RE: RE: Career Advice

Viktor, Ryan - Is what you are experiencing the result of companies moving to open-systems Web-based architectures?

Dennis Williams
DBA
Lifetouch, Inc.
dwilliams_at_lifetouch.com

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 8:34 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L

I agree with Ryan. Pure Oracle jobs aren't hot as they used to be. We are going through this right now. They are planning to bring in a bunch of new developers and splitting a few DBA's into dev. groups, which means we'll become more like software engineers (who can also do DBA stuff). There will be only one Prod. DBA for a zillion systems.  

They're driving in the direction of bringing in more cross-trained people. They want all-aroind people who know Perl, Java, Oracle etc. The motto has been: "If you get hit by a bus, he/she can do it". The more you know, the better. Cross-training all the way. It's like that all-in-one fax/printer/copier thing.  

And at the same time, the paycheck isn't as it had been either.    

Viktor  

ryan_oracle_at_cox.net wrote:

my biggest concern is the model for development has been changed. The model now is do most development with software engineers and have only a small number of database people. this means less pure oracle jobs.
>
> From: DENNIS WILLIAMS
> Date: 2003/12/18 Thu PM 02:59:26 EST
> To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
> Subject: RE: RE: Career Advice
>
> Ryan - Excellent points. I well know the feeling of being tied to Oracle's
> future. As to Oracle pricing itself out of the market, I would like to
make
> three points:
> - Pricing is one of the quickest things a vendor can change once it
> becomes convinced this is hurting it. On the other hand, I've seen
software
> vendors that stopped investing in new development. They aren't in business
> anymore! because you can't quickly change that decision.
> - Oracle being perceived as high priced tends to increase our salaries. A
> company spends a lot of money on Oracle, so they want it used to good
> advantage. The salary surveys I've seen show MS SQL Server DBA with lower
> salaries on the average.
> - Has anyone seen salary survey results for MySQL or PostgreSQL? The
> database is free, so how much should a company spend on a DBA?
>
> Dennis Williams
> DBA
> Lifetouch, Inc.
> dwilliams_at_lifetouch.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 1:19 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
>
>
> your goals should tie into the job market. you might absolutely love
Pascal
> programming, but I dont recommend studying it.
>
> Right now(and I dont know how it will fluctuate), there is far, far, far
> more demand for Software Engineers who specialize in Java or .Net. Far,
far,
> far, more than people who specialize in the Oracle database. I think there
> has been a fundamental shift in database development. In the past you
would
> hire mostly Oracle specialized people to do most of your development. They
> would use forms or powerbuilder to do your GUIs.
>
> These days, a growing number of teams hire a large number of java or .Net
> experts and only a handful of database people. is this the best way to go?
I
> dont know. I do see a trend though. How long will the trend last? I do not
> know.
>
> The biggest problem for IT workers is that we are so tied to one specific
> skillset and vendor. If Oracle prices themselves out of the market, our
> skills become far less valued. Employees today want super specialized
> skillsets. If you have them and they are hot, your set, but they wont be
hot
> forever and i! ts very hard to switch since people want experience in the
> specific skillset before hiring you.
> >
> > From: "Thater, William"
> > Date: 2003/12/18 Thu PM 01:44:37 EST
> > To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
> > Subject: RE: Career Advice
> >
> > DENNIS WILLIAMS scribbled on the wall in glitter crayon:
> >
> > > Saira
> > > I think you have to decide what your goal is. Then you need to
> > > decide how to best accomplish that goal. One tool that can lead you
> > > toward a goal is self-study. I have used that tool many times myself.
> > > However, with experience you learn the self-study tool has its
> > > limits. To consider self-study, consider the following questions:
> > >
> > > 1. Is this an area that I can gain significant knowledge with a
> > > reasonable amount of effort? For example, are there good books
> > > available? Is the area well-defined enough for self-study?
> > > 2. Since I'm trying to substitute self-effort for work experience, is
> > > this an area where there are few people with real work experience?
> > > 3. Are there credentials that can be earned?
> >
> > i'd like to add one more...
> > 4. is this something where getting it right will still give you a charge
> > after doing it for 10 years or more?
> >
> > [and yes DBA and programming still do for me. but i'm finding the
chances
> > of being allowed to do it right are becoming few and far between.]
> >
> > --
> > Bill "Shrek" Thater ORACLE DBA
> > "I'm going to work my ticket if I can..." -- Gilwell song
> > william.thater_at_carrier.utc.com
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so. - Douglas Adams
> > --
> > Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net
> > --
> > Author: Thater, William
> > INET: William.Thater_at_carrier.utc.com
> >
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>
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> Author:
> INET: ryan_oracle_at_cox.net
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> Author: DENNIS WILLIAMS
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INET: ryan_oracle_at_cox.net

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Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net
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Author: DENNIS WILLIAMS
  INET: DWILLIAMS_at_LIFETOUCH.COM

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