Turn a Bad Job into a Good Experience

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Turn a Bad Job into a Good Experience

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Tim Mitchell

Posted Saturday, August 14, 2010 12:02 PM

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Comments posted to this topic are about the item Turn a Bad Job into a Good Experience

Tim Mitchell
SQL Server MVP
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Post #969410

Jeff Moden

Posted Sunday, August 15, 2010 10:08 PM

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Perfect and well said. I had one job where I quite literally did just about everything for the company from learning how to run a letter folding machine to pulling and terminating CAT-5 and CAT-3 cables to planning the electrical load for a new office to writing my own (small) database. It was a LOT of hard work and I wouldn't trade away a minute of it. Someone would have to go to school for 20 years to learn all that. Heh... life is school and I'm still learning. What a blast!

--Jeff Moden

"RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for "Row-By-Agonizing-Row".

First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
Stop thinking about what you want to do to a row... think, instead, of what you want to do to a column."

For better, quicker answers on T-SQL questions, click on the following...
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/

For better answers on performance questions, click on the following...
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/SQLServerCentral/66909/

Post #969538

Mike Decuir

Posted Sunday, August 15, 2010 10:14 PM

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The exact kind of situation you describe is actually what turned me into a DBA. My soul was getting crushed regularly and the saving grace was that because I was pulled in so many different directions, I had the opportunity to get a very wide base of experience and figure out what I was most passionate about. As frustrating as the experience was, I am glad I had it, though it would have been nice if the stay at that job was a bit shorter.

Post #969539

John.Sansom

Posted Monday, August 16, 2010 2:23 AM

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Great article, it really struck a chord with me.

These types of in the trenches roles build character and I consider them almost a rite of passage to becoming a well rounded and versatile Data Professional.

After all, how will you know when you hit the big time with a dream job if you’ve always had it easy? Smile

John Sansom (@sqlBrit) | www.sqlbrit.com
The SQLBrit Community Forum - "There's so more to being a Data Professional than just technology."

Post #969601

Andy Warren

Posted Monday, August 16, 2010 5:49 AM

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Good thoughts, and I've thought the same about bad/weak managers, you get chances to do things that you might not with a stronger and more capable manager. Still, it's easy to fall into a rut and stay past the point when you should have left. The trick - with no easy answer - is figuring out when that time is!

Andy
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Post #969697

chrisn-585491

Posted Monday, August 16, 2010 6:55 AM

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While the situation I'm currently in isn't bad, it is a dead end as far as growth and any real challenges other than boredom of doing the same tasks. So I'm hitting the books, databases and code to bootstrap myself out of here.

Post #969733

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Posted Monday, August 16, 2010 8:31 AM

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Glad you've moved on, and a nice editorial. I agree that these challenging jobs help you learn, but I agree with Andy. Easy to get stuck there.

I think you need to keep talking about this with your spouse/family, and keep looking for something new when you are struggling in your job. You don't want to get stuck in a crappy job for a long time.

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Post #969825

j_e_o

Posted Monday, August 16, 2010 9:05 AM

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The best thing you can do when you discover that you are in a bad work situation is to first, learn from it and second, start looking for another job. With regard to the first point, I mean learn everything: policy, practices, process, management, politics and coworkers that contributed to the bad experience. All of this will come in handy later on. It is not enough to recognize that you were bored and not challenged enough. You have to figure out why the situation you are in is as bad as it is. Just doing the analysis puts you more in control of your current situation. You might find you can improve your work environment and turn a bad job into an acceptable one (and you get to ignore my second recommendation).

One very important point: when in a lousy work environment, it doesn't help to complain. It does help to point out problems and recommend solutions.

Post #969866