BI Internship help

  • I have a BI Internship interview in the next few days and was looking for some help polishing my skills with some of the job requirements. Any advice on review material would be greatly appreciated! Here are some of the requirements I am trying to get more insight on actually what the interviewer is looking for:

    • Competency in T-SQL, working knowledge of MS SQL 2005, 2008 and 2012

    • Understanding of Extensible Markup Language (XML)

    • Experience in dimensional databases and OLAP Cubes

    • Strong analytical and problem solving skills with attention to detail

    • Must possess knowledge of database configuration, design and maintenance

    If anyone could just better define what they are practically looking for on an internship level I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

  • nicolas.kesler (9/9/2015)


    I have a BI Internship interview in the next few days and was looking for some help polishing my skills with some of the job requirements. Any advice on review material would be greatly appreciated! Here are some of the requirements I am trying to get more insight on actually what the interviewer is looking for:

    • Competency in T-SQL, working knowledge of MS SQL 2005, 2008 and 2012

    • Understanding of Extensible Markup Language (XML)

    • Experience in dimensional databases and OLAP Cubes

    • Strong analytical and problem solving skills with attention to detail

    • Must possess knowledge of database configuration, design and maintenance

    If anyone could just better define what they are practically looking for on an internship level I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

    All that for an internship? I'd expect that list of requirements for a BI developer with 2 years experience. How can an intern have worked with SQL Server editions that are up to 10 years old?

    T-SQL: anything written by Itzik Ben-Gan.

    Examples:

    * Microsoft SQL Server 2012 T-SQL Fundamentals

    * Training Kit (Exam 70-461) Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012

    XML: just know the basics, google "xml tutorial" and you should be fine.

    Dimensional modelling and OLAP (as if they let juniors model their data warehouse, but hey, let's roll with it :-))

    * Star Schema The Complete Reference (dimensional modelling. The Kimball books are fine as well)

    * MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-448): Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance (it has some chapters on SSAS)

    > Must possess knowledge of database configuration, design and maintenance

    Most of this comes through experience.

    Need an answer? No, you need a question
    My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
    MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

  • My thoughts exactly! Thank you very much for the tips, I will let all of you know how it goes. Hopefully the requirements are just a smoke screen hehe.

  • Everything Koen said, especially the Itzik Ben-Gan books.

    I would add:

    Kimball's The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit, 2nd Edition[/url] is essential for any new BI developer. That's my BI bible.

    For a good beginner's tutorial on XML and XML related topics I would check out w3schools.com[/url]

    For some good SQL articles you can also look at Ben-Gan's stuff on SQLMag.com. Here on SQLServerCentral.com any you can't go wrong reading any articles by Jeff Moden, Paul White, Dwain Camps, Chris Morris, Lynn Pettis. All real good stuff.

    "I cant stress enough the importance of switching from a sequential files mindset to set-based thinking. After you make the switch, you can spend your time tuning and optimizing your queries instead of maintaining lengthy, poor-performing code."

    -- Itzik Ben-Gan 2001

  • Thank you for your input as well Alan! I appreciate your insight.

  • Alan.B (9/10/2015)


    Kimball's The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit, 2nd Edition[/url] is essential for any new BI developer. That's my BI bible.

    Did you read Star Schema The Complete Reference yet? It might become your new bible 😀

    Need an answer? No, you need a question
    My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
    MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

  • Koen Verbeeck (9/11/2015)


    Alan.B (9/10/2015)


    Kimball's The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit, 2nd Edition[/url] is essential for any new BI developer. That's my BI bible.

    Did you read Star Schema The Complete Reference yet? It might become your new bible 😀

    I had not even looked at it Koen until your comment. I just picked up a copy and love it. The best data modeling book I have seen! Thanks for the recommendation.

    "I cant stress enough the importance of switching from a sequential files mindset to set-based thinking. After you make the switch, you can spend your time tuning and optimizing your queries instead of maintaining lengthy, poor-performing code."

    -- Itzik Ben-Gan 2001

  • Alan.B (9/18/2015)


    Koen Verbeeck (9/11/2015)


    Alan.B (9/10/2015)


    Kimball's The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit, 2nd Edition[/url] is essential for any new BI developer. That's my BI bible.

    Did you read Star Schema The Complete Reference yet? It might become your new bible 😀

    I had not even looked at it Koen until your comment. I just picked up a copy and love it. The best data modeling book I have seen! Thanks for the recommendation.

    No problem 🙂

    Need an answer? No, you need a question
    My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
    MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

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