Saying goodbye to networking, advice needed

binarysoul

I can tell you bedtime stories as to why I'm planning to move away from networking, but to cut to the chase, I plan to focus on something else in IT:). I've done my homework (for years) and have eliminated programming and security areas as well, but I've always been a big fan of database management. The good news is I can use my networking experience to apply in database mgmt. I'm sure here is a big crew involved with database stuff. Where to start? I want to get involved with database mgnt for bread and butter and not as a hobby.

Mind you I know a bit about SQL language, but at the very primitive level
Which product I should focus; what about theory stuff? Which database area is hot in the job market? Any other pointer will help me.

dynamik

Your first major decision is probably going to be whether you want to work with MS SQL Server or Oracle.

mikej412

dynamik wrote: »

Your first major decision is probably going to be whether you want to work with MS SQL Server or Oracle.

And UNIX or MS Servers (or mainframes).

Don't forget IBM products -- DB2 and Informix.

And Sybase is still a company, I think

And knowing the theory helps.

Lee H

saying goodbye to networking but staying in IT, nice

why the change, do you not earn enough in what your doing now?

i find i am stuck in a wage bracket until i can pass the server exam then am sure after a few server roles i will be 30K+ per year

if i never do pass that exam ide leave IT an go do some gardening or somethin

laptop

I think Networking is our future.

Database Management. Depending on your experience and knowledge. You might need to learn:

MS Access 2007 (You need to master the basics)
SQL (learn advanced querying and code writing)
SQL Server 2005
Oracle

Paperclip

At the early stages of learning, there will be a lot of overlap between platforms. If you can write queries that run on an Oracle database, you can figure out how to write the same queries that will run on MSSQL. The major differences are more to be found in the underlying mechanics of the products.

For a free beginner lab you could always install MySQL or something and just start building some databases and populating them.

The main thing is, you have to like the data and care about the data. You will not just be managing containers that hold data. It will be your job to understand how the data itself relates to each other, how exactly people use/need it, and how to benefit from organizing it differently.

Daniel333

You might want to look into CRM management.

Database administrator certs coupled with business int certs and some knowledge of CRM goes pretty far, moneywise.

Currently 2000+ CRM jobs right now on monster.com, so there is a lot of opportunity out there right now.

binarysoul

Lee H wrote: »

saying goodbye to networking but staying in IT, nice

why the change, do you not earn enough in what your doing now?

You can blame Lee for making me tell this board bedtime stories about why I'm slipping away from networking

In the beginning of my studies when I had no knowledge of networking, I was taking a class in computer science that taught database, programming and networking, all in one course (sort of introductory). Networking just clicked and I loved it. This was around 1999. I then moved on to do a post-grad diploma in Networking Design and Administration, worked for an ISP, a government agency and finally landed my dream job: Network Administrator with a prominent firm. I slowly realized while we were network admins, our domain of control was limited (just typical IT politics where while you're supposed to manage a device such as edge routers, you have no access to it ).

Most often problems occurred and there were always blind spots (due to no access) preventing me from knowing the root cause to fix the issue. Mind you, it was well understood by management that we were not at fault and indeed management was very satisfied with our performance.

In a nutshell, I came to realize that networking (at least in organizations I worked for) became more of an abstract idea than a tangible object such as a server. Me, being very practical and visual am more into seeing the results in action and don't like blind spots. For example, if there is a slowness between point A and Point B, I would like to trace point A to point B; if I"m blocked somewhere in the middle, then I have to abstractly (or call so many people who may be on vacation, etc) to get "more information" about the issue.

I have to mention, I'm NOT leaving networking as a field, but as a role, I will always update my knowledge and if chance is given will work as a network admin in an environment where I have full control of my network and not just pieces and bits.

Kaminsky

Oracle dba contractors can make stupid money at the high level. UK equivelent of $100 / hour I have seen but they are at the top end of the wedge working on huge systems. They were there for a good couple of years too on one particular contract before the company let all contractors go across the board at the start of all this current situation. These guys were among the very first out of the door due to their expense.

I shudder to think how many years it would take you to get to that level. As people have listed above, there are a lot of support skills needed for a good dba although I wouldn't consider a good grounding in networking to be one of the major support skills to be honest.

Have you thought of multi-skilling across the networking field instead to drive up your base rate and desirability. If not security, what about design, and voip and start moving into the architect arena. They can make very nice money too. Support for this could come from ITIL and Prince2.

It could help your overall predicament in that the architects don't really get involved in the day to day but get a project. Design it, pass it to implementation and then once that is up and running, work on the next one and leave the general day to day running of that little window to others. With your background, you could make a very good designer (with real world experience for a nice change) and it certainly would be a challenge and a lot less risky.

A bit higher of a climb but if your are going to be climbing anyway ..... Just a thought...

rsutton

Your experience is very common in large orginzations. I have been there and have had the same problems (difficult troubleshooting large networking problems due to policies preventing me from accessing the entire picture). Now I am a Network Admin for a small company, 2 sites 100 users & I have access to everything; It's fantastic.

brad-

If you are just getting into DB, I would suggest learning the Management/Administration of Oracle (first) then SQL 2k8. They both have certs if you're interested. Once you get your feet wet, from there just figure out what interests you. High Availability & Disaster recovery, Business Intelligence, Programming, Performance & Troubleshooting...there are a few choices if you choose to go deeper into the rabbit hole.

I started out with SQL 2k5 because of work and did 70-431 cert for it, but on the whole Oracle is still the king and more desireable. SQL is gaining marketshare so it may be worth your time to learn both. Principles are generally the same.