May 4, 2016 at 5:48 am
Grumpy DBA (5/4/2016)
xsevensinzx (5/3/2016)
Hey guys,Need some advice. I got a really good job offer recently to work at a company as a DBA. I'm currently a data architect that built and manages a data warehouse for a analytics team. I'm kind of their only tech resource and everything is sort of tied into what I do regardless of my suggestions to hire redundancy for me.
I'm struggling to leave the business hanging, but I'm generally becoming unhappy due to a number of things that likely won't get fixed from a management standpoint. So, I'm kind of forced to seek opportunities elsewhere to continue my growth in my passion for data. Yet, I'm seriously guilt tripping a lot on the impact of that decision.
Any advice from those of you who have left mid-project or sunk a lot of passion/investment into a organization, idea, team and still had a difficult choice of moving on would be much appreciated.
I agree with Moden on the guilt part, the fact that you care enough about the project and do not want to leave the company hanging indicate you are dedicated, a good attribute for a DBA. You stated you made suggestions to add another resource, what reasons do they give you for not bringing another resource on board?
Have you had a conversation with your manager/leadership to voice your concerns?
What do you know about the organization that made the really good offer? How detailed were they in laying out the new role's responsibilities? Did you get the feeling you could work for the hiring manager? Did you meet other team members? Have you done any research on the organization (LinkedIn, Glassdoor, etc.)? Do you know anyone who is or has been employed there? Why is this position open?
Make sure you gather as much information as possible to help you make an informed decision. A common mistake is people are blinded by a large salary or great benefits (which won't matter if you are not happy in your new role). Another mistake is taking a new opportunity to escape a bad situation (as Moden mentioned, jumping from the fat into the fire).
Found this interesting article on interview questions the other day.
May 4, 2016 at 5:54 am
jasona.work (5/4/2016)
GilaMonster (5/3/2016)
jasona.work (5/3/2016)
GilaMonster (5/3/2016)
jasona.work (5/3/2016)
Heh. I'm picturing a company where their "office" is nothing more than a cage in a CoLo facility that once a month or so a couple part-time employees go in to hit the servers with compressed air and swap out anything that threw a warning or has hit its end-of-life. The rest of the staff are all sitting at home, or at Starbucks working remotely with work calls forwarded to their phone / Skype / whatever...Once a year, the company has a get-together so the staff can actually *see* each other...
The consulting company I used to work for was like that. Hosted Exchange for mail, no physical office. The one thing, however, that we did need: A meeting room (though one we rented by the hour as needed).
Some clients want to visit a physical location that isn't their office to have a meeting. Strange, but..
Nah, that's the "I can get paid for an 8hr day by driving across town to a 2hr meeting that could have been done over the phone and once it's done, well, darn and golly, how did my golf clubs end up in my trunk?" sort of thing...
😀
Which I was fine with at the time (billing by the hour). I also tended to make diversions after meetings, though not to the golf course. Bookshops however...
Mmmm, bookshops...
On that topic, I can understand the reasons behind the decline of the small, specialty bookshops, but it's still a shame that all we've got around here is Barnes & Noble and...
Barnes & Noble...
Hard life...
The smallest B&N that I've seen in the US (admittedly a small sample) was larger than the largest bookshop in Johannesburg.
The Seattle B&N had, last time I visited, about 12 shelves of sci-fi and fantasy. The best bookshop for sci-fi/fantasy in JHB has 4 half-height shelves.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
May 4, 2016 at 6:00 am
GilaMonster (5/4/2016)
jasona.work (5/4/2016)
GilaMonster (5/3/2016)
jasona.work (5/3/2016)
GilaMonster (5/3/2016)
jasona.work (5/3/2016)
Heh. I'm picturing a company where their "office" is nothing more than a cage in a CoLo facility that once a month or so a couple part-time employees go in to hit the servers with compressed air and swap out anything that threw a warning or has hit its end-of-life. The rest of the staff are all sitting at home, or at Starbucks working remotely with work calls forwarded to their phone / Skype / whatever...Once a year, the company has a get-together so the staff can actually *see* each other...
The consulting company I used to work for was like that. Hosted Exchange for mail, no physical office. The one thing, however, that we did need: A meeting room (though one we rented by the hour as needed).
Some clients want to visit a physical location that isn't their office to have a meeting. Strange, but..
