Professional Development

This month, to mark the 20th anniversary of BrentOzar.com, I’m stepping back and looking at the big picture rather than blogging about database problems & solutions like I usually do. It wouldn’t be a good navel-gazing series without a couple thousands words looking inward at myself. When I first got started writing online, I was…

You work with data, and you’re thinking about getting a Microsoft certification. Which one should you get? If you need the certification to get a job… Then get the certification you see mentioned the most often in the descriptions of the job you’re looking for. This is just a little tricky because certifications shown on…

I’ll be answering your questions from right here. Ever wanted to ask me questions about careers or professional development? Now’s your chance. Post your questions here (update: questions are closed)– and you may wanna use a fake name if you’re asking something that’s a little revealing about your current job or employer. Don’t have a question?…

At SQLBits 2020 on Saturday, October 3 at 11:10AM Eastern, 8:10AM Pacific (calendar), I’m presenting a session called 500-Level Career Guide: Building Your Brand. Here’s the abstract: If you want to work for yourself, you need to be able to sell yourself. I know, I hate it too – it feels gross when I write…

You were just given permission to hire an underling, and today’s their first day reporting to you. What’s the first thing you warn them about? I asked on Twitter, and the replies were great: Don't be afraid to fail. Fail as much as you want, as long as you learn in the process and don't…

You’ve stumbled upon this blog, and you’re having a pretty good time. Now you’re wondering, “Where else can I network with database folks, get to know them, and talk shop?” You’re not getting out due to the quarantines, so your local user group isn’t fulfilling your networking cravings. You wanna know what else is going…

The 6 Figure Developer podcast with John Callaway, Clayton Hunt, and Jon Ash covers not just technical topics, but career topics so you can learn to leverage that technical knowledge and build a better career for yourself. I’m on Episode 144 talking about career development. We talked about why I sucked so bad at development,…

While on a recent trip out to Farm Credit Services in Omaha, I sat down to talk with FCS’s Natalie Gerdes & Tim Goergen to record an episode of their podcast, TRY/CATCH. You can listen to the podcast here, or hear it on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. I talk about how people say you…