How to Upgrade Your DBA Skills
How to Upgrade Your DBA Skills
Do your DBA knives need sharpening? Help is on the way!
1. Build your DBA toolkit
As a database administrator, you must constantly expand and build your toolkit– or you’ll be left behind.
- Scripts to optimize index maintenance: https://www.brentozar.com/go/freemaintenance
- Measure wait stats: https://www.brentozar.com/Responder
- See what’s happening in SQL Server: https://www.brentozar.com/go/Active
2.Grow Your Resources for Researching and Learning
There’s a myriad of problems that can strike your database. To react successfully, you need to do a lot more than a Google search. Expand your horizons:
- Join our free (yes, free!) Accidental DBA 6 month training plan: Learn more and subscribe at https://www.brentozar.com/go/needs
- Get on Twitter and use #sqlhelp
- Create an account on DBA.StackExchange.com to submit and answer questions
- Read some DBAReactions. (Hey, I didn’t say these were all serious resources)
If you just can’t grow in your current position, check out our free careers eBook, or our DBA Job Interview Question and Answer Kit online training.
3. Make More Connections
Successful DBAs aren’t loners– instead they are critical nodes of communication between IT, customers, and management.
Be a resource to your customers:
- Become a presenter– schedule a lunch and learn
- Interview your customers
Build effective change management: https://www.brentozar.com/go/change
Meet with other DBAs– in person (really, it makes a difference)
- Attend a free conference: http://SQLSaturday.com
- Find a user group: http://www.sqlpass.org/passchapters.aspx
Or attend our SQL Server training classes!