Nah, that's the "I can get paid for an 8hr day by driving across town to a 2hr meeting that could have been done over the phone and once it's done, well, darn and golly, how did my golf clubs end up in my trunk?" sort of thing...
😀
Which I was fine with at the time (billing by the hour). I also tended to make diversions after meetings, though not to the golf course. Bookshops however...
Mmmm, bookshops...
On that topic, I can understand the reasons behind the decline of the small, specialty bookshops, but it's still a shame that all we've got around here is Barnes & Noble and...
Barnes & Noble...
Hard life...
The smallest B&N that I've seen in the US (admittedly a small sample) was larger than the largest bookshop in Johannesburg.
The Seattle B&N had, last time I visited, about 12 shelves of sci-fi and fantasy. The best bookshop for sci-fi/fantasy in JHB has 4 half-height shelves.
If you don't mind buying online, there's always Alibris and Book Depository, which claims to have free world-wide delivery.
May 4, 2016 at 6:00 am
GilaMonster (5/4/2016)
jasona.work (5/4/2016)
GilaMonster (5/3/2016)
jasona.work (5/3/2016)
GilaMonster (5/3/2016)
jasona.work (5/3/2016)
Heh. I'm picturing a company where their "office" is nothing more than a cage in a CoLo facility that once a month or so a couple part-time employees go in to hit the servers with compressed air and swap out anything that threw a warning or has hit its end-of-life. The rest of the staff are all sitting at home, or at Starbucks working remotely with work calls forwarded to their phone / Skype / whatever...Once a year, the company has a get-together so the staff can actually *see* each other...
The consulting company I used to work for was like that. Hosted Exchange for mail, no physical office. The one thing, however, that we did need: A meeting room (though one we rented by the hour as needed).
Some clients want to visit a physical location that isn't their office to have a meeting. Strange, but..
Nah, that's the "I can get paid for an 8hr day by driving across town to a 2hr meeting that could have been done over the phone and once it's done, well, darn and golly, how did my golf clubs end up in my trunk?" sort of thing...
😀
Which I was fine with at the time (billing by the hour). I also tended to make diversions after meetings, though not to the golf course. Bookshops however...
Mmmm, bookshops...
On that topic, I can understand the reasons behind the decline of the small, specialty bookshops, but it's still a shame that all we've got around here is Barnes & Noble and...
Barnes & Noble...
Hard life...
The smallest B&N that I've seen in the US (admittedly a small sample) was larger than the largest bookshop in Johannesburg.
The Seattle B&N had, last time I visited, about 12 shelves of sci-fi and fantasy. The best bookshop for sci-fi/fantasy in JHB has 4 half-height shelves.
Ouch.
Just...
Ouch...
I guess I'll stop complaining now...
😉
Here's another great bookstore, although for the wife and I it's a four-hour drive and an overnight stay: Bakka Phoenix Books, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
May 4, 2016 at 6:11 am
Okay, bookstore stuff is something I need to stick in my Briefcase. So creating a new topic over here.
Please feel free to add.
May 4, 2016 at 6:40 am
Brandie Tarvin (5/4/2016)
Okay, bookstore stuff is something I need to stick in my Briefcase. So creating a new topic over here.Please feel free to add.
And someone's already failed to follow the instructions.
Oh, wait. That would be me. 😀
Thomas Rushton
blog: https://thelonedba.wordpress.com
May 4, 2016 at 6:52 am
Thanks for the feedback guys!
Grumpy DBA (5/4/2016)
You stated you made suggestions to add another resource, what reasons do they give you for not bringing another resource on board?
I work for a huge company. Every team is wanting more resources. It's just limited all around. Typical scenario where they gave me the shot, molded me into a good data resource cheap and don't really want to skip that and hire someone with good experience out the gate due to $$$.
Grumpy DBA (5/4/2016)
Have you had a conversation with your manager/leadership to voice your concerns?
Yeah, I'm a pretty vocal and transparent guy. A lot of it has to do with how the show is being ran, not like a salary increase or anything like that.
Grumpy DBA (5/4/2016)
What do you know about the organization that made the really good offer? How detailed were they in laying out the new role's responsibilities? Did you get the feeling you could work for the hiring manager? Did you meet other team members? Have you done any research on the organization (LinkedIn, Glassdoor, etc.)? Do you know anyone who is or has been employed there? Why is this position open?
