Quiet in SQL land.......

jnwdmb

I was just curious, why is there so little activity on this board? I am just beginning to get into SQL and to my knowledge Database Admins are still in demand. With the economy in the shape that it is in I guess I thought that I would find more people on a board like this, trying to make themselves as marketable as possible.......am I missing something?

Is learning this going to be much more difficult than I anticipated?

Has the market for this knowledge been overestimated by me?

I thought it would be a good compliment to my current credentials to have some knowledge in the area of SQL and maybe it would spark a more advanced interest for the future.....was I mistaken?

Any input/opinions would be appreciated.

aaronchristenson

I would say that DBAs are in demand. Learning SQL is not that hard, atleast I do not think so, I have been a DBA for 5 years now. If you can learn MS Exchange you should be able to learn the SQL language. I would get your hands on the SQL Express edition and practice. The Express edition is free and runs on XP, Vista, and Windows 7. I am currently working on the SQL 2008 upgrade exam.

Good Luck in your endover.

RobertKaucher

jnwdmb wrote: »

I was just curious, why is there so little activity on this board? I am just beginning to get into SQL and to my knowledge Database Admins are still in demand. With the economy in the shape that it is in I guess I thought that I would find more people on a board like this, trying to make themselves as marketable as possible.......am I missing something?

Here's my perspective on this issue: it seems that there is very little knowledge of what the MCITP is in general and this has made the exams less valuable from an HR job search perspective.

I also believe that many DBAs don't put much value certification and so that also seems to cause a reduction in our numbers.

Sadly MS has stopped publishing the numbers of people who are certified, but I recall the number of people with the MCITP: DBA (2005/200 certs being much lower than the other MCITPs. I don't even think the the 2008 DBA cert numbered even in the thousands the last time MS published the list and the 2005 DBA cert had nly a few thousand, under 10,000.

But I believe that the certification would be good for you both personally and professionally.

jnwdmb

Thanks for all your input....I have a test box at home that I just loaded with Full Version of Enterprise (64 bit version) of SQL 2k5 .....I work for a managed services company so I was able to get my hands on a copy for free.

I also just ordered some books from amazon (cheap):

Beginning SQL Server 2005 Programming (Programmer to Programmer)

SQL Server 2005 DBA Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to SQL Server 2005 Certification Skills

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)

I am truly starting form scratch....the extent of my knowledge at the moment is that I know how to spell SQL (lol)......suggested order to tackle these materials?

Bl8ckr0uter

jnwdmb wrote: »

Thanks for all your input....I have a test box at home that I just loaded with Full Version of Enterprise (64 bit version) of SQL 2k5 .....I work for a managed services company so I was able to get my hands on a copy for free.

I also just ordered some books from amazon (cheap):

Beginning SQL Server 2005 Programming (Programmer to Programmer)

SQL Server 2005 DBA Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to SQL Server 2005 Certification Skills

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)

I am truly starting form scratch....the extent of my knowledge at the moment is that I know how to spell SQL (lol)......suggested order to tackle these materials?

W3Schools Online Web Tutorials
The sql tutorials on here are very basic and will give you a halfway decent intro (I went through them years ago). Best of all it is free.

jnwdmb

Thanks for the link......I also forgot to mention that I have the Test Out CBT as well......I got it in a package about 2 years ago when I was grinding out my MCSE and have never gotten around to doing it until now.

I am certain that I have plently of resources, the only question is how interested I can get in the subject, and what order is the most likely for success.

I openly admit that I am not as "naturally" technical as some of the people that I work with, so it takes me a bit longer to really absorb the material and get a comprehensive understanding than most techies I know.