Professional Development

Professional Development, SQL Server

In part 1 of this series, I explained how to measure your DBAs. Today, let’s talk about how to make those measurements better. Your DBA wants to get better at what they do, but … they don’t know exactly what it is they do, or how to get the business to pay for it. Here’s how.…

Consulting Lines: “I have a hard stop at…”

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Consulting, Consulting Lines

This has grown to become one of my favorite consulting lines. I don’t use it often, but used judiciously, it’s a lifesaver. I use it a few different ways: Using This Line at the Start of the Meeting If you know in advance that the organizer (or some of the attendees) tend to ramble on…

Consulting Lines: “Write this down, because I’m not going to write it.”

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Consulting, Consulting Lines

Before I became a consultant, I was on the other side of the conference room table – we would bring in consultants, and I’d be amazed at all the cool lines they whipped out. Now that I’m the one giving advice, I like sharing some of my favorite consulting lines that you can use in…

Consulting Lines: “I’d be a bad consultant if I didn’t put that in writing.”

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Consulting, Consulting Lines

I have to deliver a lot of bad news. It’s pretty much my full time job. Nobody calls us when things are going well. (Well, they tweet us, because that’s free.) Sometimes, that bad news is very dangerous – especially for the company as a whole, or its customers. In today’s consulting line, I’m working…

PASS Summit #FreeCon2015: What We’re Talking About

Last Updated February 13, 2017

#SQLPass, Blogging, SQL Server

FreeCon SQLSaturday Chicago 2012 On the Monday before the PASS Summit in Seattle this year, we’re putting on another one of our FreeCons. The FreeCon is different from a typical conference pre-con – it’s free, and it’s about the SQL Server community, presenting, marketing, branding, networking, and yes, some technical stuff too. In the past,…

Five Interview Questions to Ask SQL Server Developers

Last Updated March 9, 2015

Doug Lane

Interviewing

“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”“A tree with a job.” When it comes to hiring a SQL Server developer, we can pepper candidates with HR-type questions (“Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it.”) but that doesn’t give us…

Quiz: Are You the Next Brent Ozar Unlimited Consultant?

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Company News, Interviewing, SQL Server

Hey SQL Server DBAs — we’re hiring! Here’s a quick five question quiz. Give yourself one point for every ‘yes’: Have you been a database administrator for a few years? Does planning how to keep an application reliable and safe from disasters sound like fun? Do you love helping people make SQL Server go faster? Would you…

Teaching Tips: Help Your Audience Be Active Learners

Last Updated August 15, 2024

Writing and Presenting

Brent uses handouts to get his audience to optimize queries as part of his presentation We teach a lot of courses. In addition to our online training, free webcasts and sessions at major conferences, we also teach mult-day events. It’s incredibly valuable to keep your audience active. Even when you’re working in a lecture format,…

Book Review: Virtualizing SQL Server with VMware

Last Updated December 9, 2018

Book Reviews, Virtualization

tl;dr – I do not recommend this book. I was so incredibly excited when it was originally announced. A book published by VMware Press, written by prominent VMware, SQL, and storage consultants? GREAT! So much has changed in those topics over the last few years, and it’s high time we got official word on how…

#SQLPASS Speakers: Here’s How to Improve Your Session

Last Updated February 12, 2017

#SQLPass, Writing and Presenting

This year there’s a couple of special challenges you need to keep in mind for projecting your beautiful knowledge out to the audience. Fixing the Contrast Levels PASS distributes a custom PowerPoint template – looks great this year – but the contrast level is extremely light. The template uses light blue and light gray text…

Career Planning for DBAs: Your Next Two Years

Last Updated May 10, 2017

You’ve been doing this database thing for a while, and you’re ready to get serious about it. What’s the next step? Step 1: Define your specialty in one sentence. If you say you do everything, you compete with everyone. You want to be the only one they want. That means you’re: Actively sought-after Uniquely qualified A…

“If You Can’t Do ____, You’re Not a Production DBA”

Last Updated February 9, 2017

Recently I saw a tweet that said, “If you can’t read a query execution plan, you’re not a production DBA.” I love execution plans, and there are really great reasons to learn to read execution plans, but I disagree completely. Database Administration is not all about performance Performance is only one component to database administration. Let’s…

After You’ve Been a DBA, What Do You Do?

Last Updated February 9, 2017

#SQLPass, Writing and Presenting

You’ve been managing database servers for a few years. Now what? Get more technical – every time a new project comes in, sharpen your skills. Get more involved in failover clustering, storage, virtualization, or the cloud. Write technical presentations to teach your own company’s staff, and then the public. Business intelligence – if you’re constantly…

Alaska has a SQL Server User Group!

Last Updated February 13, 2014

Doug Lane

Alaska is on the PASS map! I’m really stoked to share the news: Alaska (my home state) finally has a PASS Chapter of its own! The group just got started last December, and officially welcomed into the PASS organization at the end of January. While they don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account yet, they…

You Won the Tribal Awards With Us

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Blogging, SQL Server

The Simple-Talk Tribal Award Winners are out, and we won in two categories – Blog of the Year for the Brent Ozar Team Blog, and me as the Person You’d Most Like to Have a Beer With. See, now we’re having a beer virtually. It’s almost like – no, it’s nothing like. We need real…

The Evolution of the Company Logo

Last Updated May 7, 2020

Company News, Consulting

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed a subtle change to our site, swag, and PowerPoint templates over the last few months. Here’s the evolution as seen in our company coffee mugs: Brent Ozar Unlimited® Caffeine Delivery Devices Far left, the one with the heart, is the current one, but the transition is a funny story. Our…

How to Write a Killer SQL Server Job Description

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Hiring managers often feel like they’re trying to find a mythical creature On September 24, we published a blog post that we were looking for a new employee. We didn’t advertise on any job listing sites (even though there are some really good ones out there). We tweeted about it a few times, but most…

You Need This One Skill to Succeed in IT

Last Updated July 12, 2013

Jes Schultz

Consulting

The ability to program in five languages, including one machine-level? Not it. Project management skills, up to and including a PMP certification? Not that either. Excellent oral and written communication skills, as noted on every job description ever? That doesn’t hurt, but can be learned. All of the best IT professionals I have worked with…

Sample SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) Job Descriptions

Last Updated June 5, 2017