This is part two of a three-part tip series for the DBA job seeker. Click here to read part one, "Acing the DBA job interview: Getting Back to Basics."
In my first article of this series, "Acing the DBA job interview: Getting Back to Basics," I focused on providing details about how to get a good job as a DBA. The objective of this article is to concentrate on what to do after you get the job.
With the constant pressure to reduce IT costs, DBAs can no longer afford to be viewed as cost center overhead. Instead, DBAs must strive to be recognized and prove their value to the organization. This article will focus on both the technical (hard) and non-technical (soft) skills you will need to survive as a DBA. I will also provide suggestions on how to deal with management and ensure job security by consistently adding bottom-line value. So get ready to step out of the traditional DBA role, go beyond the basic database administration tasks, and prove yourself as an invaluable corporate asset.
Hard (technical) skills
Analysts and experts agree that the future role of the DBA will be less focused on traditional maintenance (backups, tuning, space management, patching, etc.) and more focused on specialty areas (compliance, applications, business intelligence, high availability, virtualization, etc.). If you want to succeed as a dba, you must go beyond the administration basics and strive to learn one or more of these specialty areas.
Evolving relational database technologies will influence the technical skills you will need to succeed as a DBA. There are two predominant trends that are changing the face of database administration:
Does automation mean that all DBAs should start looking for a new career? Definitely not! While automation and functionality may be forcing the typical DBA out of his/her comfort zone, the expanding technologies will ensure plenty of good work and job security for the foreseeable future. Do not fear new
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features, but rather embrace them! Technological advances are often more complex and difficult to manage (take 10g RAC as a good example) and actually force a greater dependence on highly skilled DBAs.
Since highly skilled DBAs will always be in demand, all DBAs should strive to stay ahead of the technology curve. There are many ways to expand your technical knowledge and add value, and you can and should start right now! The key, of course, is to be proactive and not wait until it is too late. Some specialized areas you may want to focus on now include:
Soft (non-technical) skills
Soft skills are also of great importance for what lies ahead for the future DBA. Below are some of the soft skills that you will need to succeed as a DBA.
Dealing with management
If you are lucky enough to have a boss or manager that actually understands what you do, then consider yourself blessed. However, most DBAs will complain that they are not understood, that they feel undervalued and even unappreciated.
Having a strong database background myself and having managed dozens of DBAs for over 15 years now, I can authoritatively say this -- if you feel your manager does not understand you, chances are you need look no further than a mirror to place blame. In other words, if your manager does not understand you or the importance of your role, then you (and only you) need to change this. When was the last time you actually communicated with your boss? Do you provide weekly or even daily status reports? Do you explain difficult terms in easily understandable terminology? Do you provide charts and graphs showing how the databases are performing? Can you speak intelligently about the financial or business impact of downtime or poor performance?
My simple advice is to quit whining about your boss not appreciating you and start taking responsibility to change your situation. Here are some tips that should help.
Conclusion
A lot has been written in the DBA blogs recently about how DBAs feel unappreciated and misunderstood. It seems that many DBAs are falling into the rut of career regret and/or falling into a self-pity mode. Don't let yourself become that regretful and bitter DBA! Bitter DBAs tend to spread their bitterness among others and quickly become the "virus" of the IT organization. Rather than becoming a virus, stay positive and focus instead on improving your current situation. Sharpen your technical and soft skills, expand your knowledge into new areas and learn how to deal with management. Embrace change instead of resisting it. If you follow the guidelines presented here and take responsibility for your own future, you will soon reap the rewards and become the invaluable and respected employee that most of us want to be.
With that said, I will leave you to reflect with this one final thought:
About the author
[IMAGE]Michael Hillenbrand directs and manages the AES Select Outsourcing group at Access Enterprise Solutions. As director, Michael is responsible for defining processes and procedures, assisting with sales and marketing efforts, defining and governing service levels, and ensuring continued quality and success for AES Select customers.
Michael began his career as a DBA with US Steel then moved on to manage the corporate Oracle DBA team at Alcoa. For the last 10 years Michael has been leading remote support efforts. Having been in a leadership role throughout most of his 20+ year career, Michael has hired and managed over 50 DBAs and supported well over 100 clients. Michael's specialties include best practices (ITIL Foundations Certified), quality improvement and daily operations. Michael also has a strong background in database support, including Oracle (OCP Certified), SQL Server and DB2.
