January 30, 2017 at 9:53 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item A Wide Variation in Skill
January 31, 2017 at 12:46 am
I find it essential when working with other people that whoever is the expert on any particular item treats that advantage as an opportunity to mentor. This has nothing to do with seniority of position, age or reputation. This is to do with professionalism. A true professional works towards improving their profession. If I can improve myself then the profession is just that little bit better. If someone else help me then it is appreciated. If I can assist in someone else improving themselves then I am fulfilling my duty to our profession, doing right by my client, being a good peer and probably making my job easier in the long run.
It is important, for me and many others I have worked with, that we improve the position we find ourselves in whether we feel we are near Utopia or at the point of despair when it seems worthless.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
January 31, 2017 at 1:37 am
It's worth remembering the Dunning Kruger effect. People of higher ability under-estimate their skill and assume that a task is easy.
Teaching is a skilled profession. Writing things down in a way that information is easily assimilated is also a rare ability.
January 31, 2017 at 1:43 am
A very nice article. For me, there are things that I don't understand until I see them from a different perspective. For example, T-SQL way of doing the pivot or unpivot of data has always got sweating with fear. Even though I have done this at least 10 times in differents jobs, for differents needs. On the other hand, doing the same operation in R using dplyr is very easy. Even though, I've very little experience in using R compared to using T-SQL.
January 31, 2017 at 5:25 am
Everyone who learns on the job has holes in his or her knowledge, this is normal. Also, nobody can know it all, our field is too complex for that. I don't get people in IT, I hesitate to call them professionals, who are arrogant with their knowledge. How do they get anyone to help them?
January 31, 2017 at 6:22 am
I enjoy training people actually, but they have to want to learn and put forth the appropriate effort. Spend some time on the problem independently, do some research, and make a good faith attempt. If you're fortunate enough to have someone around willing and able to answer your questions and mentor you, be respectful of their time and try to have concise questions.
As long as people abide by the above, I think I'm pretty patient and forgiving. However, I've worked with some people who not only didn't want to learn, but actively rejected and impeded any attempts to do things differently that they felt threatened their "expert" status. So I've seen the other side of the coin.
January 31, 2017 at 7:04 am
This may be true of all jobs, but I see such variation in skillset and ability among DBAs. Some are absolute whizzes at T SQL but don't know much about the engine. Some get really into SSIS while others do their best not to touch it, and some live for performance tuning, but don't know anything about (say) HA/DR. It's fascinating, but also pretty daunting if you're just starting out because it takes time to realise that for most people, there's an area they're really strong in- it doesn't mean they know absolutely *everything* though, and you don't have to either at first.
January 31, 2017 at 7:37 am
Beatrix Kiddo - Tuesday, January 31, 2017 7:04 AMThis may be true of all jobs, but I see such variation in skillset and ability among DBAs. Some are absolute whizzes at T SQL but don't know much about the engine. Some get really into SSIS while others do their best not to touch it, and some live for performance tuning, but don't know anything about (say) HA/DR. It's fascinating, but also pretty daunting if you're just starting out because it takes time to realise that for most people, there's an area they're really strong in- it doesn't mean they know absolutely *everything* though, and you don't have to either at first.
Totally agree. I think this is due to the "DBA is not a single role" issue. Some DBAs do it all, especially in smaller places, whereas some have the advantage/disadvantage of specialising in a particular aspect or set of aspects.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
January 31, 2017 at 7:48 am
With SQL Server, DBA !(even close)= DBA. We all have such different jobs.
January 31, 2017 at 9:35 am
SQL Server central is definitely one of the friendlier IT communities I've had the pleasure of interacting with, there are lots of very knowledgeable people who are willing to donate their time and actually try to help people. Too often I see people who seem to think that because they had to suffer through things without help everyone else should to because it builds character or some such.
January 31, 2017 at 9:38 am
I posted this comment to Steve's blog; I'll share here as well.
This is exactly why I am such a stickler for documentation, and why my SQL Saturday talks have been geared as such. Documentation helps close the knowledge gaps, and will help the reader learn more about the task at hand, as well as (hopefully) gain confidence.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Check out my blog at https://pianorayk.wordpress.com/
January 31, 2017 at 10:34 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor - Monday, January 30, 2017 9:53 PMComments posted to this topic are about the item A Wide Variation in Skill
I agree that belittling someone serves no useful purpose and we need to be aware that a casual "this is easy" has that effect. We generally do not know much about the person asking questions. It is more helpful to direct them to resources and encourage them to ask questions. On the other hand, I have also see posters who over the course of a forum seem to expect others to do the work for them and show little interest in learning. IMO it is a reasonable expectation to have the person asking for help to be willing to put some effort into learning and understanding.
January 31, 2017 at 1:12 pm
I love the gist of your article. Obviously not the TDE piece, because "IT" could be anything. From working with JOINS, to TDE, to column encryption, to raising a family and working with a neighbor. We all have areas where we are good and if someone asks (or we see some help is needed), then if wanted, we should pitch in. Not belittle, not brag, just DO.
Thanks for the reminder,
Larry
January 31, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Twenty years ago, you quite possible could know just about everything about SQL Server 6.x. But probably not even then. (few used replication). Now, we have SSAS (tabular or multi-di),SSRS, SSIS, MDS, and then all the extensions to the core engine. Nope.
Sure, we can all have a bit of familiarity, but just too much information to be really good at it all.
The more you are prepared, the less you need it.
February 1, 2017 at 7:31 pm
An excellent article, Sir, and very important considerations. Thank you !
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