November 17, 2025 at 4:18 pm
The timing is less than ideal but that 21 years means I'm going to get quite a significant payout. By my calculations, after tax it's a year's money so that should keep the wolf from the door for a bit. It has been clarified in no uncertain terms that I'm not allowed to take the year off though. I've got a final interview lined up on Thursday so fingers-crossed for that.
Thanks for the link Brandie. There's nothing on there at the moment but I'll keep my eye on it.
How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537
November 18, 2025 at 12:28 am
Sorry to hear that Neil and best of luck. It is a scary time to be job hunting
November 18, 2025 at 6:09 pm
It's a big month for me. After 21 years, I'm being made redundant on the 28th when we finally hand over our contract to another company. I started at the very pointy end of the operation, knocking on peoples' doors in the middle of the night but I'm finishing off a long way from there. Job-hunting is scary.
Wow. Best of luck on the search. Reach out on LinkedIn if you want some promotion on your profile.
"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
January 12, 2026 at 3:49 am
It's a big month for me. After 21 years, I'm being made redundant on the 28th when we finally hand over our contract to another company. I started at the very pointy end of the operation, knocking on peoples' doors in the middle of the night but I'm finishing off a long way from there. Job-hunting is scary.
Been there, done that, have the T-Shirt to prove it. Good luck on the job search.
January 13, 2026 at 2:29 am
The timing is less than ideal but that 21 years means I'm going to get quite a significant payout. By my calculations, after tax it's a year's money so that should keep the wolf from the door for a bit. It has been clarified in no uncertain terms that I'm not allowed to take the year off though. I've got a final interview lined up on Thursday so fingers-crossed for that.
Thanks for the link Brandie. There's nothing on there at the moment but I'll keep my eye on it.
I missed this back in November. Howzit going so far, Neil?
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
January 13, 2026 at 7:59 am
Neil Burton wrote:The timing is less than ideal but that 21 years means I'm going to get quite a significant payout. By my calculations, after tax it's a year's money so that should keep the wolf from the door for a bit. It has been clarified in no uncertain terms that I'm not allowed to take the year off though. I've got a final interview lined up on Thursday so fingers-crossed for that.
Thanks for the link Brandie. There's nothing on there at the moment but I'll keep my eye on it.
I missed this back in November. Howzit going so far, Neil?
There's a question. I've sent off a few applications but I've not had positive back from any of them. There's not a lot going on at the moment and even the guy at the Job Centre said he wouldn't expect me to see much at this time of year. Hopefully, things should start to pick up shortly though.
I'm spending my days brushing up my skills, both professionally and personally. I've started looking into the areas that keep cropping up on adverts where I've got no or little experience. There's a wealth of courses out there so I'm taking advantage of as much online learning as I can. The biggest gap seems to be Azure at the moment (we were an AWS organisation) so I'm working my way through some of the MS stuff. Linux has cropped up a few times so I'm looking into that too.
I am starting to feel a little bit stir-crazy though. The weather hasn't been great so the opportunities to get out walking and flying the drones have been limited. With any luck, things will improve soon but winter in the North-West of England, particularly my bit, can be wet. Come to that, so can spring, summer and autumn.
How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537
January 13, 2026 at 1:53 pm
Neil,
You know what I've heard a lot of recently? CISSP certified security people are in high demand right now.
Granted, it's a hard cert to study for and get. You have to think like a business person, not an IT person. But if you're going to study something, that might not be a bad idea. And having been a SQL DBA, you have the security job experience to get fully adopted instead of just being an associate for 5 years.
Of course, I'm studying for it myself on and off. I need to buckle down and finally committ. My SO is CISSP so I get to hear all about the search for good candidates.
January 13, 2026 at 10:12 pm
Sounds like you have a good plan, Neil, and I hope it goes well. I know the job market has been tough for a lot of people. I'd also suggest continuing to network with friends, and honestly, I do think that posting/talking about your efforts and learning helps. Never know when you post a blog or a thing you learned will catch someone's eye and trigger a response.
January 15, 2026 at 7:45 am
Neil,
You know what I've heard a lot of recently? CISSP certified security people are in high demand right now.
Granted, it's a hard cert to study for and get. You have to think like a business person, not an IT person. But if you're going to study something, that might not be a bad idea. And having been a SQL DBA, you have the security job experience to get fully adopted instead of just being an associate for 5 years.
Of course, I'm studying for it myself on and off. I need to buckle down and finally committ. My SO is CISSP so I get to hear all about the search for good candidates.
My old job was security-adjacent so I'm not unfamiliar with the regulation side of things either. We had to have a reasonably high level of clearance too so that might help. It's something to add to the list.
How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537
January 19, 2026 at 12:15 am
There's a question. I've sent off a few applications but I've not had positive back from any of them. There's not a lot going on at the moment and even the guy at the Job Centre said he wouldn't expect me to see much at this time of year. Hopefully, things should start to pick up shortly though.
I'm spending my days brushing up my skills, both professionally and personally. I've started looking into the areas that keep cropping up on adverts where I've got no or little experience. There's a wealth of courses out there so I'm taking advantage of as much online learning as I can. The biggest gap seems to be Azure at the moment (we were an AWS organisation) so I'm working my way through some of the MS stuff. Linux has cropped up a few times so I'm looking into that too.
I feel for you. That seems to be a trend... Especially with a lot of the "fake" job postings on sites like LinkedIn.
Hang in there, Neil.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
January 26, 2026 at 3:17 pm
It's tough out there. Recommendations and working through your network is the best bet. I've seen quite a few people struggling to get responses and lots of companies slowing hiring. There are still offers going out, but infrequently. I have heard a few friends note positions are posted to comply with the need to do so (even though an internal candidate is preferred) or to gauge the market.
January 26, 2026 at 3:52 pm
Changing the subject... Last week was fun. One of my cats ended up with a large bump suddenly appearing on her leg. As I've been through this before, I had an idea what it was. Took her to pet ER and verified it was an injection-trauma sarcoma, which is technically cancer but may or may not be benign. She had her left rear limb amputated last Thursday and is now sitting in a dog kennel in my office. It's less stressful for her to be here than in the cat room with her brother, who absolutely hates her right now because she doesn't smell right.
Just a note, if your dog or cat suddenly gets a bump out of nowhere, don't ignore it. Sarcomas grow really fast and the sooner it gets dealt with, the better quality of life and length of life your pet can have. Also, this crap is expense. Glad I have pet insurance this time around.
January 26, 2026 at 4:07 pm
Sorry Brandie, hope she recovers well to enjoy life. Always hard when that happens.
January 26, 2026 at 4:45 pm
FYI: Zero degrees US is way colder than zero degrees UK
January 26, 2026 at 4:47 pm
True true.
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