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Khaan4645
Starting Member
2 Posts |
 Posted - 2009-07-07 : 12:50:22
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| Good morning all. I wasn't really sure to put this thread, but thought this would work. I'm a 3rd year GIS analyst w/ a degree in Geography. I'm currently doing the oil/gas thing with a little over a year of working with SQL and Access. I am really interested in gaining more knowledge in the Database side of my field and would like to end up somewhere in the DBA atmosphere somewhere down the line. My question is, where and how would I begin this adventure. Should I go back to school? or is there a way to do enough out of the classroom to at least get me started. Any advice or guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you! |
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blindman
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
2365 Posts |
Posted - 2009-07-07 : 14:11:21
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| Based upon your MS Access experience, look for an entry level job coding sql in MS SQLSVR.________________________________________________If it is not practically useful, then it is practically useless.________________________________________________ |
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afrika
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
2706 Posts |
Posted - 2009-07-07 : 14:16:58
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| I would say, read up on SQL 1. Administrator2. DeveloperFind out which you prefer and then you can choose which area to specialize in.I prefer development over web apps |
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AjarnMark
SQL Slashing Gunting Master
3246 Posts |
Posted - 2009-07-09 : 14:22:19
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| I tend to think of there being two types of DBA. The first is the Development DBA who is responsible for things such as proper normalization, table/schema design, initial indexing, referential integrity, etc. The other is the Production DBA whose focus tends to be on peak performance, disaster recovery, high availability, etc. In smaller shops, both may be done by the same person. These are two very different tracks to learn and explore.On the development side, there is a lot that can be learned on your own simply by playing. For either, I would encourage reading blogs and forums such as the ones found here, and see what sense you can make out of the questions and answers. Don't just take someone's answer as truth and memorize the details, but rather, attempt to reproduce the issue the question was about and work to understand the answer.Another approach would be to research the certifications and look for courses targeted at passing the tests. There is a lot you could learn by going through the process, but there is still a lot to learn after that, too.--------------------------------------------Brand yourself at EmeraldCityDomains.com |
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Khaan4645
Starting Member
2 Posts |
Posted - 2009-07-09 : 14:31:13
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| Thanks for all the suggestions. Luckily my boss has a few books on Oracle, and SQL so I'm going to read as much as I can over the next couple of months and decide if it's the correct path for me. Another question I had is, it's pretty obvious that there are consistenly more Oracl jobs than SQL server jobs. Would it worth the time and money to study for an OCA certificate??Thanks again. |
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AjarnMark
SQL Slashing Gunting Master
3246 Posts |
Posted - 2009-07-09 : 15:25:37
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| I think you'll find the number of Oracle jobs vs. the number of SQL Server jobs varies by location. Only you can decide if it is worth the time and money. I have worked in both and prefer SQL Server, so that's where I focus my attention. And being in Microsoft's back yard, it's not hard to find SQL Server jobs around here.--------------------------------------------Brand yourself at EmeraldCityDomains.com |
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Where to begin??