Re: what sort of dba can you get for 100K nowdays

NetComrade wrote:
> On 27 Apr 2006 15:06:20 -0700, "BD" <bobby_dread_at_hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >>these are still fairly basic things everyone should know..
> >
> >In a recent discussion I had with a long-time DBA (I'm fairly new at
> >it), I asked whether, with the advent of 'self-tuning' databases like
> >10g, and with technologies like ASM, were DBAs becoming 'obsolete'...
> >the basic conclusion of the discussion was that the nature of the DBA's
> >role is changing somewhat, into more of an application administrator -
> >understanding Forms and App Server is a great benefit - but there's no
> >longer the need to manage rollback segments, so why even know what they
> >are / were?
>
> This is true in a way.. but the people interviewed were 'experienced'
> dba's, and most of them should've worked with 10g (in fact, the
> majority were either not using it, or still in 'testing'). Given their
> 'years' of experience, they should've known about things from the
> past. If you're not using ASM there are still things you need to know
> (and none of them did )

Hiring people based on their current perceived skillset is shortsighted. You've got to allow months to discover if they even fit in to your environment, so you might as well train them how you want. In many cases it's best to hire people who's skills complement yours and the other team members, rather than whether they can parrot the answers you want over the phone.

As someone who's sometimes been the "second choice who worked out much better," as well as watching other positions be revolving doors, my view is jaundiced - I've hardly ever seen a set of interviews that really worked as intended. And the best jobs I've had have often had no formal interview at all, just either dragged into some place by someone who knows me or dumped in cold by completely clueless headhunters/bodyshops.

I think the reason for this is proper database work requires an intimate knowledge of the application and environment, and that simply takes time in that environment. Some short-circuiting of that process can happen if those things were identical elsewhere, but that is relatively rare. Treating knowledge workers as interchangeable resources is a newbie MBA mistake. Finding someone who is honest and willing to learn is the best you can hope for, if they find databases fascinating that is just gravy.

And Scott Adams is an optimist.

jg

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