Career Change

WillTech105

...somewhat. So far I have been doing network administrator for some time now but I am starting to get bored of it. It isnt as fasinating, new, and exciting like it used to be. I find myself doing alot of boring "chores" and learning applications I have no desire to learn (like doc mgmt software). Plus it kinda sucks that the pay isnt good enough and I have been thinking of getting a second job *GASP*! I've intereviewed/seen the prices other employers pay and its about the same right now (55-60k).

I was looking at the "other side" of the tracks lately -- SQL Database Admin. It seems challenging enough, I dont see there being any needless politics, dealing with annoying users, working late nights because someone broke the Exchange server -- granted of course if a project needs to be done I'll work till whatever hours need be -- but I find a bigger bang for my buck pursuing DBAdmin. Plus I hear the pay is alot better.

I am just curious for those DBAs right now -- is it worth it?

veritas_libertas

WillTech105 wrote: »

...somewhat. So far I have been doing network administrator for some time now but I am starting to get bored of it. It isnt as fasinating, new, and exciting like it used to be. I find myself doing alot of boring "chores" and learning applications I have no desire to learn (like doc mgmt software). Plus it kinda sucks that the pay isnt good enough and I have been thinking of getting a second job *GASP*! I've intereviewed/seen the prices other employers pay and its about the same right now (55-60k).

I was looking at the "other side" of the tracks lately -- SQL Database Admin. It seems challenging enough, I dont see there being any needless politics, dealing with annoying users, working late nights because someone broke the Exchange server -- granted of course if a project needs to be done I'll work till whatever hours need be -- but I find a bigger bang for my buck pursuing DBAdmin. Plus I hear the pay is alot better.

I am just curious for those DBAs right now -- is it worth it?

DBAs hang around on TE?

GAngel

From the sounds of your post you don't even sound like you're in the right field.

dynamik

I think you're going to find similar dislikes in the DB arena, and I think the pay will be comparable at the upper levels. I'm not trying to discourage you if that's what you enjoy doing, but I don't think it's going to remedy your current qualms.

WillTech105

Maybe I am not thinking of the right "title". I was thinking up of doing programming/SQL adminsitration which I'll be honest, I dont know much about, but I wanted to get some opinions since everyone I work with are network admins so I may get some biased viewpoints.

The thing is I recently got engaged (yay!) so doing crazy consulting hours, on-call pratically 24/7 is not ideal for me at this point in my life. Maybe back when I was single, job hopping and whatnot. Just wanted to get some feedback on if perusing SQL administration or database admin would be better suited. Thanks again guys!

dynamik

What do you want to do? It sounds like you're assuming any networking position will be like your current position and any DBA position won't have any of the negative aspects. You don't think there are DBAs that get calls at 2am when a critical server goes down? There are also networking positions that don't require you to be on-call 24/7. Figure out what interests you the most and find a position that works with your family life.

WillTech105

I'm sure theres negative aspects of being a DBA as well -- I'm not saying its all peachy and roses but like I said if possible I wanted to see a DBA's point of view before I start getting serious about it.

msteinhilber

The problem I see here that you will probably encounter with any position that you obtain within the IT realm include the on-call factor and the end user factor. In my opinion and through my own experiences, those who work higher up the ladder and command a higher rate of pay are also the ones that upper management tends to expect to handle critical problems that lie within their realm of responsibility regardless of the hour or day of the week. While you might not technically be on call 24/7 at least on paper, you still may be expected to deal with problems should they come up outside of your scheduled shift. Hopefully if you are good at your role and are able to convey the need for whatever budget you feel is required, then you won't be having as many issues as a result of being better prepared for problems as well as more proactive in preventing problems from emerging in the first place.

As far as the annoying users problem, I'm afraid you will have those in just about any position related to IT. Some might have to deal with end users less than others but I think it's hard to avoid entirely. Really though, from my experience - end users are only annoying if you allow them to be. What I mean by that is if you allow them to command your time at their convenience and stop what you are doing to assist them anytime you are interrupted then they are going to likely be annoying you. Instead I find it easier to not allow each call or e-mail from an end user to be an instant interruption in my day and continue working at my own schedule and prioritizing end user requests. I have read through the book Time Management for System Administrators and have been utilizing some of the techniques mentioned in the book. I find that since doing so, I no longer view end users in the same way as I did before.

