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Home -> Community -> Mailing Lists -> Oracle-L -> RE: career questions
Good question Maria and something a lot of us on the list either do, have
done or have considered.
I have no intention of questioning your abilities but being the sole DBA on
a site it is quite easy to be seen as a good dba because the users and your
management have nothing to compare against.
It is also most likely that you will have a set way of doing things and do
not try different methods or ideas that often.
I know I have been there and done that.
I had a very good job in a large company where I was the main dba and was
seen as good at doing my job. However I had the same concerns as yourself
and felt that I had a lot more to learn. I left and started working for
myself but the first place I went to was a large site and they had 30 DBAs
working just on specific project. That was a real learning curve for me. It
was an immediate chance to compare myself against a whole variety of DBAs
and realise where my strengths and weaknesses were and what I had to compare
myself against. It was quickly obvious to me that there were 3 groups of
DBAs,
1) Those who were adequate, wanted to make money and did not bother
themselves with niceties like doing a good job
2) Those who did good job , wanted to learn more but were not of the
highest calibre
3) A small number who were exceptionally good
Well I think I fitted into group 2, maybe below the half way mark in order of ranking. But what I had, and you sound the same from your post, was the desire to learn more. I will never get to be in group 3 but I certainly feel I have moved up the ranking list of group 2 by taking in all the experience I have gained by working with other DBAs and moving around between sites.
I think what I am trying to say is that perhaps a better move would be to a larger company with a number of DBAs who you could work with and get a better understanding of your weaknesses and strengths
I do not know about the job market in your area but in the UK and probably the USA now is not a great time for stepping out on your own, especially if you do not have a track record of doing so.
Perhaps another option would be to work for a consultancy where you could gain the experience of working on a number of sites and still retain a stable job
Hope all that helps
John
-----Original Message-----
Sent: 13 December 2002 05:24
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
Gurus,
I have been an Oracle DBA for almost 5 years and would like very much to venture into independent Oracle consulting (part-time). As i have spent most of these 5 years as a sole DBA for different companies, studying and learning the ropes of Oracle Administration through books, magazines, test machines and this list, I feel confident enough to handle most Oracle issues. At the same time, I still have that feeling of inadequacy. I am not sure if I am good enough to offer my services to local companies.
That said, I'd like to ask every one who are into consulting (on their own or as a part-time gig) what are the technical and soft skills necessary before I even think about consulting. How would you know that you're "technically" ready for it. And how do I get started. Tips are welcome too!
Thanks everyone.
=)
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Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
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Author: Maria Aurora VT de la Vega
INET: mtdelavega_at_pse.org.ph
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Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services ---------------------------------------------------------------------To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). Received on Fri Dec 13 2002 - 02:18:44 CST
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