Starting over after 4 year break

  • This is not a technical question but I need a career advice. I worked as a SQL server DBA for 5 and half years before quitting to take care of my kid. After 4 years, i want to get back to job. The last i worked was on SQl server 2008. While i love the challenges of DBA work and the salary it fetches, as a mother I hate the shift times. Being a DBA i never ventured into coding and i am a little hesitant on that.

    I have recently moved to Usa and have work permit, my question:

    1) which jobs can i apply for similar salary and normal work hours?

    2) can i easily get freelancer jobs? since i have not been working for last four years, my confidence is in a pit.

    3) how do i start brushing up with the latest sql technology for job interviews?

    Thanks

  • I don't really know anyone that works nightshift as a dba. They are oncall for emergencies, but its not shift work.

    Once you move into an organisation and you find which problems cause most of the overnight emergencies, then you can usually clear it up with some automation scripts and being proactive in monitoring the servers.

    I have no experience with freelance jobs, but I've looked at a couple of web based sites where jobs are posted.. good luck, there are usually 10+ people with very good feedback ratings offering to do the work for very low pay.

    If you were working with SQL2008, there is very little difference in terms of DBA support for 2012. Just read through the whats new page on books online for 2008R2 and 2012 and maybe have a look around at a few SQL blogs, go back and attempt the QotD from here and read through the discussions.

  • 1) DBA work is usually, by definition, 24/7. It's just the nature of the beast. We're frequently on call to handle emergencies. That said, most of the time, it's a 9-5 job with occasional bouts of extreme excitement at 3AM.

    2) Consulting usually requires travel unless you work for one of the businesses that supply DBA services remotely. I'm not saying not to look at or take consulting work, but it is different.

    3) Tons and tons of people are still using 2008 and 2005. Way too many people are using 2000. So your skills are not really out of date at all. Not to mention that the fundamentals in SQL Server 2014 are not radically different from SQL Server 2005. You should be fine. But, if you're sweating your skills, find your local user group and start attending their meetings to bump your skills up. Find a local SQL Saturday event and spend the day getting learning on.

    Best of luck in your search.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • For your third question >

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms130214(SQL.105).aspx

    Don't forget about Books online as this continues to be a valuable resource. Since you have a background things will come back, learning the new things is not as difficult and you feel you are coming back after some weeks I would bet.

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