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.
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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
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