First SQl job were you nervous?

  • @jeff Moden thanks for the links this will be a huge benefit in being able to test several things I have been wanting to try. Especially testing different query techniques and the performance factor.

    @Grant Fritchey I just hit my year anniversary recently of ever even hearing the word SQL. So everything makes me super nervous I suppose that will be around for a very long, long time. I also have your book on my reading stack on Amazon.

    ***SQL born on date Spring 2013:-)

  • More than each new job makes me nervous, each new mystery I can't explain makes me nervous!!! Did I miss something small and stupid? Is this a whole new bug we haven't seen? What changed?

    I figure that being nervous means that I care enough to not bugger it up and that counts. It would be easier to not give a damn, then I could be calm all day every day.

    I've learned to live with it as part of the job. One thing to not do, however, is worry about what might go wrong overnight or while you are away on vacation. that's the kind of nervous that can eat you and is not healthy.

    You're in good company, I didn't go to school for this, I rather fell into it a couple decades ago. Once you accept that you will never know and master everything, you'll be fine. Already being someone that can figure things out for themselves and uncover new resources to assist you in that endeavor, you are an excellent candidate for geekhood.

  • I still get nervous for every new job/client/project.

    It keeps me on the edge 🙂

    Need an answer? No, you need a question
    My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
    MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

  • Worry as a virtue? Guess that qualifies me as a saint.

    Seriously, these comments about worry as an asset from this group of posters is like therapy for me. It gives me permission to feel okay about my anxiety as I approach a new set of specs or even a Monday morning.

    It is comforting to know that people with skill sets like yours share this demon. I’ll work to embrace it as you have.

  • In the jobs that I enjoyed doing, when I hit something new, if I found I was sure I could handle it I immediately handed it on to a junior; if I was unsure of myself and worried about whether I could produce, I got on with it. If you are always challenged, you will be always unsure, always worried. If you aren't challenged, life is just too dull. Learning new things is fun, but you can never be sure you will manage to understand them until you have learnt the critical parts, so unsureness must be a sign that you are having fun.

    Now that I'm pretty much retired I don't hit enough situations where I'm not sure I'm up to what I need to do. Maybe I need to unretire.

    Tom

  • thomashohner (5/3/2014)


    Anyone else sometimes feel nervous that you wont measure up?

    Every new client and often times with new projects for old clients.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • I just got a email from one of the companies from their Development Director. I will be doing my first phone interview later this week!

    I talked to my mentor/friend who is the Senior Team Leader and he said its okay to be nervous just as you guys are saying. He also told me not to worry about studying to hard for my certifications. He said they want me to build reports like I am currently doing as they have a backlog of customers for that db. He also said they would be willing to train and teach me on a lot of other things including possible development work later on.:w00t::w00t:

    This job would be a work from home which seems nice but at the same time scary as you really have to make sure your not distracted.

    I'll let you guys know how it goes. Thanks for all the great responses.

    ***SQL born on date Spring 2013:-)

  • Nervousness is part of the job. I'm not a DBA but a developer. I understand the SQL side of things and can work in both areas. My nervousness comes from:

    1. Am I representing my organization properly in the work I do?

    2. Am I designing the application to make the best use of each layer.

    3. Do I understand the database and the key structures?

    4. Does the client understand, like, and use the application properly?

    5. Am I communicating with the client properly so there are no surprises?

    Nothing gives me a greater thrill when an application I developed is used by a client for a long time.

    Don't take me wrong. I don't walk around like Don Knotts all day shaking like a leaf. Maybe what I have is excitement and not nervousness?

  • Well I finished my Interview with the Director of Programing. He said no further interviews were necessary and that he would be drafting a proposal for employment. 😀 I'm so excited, nervous and scared all at once. It looks like I will get to work under a SQL Developer that I considered my mentor for the last year. I will primarily be writing reports with the possibility of being involved in other projects!

    I get to do all of this from my home office!:w00t:

    ***SQL born on date Spring 2013:-)

  • thomashohner (5/9/2014)


    Well I finished my Interview with the Director of Programing. He said no further interviews were necessary and that he would be drafting a proposal for employment. 😀 I'm so excited, nervous and scared all at once. It looks like I will get to work under a SQL Developer that I considered my mentor for the last year. I will primarily be writing reports with the possibility of being involved in other projects!

    I get to do all of this from my home office!:w00t:

    Out-freakin'-standing! You've got the best of both worlds! You've got the job and you've got a mentor that you already like. It doesn't get much better than that! Well done, Thomas!

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • Thank you Sir! I am very excited. I know Report writing isn't the most exciting of the Sql professions but I like it. For a new guy like me I think its a great start. I'm trying to read everything in sight right now. I am a member of the local SQL PASS, however I haven't gone to a meeting yet because I was nervous about being to ignorant. That will change, I have a new found motivation and a desire to make my new company proud!

    I'll let you guys know how it goes. I see a great future ahead and people like yourself only motivate in what can be if your honest and dedicated.

    Again thanks for the encouragement from you and the other posters:-)

    ***SQL born on date Spring 2013:-)

  • thomashohner (5/11/2014)


    Thank you Sir! I am very excited. I know Report writing isn't the most exciting of the Sql professions but I like it. For a new guy like me I think its a great start. I'm trying to read everything in sight right now. I am a member of the local SQL PASS, however I haven't gone to a meeting yet because I was nervous about being to ignorant. That will change, I have a new found motivation and a desire to make my new company proud!

    I'll let you guys know how it goes. I see a great future ahead and people like yourself only motivate in what can be if your honest and dedicated.

    Again thanks for the encouragement from you and the other posters:-)

    Report writing is actually one of the more difficult things to do. Not many do it right especially if it requires dynamic periodic windows or performance, in general. Of course, there are the problems that a lot of people have with accuracy not to mention figuring out all the gazintas.

    If you end up using SSRS, look into "Matrix"s. For an understanding of how they work and how to do the same things in T-SQL in a very high performance manner, take a look at the following articles. Believe in the power of "pre-aggregation" even with "Matrix"s. It's a bit more complicated but not terribly so and your reports will run twice as fast as those that don't use it. And the difference between 5 seconds and 2.5 seconds is remarkable if you're the one waiting for a report. Combine "pre-aggregation" with "Divide'n'Conquer" methods and you can easily achieve 4 times faster (or more) that most.

    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/

    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/

    {Edit: Spelling corrections}

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • thomashohner (5/11/2014)


    I am a member of the local SQL PASS, however I haven't gone to a meeting yet because I was nervous about being to ignorant.

    Don't be nervous. Just go and absorp knowledge.

    Need an answer? No, you need a question
    My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
    MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

  • thomashohner (5/9/2014)


    Well I finished my Interview with the Director of Programing. He said no further interviews were necessary and that he would be drafting a proposal for employment. 😀 I'm so excited, nervous and scared all at once. It looks like I will get to work under a SQL Developer that I considered my mentor for the last year. I will primarily be writing reports with the possibility of being involved in other projects!

    I get to do all of this from my home office!:w00t:

    Congratulations!

    Reporting is one area that I am not good at. Non-technical people always say that it is "only a report" implying that it is easy. I find writing reports to be a specialized skill that you have to do continuously to be good at. I wish you the best luck. But, due to your attitude, I know you won't need luck. 🙂

    Remember to be nervous for the right reasons; that you are conscientous about your work and want to do a good job.

    Tom

  • Thanks Tom! 😀

    ***SQL born on date Spring 2013:-)

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