Finding the Answers
Sometimes, intuition lets you make guesses that are better than any information
you'll get from outside sources. But the database professionals we talked to
draw on a variety of resources—their own knowledge, articles and online
documentation, peers, forums, blogs, and newsgroups—to synthesize answers
and add to their expertise. All the database pros we talked to have a particular
set of resources that they return to repeatedly. Miller, for example, has assembled
an extensive print library that he keeps on hand. "My main resource is SQL
Server Magazine," he says flatteringly."I have every issue. If I have a
question about how to write a specific query, I go to the online archive or
to SQL Server Books Online (BOL). And we bought all of the 2005 books
we saw advertised by Osborne Press—lots of books. That's how I taught
myself SQL Server."
Like Miller, other SQL Server pros make extensive use of print resources, but
also like Miller, they increasingly turn to online formats first to find answers
quickly. For example, Dave Houghton, a programmer analyst for the York Region
District School Board, goes to the Web to search for specific scripting solutions.
"I use Don Jones's ScriptingAnswers.com site and Microsoft's site," he says.
Scott Reeves, a Texas network administrator, says he goes to vendor Web sites
first to find specific answers. "I generally go right to the vendor site first,
then do a more general search using Microsoft's site—the Knowledge Base—and
search engines."
The online resources that database professionals turn to most are those they
have come to trust from experience and those that have an established reputation
for high-quality content."I go to a lot of Web sites," says Smith,"and typically
use sites like SQL Server Central, SQL Server Performance, PASS chapter sites,
and the Knowledge Base." Lara Rubbelke, a consultant from Minnesota, says,"You
tend to go to trusted sources—blogs by Microsoft, Kalen Delaney, Kim Tripp.
I might have other blogs on my list, but unless I can validate it, I take it
with a grain of salt. [The world of blogs] is a world of opinions, and you have
to really trust the source of that opinion."
The people we talked to reported various levels of involvement with forums,
news-groups, blogs, and other interactive resources. Shilling uses such resources
for information, but rarely interacts. "I might consider working more with the
IT community, but really, when I'm done working, I don't like to go home and
write a technical article." He does acknowledge, though, that the quality of
information he's gotten from forums has improved in the past couple of years.
"There's probably a lot more people who are active now, so the value of the
information I see has gone up because there are more knowledgeable people contributing."
Smith, too, tries to keep up with posts on his favorite forums, and "sometimes
I respond to individual posts, but not frequently." Reeves says that he especially
looks to forums when he's pursuing an elusive answer."More and more, I find
if we can't find an answer easily, that's where we end up," he says.
An overwhelming theme among the people we talked to was that they don't just
turn to their pool of resources when they need to solve a problem—they're
constantly reading and learning to keep up with changing technology and advance
their careers. Respondents to this year's Salary Survey reported that they participated
in a variety of types of training during the past year, including reading content
from a variety of sources, attending conferences and seminars, and participating
in live and online training programs. As Houghton says,"The foremost problem
I deal with is the ever-changing environment that I work in. So learning and
keeping up with my skills and making sure that I'm on top of my game—
that's the biggest adjustment that I have to make right now." Smith, too, acknowledges
that he spends a lot of time in reading, saying, "I spend a lot of time in self
training—very extensive. It's a career field that I enjoy, so the investment
of time is worthwhile."
Rubbelke is a particular advocate for self-education, not just to keep up with
emerging technology, but to reinforce the basic foundation that your knowledge
rests on."That's a direction I give to people who want to learn more about databases:
Go back to the basics to learn why things are the way they are. If you see things
through a myopic view of 'that's just how we do it here at my current job,'
you'll find it harder to take on a new job or build on your experience." Rubbelke
herself regularly frequents blogs, even subscribing to an RSS feed to make sure
she doesn't miss new posts to her favorite authors' sites."If what I read doesn't
sink in today, I'll often remember seeing something later when I'm trying to
solve a particular problem."
Participation in the Technology Community: Vetting Your
Ideas
Rubbelke isn't alone in embracing the expanding IT community. Of the 682 respondents
to this year's Salary Survey, 604 said they are actively involved with some
kind of supplemental IT activity, as Figure
1 shows. Not surprisingly, high numbers of respondents say they are active
with newsgroups and forums, live and Web conferences and seminars, and user
groups. Many people (38 percent) say they interact with technology-related blogs.
And 16 percent are involved in actually writing tips, writing articles or books,
or creating and maintaining their own Web sites.
For the people we talked with, this participation in the IT community has a
more practical purpose than just getting 15 minutes of Internet fame. Instant
access to ideas and opinions provides a crucial step in advancing their expertise:
filtering and testing their ideas.
Moran says that for some theories, the answer is clear without much need for
testing. His analogy is, "I've never stuck a pencil in my eye, but I don't need
to test it to see whether it hurts." But, he explains, if you're solving a sticky
problem or implementing a new technique or technology, vetting can be invaluable."At
Solid Quality Learning, we test theories by going to our peers in the company
to see if ideas make sense—if a lot of people think an idea sounds sensible,
the idea has a good chance of being sound. It's like the Borg—a neural
network—we collectively know the answer." Moran believes this vetting
process is especially crucial when you're a consultant—you come into every
situation not knowing a lot about someone's systems, so you need the input of
your peers to make a good guess about what might be the best decision to solve
that customer's problem.
The idea of tapping into a collective consciousness might be a little sci-fi
for some of the people we talked to, but the need to filter ideas is common
among all of them. Smith admits he spends a lot more time reading online information
than posting it. However, he does read online posts to test or confirm ideas."In
my line of work," he says,"I tend to try to get at least two independent confirmations
of any answer."
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