What I would do is write down what you like about what you do. Try and determine what exactly you would like to be doing with your career. Make a list of what you currently dislike about your present situation. See if there are any way that you can help reduce or eliminate the impact of the list of dislikes. You may just find that you're better off learning to employ methods to help make what you dislike about your job more manageable.

I suggest checking out this book though, it sounds like it would cover a lot of what you currently dislike about your current position. With a bit of work you might find you really might like your current role with some minor changes.

Amazon.com: Time Management for System Administrators (9780596007836): Thomas A Limoncelli: Books

mikedisd2

Thanks for the book mention, Msteinhilber. I'm definitely going to check that one out.

RobertKaucher

WillTech105 wrote: »

I was looking at the "other side" of the tracks lately -- SQL Database Admin. It seems challenging enough, I dont see there being any needless politics, dealing with annoying users, working late nights because someone broke the Exchange server -- granted of course if a project needs to be done I'll work till whatever hours need be -- but I find a bigger bang for my buck pursuing DBAdmin. Plus I hear the pay is alot better.

I am just curious for those DBAs right now -- is it worth it?

I am not a strict DBA. Database Administration is only a part of my job duties. But here is my take on this.

1. You will never be able to expunge end users from your professional life. The way you interact with them may change, but they are always there. As a DBA you will be working with two types of end users: developers and true users. You will be the one the managers call when they are not getting the information they want as quickly as they want. You will be the one that gets the call "Are you doing something that's slowing the system down? My report is taking too long and my meeting is in 5 minutes. I may as well not go if I don't have this data." And this will be the VP of Sales, not the receptionist so if she is saying jump, you jump. So while you may not be answering the phone with "IT Department, have you tried restarting it?" You will still be on call and still be supporting end users.

2. Database servers go down. That's why I get an email alert every time my SQL server even hiccups. If my processor utilization is over 85% you had better be damn sure I will know about it. If my free disk space drops below 20%, I will be logging in on Saturday to find out why.

3. If it's Saturday night at 8:00 and I am home and hear a severe weather warning, you know I will be logging in and starting the backup early to be sure it is running and I don't have to worry.

4. The DBA is the one people go to get the information they need and they always needed it yesterday. One recent case for me was the VP of Sales handing me a spread sheet with 750 part numbers we were bidding on. He needed me to fill in the document with the information required for each part number by the end of the day. So there I am writing my SQL query for an undocumented database that is as normalized as Lady Gaga and busting out a PowerShell script that will populate the fields. I had to go to the CFO and the Estimating Department manager to find out where the data was and still had errors at 4:00 PM when I needed to leave at 4:30. But the VP of Sales needs this before 5:00. There I was at 4:40 finishing things up and late to an appointment that had been planned for weeks.

The fact is this: there is a reason DBAs get paid so much. If a DBA screws something up it could put the company out of business for good. If a DBA is unable to provide the company with data that is correct and in a manner that is efficient the company could make assumptions about their business that are wrong, which could put them at a sever competitive disadvantage. This could mean layoffs and other cutbacks. So don't think there will be no stress and no late nights because someone did something stupid...

I suggest you start by reading this:
Red Gate Software - Be an Exceptional DBA

veritas_libertas

You might find this useful:

Database Administrators: It's All in a Day's Work - Certification Magazine

WillTech105

Thanks for the great posts guys. This def. gives me a better overview of a DBA. I'll take a look at these links soon but so far I like what I see.

EDIT: Another thought actually is as a consultant is I find myself doing alot of Help Desk tickets sometimes. Not that I am complaning but I dont find it challenging. What I really don't like is when a client has some strange program that you've never heard of before -- like Doc Mgmt or an app for sharing calendars -- something that doesnt really interest me to learn nor would really benefit me long term in learning. If I was to go to every client I met to become proficient with their apps my brain would melt! Correct me if I am wrong but I find myself doing the same cookie cutter things with each client. They always have a firewall with similiar rules, DHCP, servers, ect, ect. Of course for me to become more of an full blown engineer I'd think I'd have to clock alot more years to get to that level where the work becomes interesting.

I heard a saying one time that if you want to look where you job leads you -- look at the next person ahead of you in the food chain. I've spoken with several Senior Network Admins and I who have 10-15 years in the business and although the work interests me little more, I dont think I would be satisfied with it. Yeah its great fixing replication issues, migrations, Exchange installs, ect but ultimately I think its usually similiar "cookie cutter".

Any feedback would be appreciated.