Recommended Books for SQL Server DBAs

There’s a ton of SQL Server books out there to help get you started on the road to becoming a database administrator.  I’m going to start at the start of your career, and go forward.

My Favorite Non-SQL Server Books

These books aren’t specific to DBAs, but are things I’ve found really helpful in my career:

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done by David Allen

Do you get nervous at the thought of opening your email in-box because there’s so much piled up, and you don’t know where to begin? Do you struggle with to-do lists and project management software? Tired of struggling to keep your dayplanner up-to-date? Feel like you’re never going to catch up? Jealous of those folks on Twitter who keep shouting “Inbox Zero!”?

David Allen’s book Getting Things Done has been the answer for me and for a few of the folks I work with. It’s a simple, no-nonsense approach to managing daily tasks. Knowledge workers these days have an unending stream of incoming “stuff”, and the GTD philosophy is about rapidly handling as much as you can, as fast as you can, and feeling absolutely comfortable knowing that you can’t handle everything.

I showed my current manager into the GTD philosophy, and he caught on right away. He went from hundreds of emails in his in-box down to less than half a dozen in a couple of weeks. He responds faster to requests, and clearly feels confident in managing his day-to-day inflow of tasks.

You can buy the paperback on Amazon, and there’s also a Kindle version.

Time Management for Systems Administrators by Thomas Limoncelli

If you’re not quite ready for the GTD strategy, check out this lighter version of the philosophy that’s tailored specifically for IT workers.  It’s a much smaller book, and breaks down just what you need to know in order to get your work done faster. One of my former managers gave this out as a Christmas present a few years ago to all of his staff after I converted him to GTD.

You can buy the paperback on Amazon, and there’s also a Kindle version.

The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt

Whuffie is slang for social capital: your reputation, your credibility, your personal bankability.  It’s not as simple as the number of followers you have on Twitter, because that doesn’t necessarily indicate your trustworthiness – there’s plenty of spammers who’ve mastered the art of the followback.  It’s not as simple as the number of posts you’ve made on a forum somewhere, because that just indicates you’re really good at clicking the Submit button.

This concept isn’t just for marketing people – it matters to IT professionals.  As we go through more and more layoffs, the concept of a lifelong career at the same company is nearly gone.  You need to find out how to market yourself to find a job before it’s too late – and when you’ve been laid off, it’s already too late.

You can read my review of the Whuffie Factor, buy the paperback on Amazon, and there’s also a Kindle version.

Brent Ozar

Brent specializes in performance tuning for SQL Server, VMware, and storage. He's one of the very few Microsoft Certified Masters of SQL Server, a published author, and a Microsoft MVP. He likes travel, Jeeps, Apple gear, jokes, and writing about himself in the third person. Read more and contact Brent.

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