The other organization is a different industry. I've met with the team yesterday and they were pretty impressed. I got the offer within 4 hours after being grilled by their seasoned DBA that I would be working with. I have a former co-worker working there from the software industry. He loves it. Says, most people there love it and it has a high retention rate. As I work alone as the only tech resource building and managing a 4 TB data warehouse, this would be a dramatic change from analytics to helping fix a scaling issue with a number of products. But, the chance to work with a seasoned DBA is what I need right now.
I also interviewed with another company as a backup. I haven't received anything from them yet (too soon), but I get the feeling they will offer too. They are a much younger team and I will be alone yet again building a DW from scratch, but not with SQL Server, but with other cloud-based technologies with limited resources. Sounds like a good challenge, but possibly the same scenario too.
Grumpy DBA (5/4/2016)
Make sure you gather as much information as possible to help you make an informed decision. A common mistake is people are blinded by a large salary or great benefits (which won't matter if you are not happy in your new role). Another mistake is taking a new opportunity to escape a bad situation (as Moden mentioned, jumping from the fat into the fire).
Oh, I hear ya. I think everything is good there. It's just my current love affair with everything I've done with the present organization and my awesome team members I would be leaving.
May 4, 2016 at 7:09 am
Brandie Tarvin (5/4/2016)
GilaMonster (5/4/2016)
jasona.work (5/4/2016)
GilaMonster (5/3/2016)
jasona.work (5/3/2016)
GilaMonster (5/3/2016)
jasona.work (5/3/2016)
Heh. I'm picturing a company where their "office" is nothing more than a cage in a CoLo facility that once a month or so a couple part-time employees go in to hit the servers with compressed air and swap out anything that threw a warning or has hit its end-of-life. The rest of the staff are all sitting at home, or at Starbucks working remotely with work calls forwarded to their phone / Skype / whatever...Once a year, the company has a get-together so the staff can actually *see* each other...
The consulting company I used to work for was like that. Hosted Exchange for mail, no physical office. The one thing, however, that we did need: A meeting room (though one we rented by the hour as needed).
Some clients want to visit a physical location that isn't their office to have a meeting. Strange, but..
Nah, that's the "I can get paid for an 8hr day by driving across town to a 2hr meeting that could have been done over the phone and once it's done, well, darn and golly, how did my golf clubs end up in my trunk?" sort of thing...
😀
Which I was fine with at the time (billing by the hour). I also tended to make diversions after meetings, though not to the golf course. Bookshops however...
Mmmm, bookshops...
On that topic, I can understand the reasons behind the decline of the small, specialty bookshops, but it's still a shame that all we've got around here is Barnes & Noble and...
Barnes & Noble...
Hard life...
The smallest B&N that I've seen in the US (admittedly a small sample) was larger than the largest bookshop in Johannesburg.
The Seattle B&N had, last time I visited, about 12 shelves of sci-fi and fantasy. The best bookshop for sci-fi/fantasy in JHB has 4 half-height shelves.
If you don't mind buying online, there's always Alibris and Book Depository, which claims to have free world-wide delivery.
I buy e-books online from Amazon, physical books from an online store here.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
May 4, 2016 at 7:43 am
Brandie Tarvin (5/4/2016)
If you don't mind buying online, there's always Alibris and Book Depository, which claims to have free world-wide delivery.
Book Depository is pretty good at international delivery. It's not as good as it was before 2011 (when Amazon bought it) - but it's still cheaper than Amazon because it still delivers free almost anywhere (so although the book prices are often a bit higher than the Amazon price for the same book, if you want international delivery you'll save money). It also (at least in my experience) gets books to the Canaries faster than Amazon(UK) or even Amazon(Spain). It used to have a greater variety of books available than Amazon (it went for breadth of cover rather than volume per individual book) but I don't know whether that's changed under the influence of its new owner (because I buy far fewer paper books than I used to). And The Book Depository never charged me tax at the wrong rate whereas Amazon did (using Brtish VAT instead of Canarian IGIC - and then when I complained it admitted it had muddles over Spanish and gave me a refund of the tax - the Canarian IGIC and Spanish IVA both have some things zero-rated that Britain doesn't; and the rules for those taxes is that that tax is taken in the country where the buyer takes delivery).
