dream job, but on the other side of the equation, not much effort and thought goes into structuring a job that someone would be happy in. Often a job gets created because a work flow is identified. Next thing you know, the organization seeks someone to complete the tasks with perhaps not even a single thought for the (arguably) immortal soul who might have to occupy that job. Then the occupant watches his/her immortal soul begin to shrivel down to the size of a parched pea. We blame the occupant because in a capitalist system, they agreed to it.It would be encouraging to think that jobs themselves, specifically in our sector, are continuing to evolve into positions that are increasingly more sustainable and rewarding. Perhaps some of you have seen evidence of this evolution. Maybe there will always be a very limited supply of these great jobs and only the top echelons will get them.I think that jobs will only improve if that's demanded and expected by the sector as a whole. Anyway, that's where I'm at. My dream job might be a literature professorship or science journalist or something. I make a living in the tech sector and don't plan to change that. However, I push to improve the rewards and sustainability of my job and perhaps sometimes use up several of my nine lives doing that on occasion.

RE: Manage Your Career

GSquared — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:50:03 GMT

Steve: You should read the first chapter of [url=http://www.amazon.com/Problems-Work-L-Ron-Hubbard/dp/1403144257/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240404300&sr=8-1]Problems of Work[/url]. The editorial reads like an excerpt from it. The book has some very good advice on how to handle careers, jobs, etc. At least, I find it tremendously useful.

RE: Manage Your Career

blandry — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:41:32 GMT

With all due respect...Manage my career? Let's see... I started in 1977 and have been through 3 mergers winding up in layoffs, 3 startup companies that went nowhere, countless independent projects and consultancies that were fun, but were pretty much short term... I am an expert in about 5 "dead" languages barely used anymore, about 10 operating systems that are either going or gone, 2 database systems that have been bought up and disappeared... and worst of the worst, right at the time I thought my career would be 'winding down', I study harder today to stay up on the myriad of technologies that are flooding the market now - and who knows which ones will last and which will drop off the road along the way.No, there is no "managing" my career - I am what I am - a "digital whore" - you pay me, and I do it how you want it, the way you want it, and when you want it done.I've made great money, I like my work, but the truth is the truth - any career in high technology manages you, you don't manage it. You ride the flood of new gizmos, gadgets and the tools to make them work - and you do so realizing that the digital kingdoms you build or oversee wont last much longer than the life span of the average house cat.

Manage Your Career

Steve Jones - SSC Editor — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:02:37 GMT

Comments posted to this topic are about the item [B]Manage Your Career[/B]