Goodbye to the DBA
I\’ve been in this game for some time now, but I feel that a career change is in order.
Being a DBA has taught me lots of excellent skills, and I\’m a bit sad to be leaving that behind, but gone are the days when it was just about backups and logins and performance tuning gnarly T/SQL statements and procedures.
So, I\’ve decided to become a Data Professional instead. I\’m not actually leaving my current place of work, I\’m not moving between departments, and I\’ll still sit at the same old battered desk, but Data Professional is a title that more reflects what DBAs have to do, and it\’s where the job is going, to be honest.
Back in the day (a phrase I particularly dislike) SQL Server was an RDBMS, plain and simple. To some it was a dark art, and many people I knew at the time were terrified of the thing.
But it was just that – an RDBMS, with rules that had not changed since God was a lad. No frills, just a relational data store.
Adding DTS and Reporting Services to the product stack changed things a little, and SSIS and Analysis Services altered the scope again, but the basic rules of engagement were still the same. Sharepoint was seen as an irrelevance by some die-hards, and was little trusted beyond being an online document repository
However, with the release of SQL Server 2012 (and to some extent SQL Server 2008 and Sharepoint 2013), the game is up.
In today\’s data-driven world, it\’s not good enough to sit behind your RDBMS any more. The world is waking up to the power of data insight, the opportunity to divine hidden realtionships in your \’Big Data\’ (another annoying neologism).
The modern DBA must be far more than the DBA at the turn of the last century. There is a need for them to be an expert in all things data, and that is a bigger and scarier world than ever before.
So it is with a great deal of excitement that I make this career change from DBA to Data Professional. Actually, it\’ll be nice to have a job titile that you can use in social situations with no need for long and protracted explanation of what I do 🙂
There are some challenges ahead, I\’m sure, but I\’m really looking forward to it.
I hope you are too.
Back soon….
The Modern Dataist 
Very much agree that the shift is happening, this is reflected in how the MCP exams are now formatted with people needed to pass the base MCSA exam which covers DBA, BI and Dev.These area's just aren't as silo-ed anymore
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Hello, i would like to ask that what is the benefits of sql training, what all topics should be covered and it is kinda bothering me … and has anyone studies from this course http://www.wiziq.com/course/125-comprehensive-introduction-to-sql of SQL tutorial online?? or tell me any other guidance…would really appreciate help… and Also i would like to thank for all the information you are providing on sql training.
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That's true, and at the moment, most organisations internal structures don't move at the same pace as business demands 🙂
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Christi, I'm not really one for commenting one the quality of any given training provider. What really matters is your understanding and knowledge. If you're just starting out, take a look at the free courses that are generally available, but be prepared for the content to be somewhat contradictory. SQL Server is like that – it depends ! Also, have an open mind and follow what interests you. You'll need quite a bit of background knowledge, but specializing in one or two areas is not uncommon.And thanks for reading, by the way !
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…and now, nearly 9 years later, I'm officially a Data Engineer at my organisation. Do I get extra points for patience ? 🙂
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