I'm short of shelf-space these days, so mostly buy e-books. Baen has a lot of good books, and Amazon has a quite a lot too. I don't like Amazon's price-fixing tricks , or the way it forced Baen to withdraw its bundles. Nor do I like its tax-dodging games.
edit: fix quote tags
Tom
May 4, 2016 at 7:53 am
xsevensinzx (5/4/2016)
The other organization is a different industry. I've met with the team yesterday and they were pretty impressed. I got the offer within 4 hours after being grilled by their seasoned DBA that I would be working with. I have a former co-worker working there from the software industry. He loves it. Says, most people there love it and it has a high retention rate. As I work alone as the only tech resource building and managing a 4 TB data warehouse, this would be a dramatic change from analytics to helping fix a scaling issue with a number of products. But, the chance to work with a seasoned DBA is what I need right now.
The line that I bolded stands out to me as the most important thing you've said about this opportunity. Now examine what you think of this ex co-worker. Did you enjoy working with him? Does he have a lot of the same workplace values as you do? (Hours, benefits, social and team interactions, etc.)
Do you trust him to be honest about this sort of thing? No exaggerations, no half-truths, etc.
If the answer to all these questions is Yes, you have your answer. Time to jump ship, but in such a way that you don't burn your bridges at your current employer.
May 4, 2016 at 8:06 am
^ I agree with Brandie. Matter of fact that's how I came to my current employer, a former colleague has been here for 8 years and enjoys it. Good work-life balance, on-call is not too stressful (my previous employer's on-call was pure hell), good cohesive team and manager (previous employer: the manager was a 40 year employee and riding it out, didn't give a crap about the team and how dysfunctional it was), workload and new technology is enough to keep things interesting but not overwhelming, really good benefits. Four months in and I am happier than I have been in many years.
May 4, 2016 at 9:27 am
xsevensinzx (5/3/2016)
Hey guys,Need some advice. I got a really good job offer recently to work at a company as a DBA. I'm currently a data architect that built and manages a data warehouse for a analytics team. I'm kind of their only tech resource and everything is sort of tied into what I do regardless of my suggestions to hire redundancy for me.
I'm struggling to leave the business hanging, but I'm generally becoming unhappy due to a number of things that likely won't get fixed from a management standpoint. So, I'm kind of forced to seek opportunities elsewhere to continue my growth in my passion for data. Yet, I'm seriously guilt tripping a lot on the impact of that decision.
Any advice from those of you who have left mid-project or sunk a lot of passion/investment into a organization, idea, team and still had a difficult choice of moving on would be much appreciated.
Just the fact that you are seriously looking at other opportunities tells me that if you don't take this job, you'll be taking another one shortly. You have already made up your mind to leave / jump ship (or you wouldn't be going through the recruitment / interview process). Just do so without burning bridges at your current job. As others have already mentioned, do all you can to aid in the transition (if there is one), and to document everything to make it easier for the next person. In short, make them sorry to see you leave.
Prepare yourself for counter-offers from your current company. Decide now (before you accept) what it would take for you to stay at your current position... and then stick to it. Personally, I feel that if you do decide to move on, you shouldn't entertain counter-offers (if things are such that you want to move now, you will probably end up moving anyway... a counter-offer just delays that, and may prevent you from what may be a great opportunity). One of the key things that you have mentioned is growth as a DBA - is there any way that this is possibly where you are at? If a counter-offer doesn't offer this, then it should just be flatly refused.
Decide what it is that you want for your career, and then evaluate your current job and the offer to see which one is better suited to get you to your goals.
Wayne
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes
May 4, 2016 at 9:30 am
Anyone else having trouble receiving the SSC newsletters? I just received Saturday's "Database Weekly", and I haven't received any of the daily ones this week.
Wayne
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes
May 4, 2016 at 9:39 am
WayneS (5/4/2016)
Anyone else having trouble receiving the SSC newsletters? I just received Saturday's "Database Weekly", and I haven't received any of the daily ones this week.
Yeah they seem to be on their own schedule. I got yesterday's last night about 10 minutes after Monday's and an hour or so after today's. 🙂
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May 4, 2016 at 10:11 am
Sean Lange (5/4/2016)
WayneS (5/4/2016)
Anyone else having trouble receiving the SSC newsletters? I just received Saturday's "Database Weekly", and I haven't received any of the daily ones this week.Yeah they seem to be on their own schedule. I got yesterday's last night about 10 minutes after Monday's and an hour or so after today's. 🙂
I get forum post notifications in waves. Nothing for days, then everything at once. Newsletters much the same.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
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