Because her job as a consultant requires higher visibility than some jobs,
Rubbelke participates actively in the database community in a remarkable number
of ways."I try to post something meaningful once or twice a month. I'll also
follow up and see if anybody responded to my comments." She has great enthusiasm
for the variety of ways that are available for database professionals to interact
with the IT community and high praise for Microsoft's efforts to improve its
offerings to that community."Microsoft stuff has improved, without a doubt,"
she says. "What I've perceived is an increased visibility for the blogs. That's
a great place for them to document things like bugs and fixes.The forums, too
[are a great resource]. Sometimes they're harder to mill through, but they can
offer insight into a strange or quirky problem—and I often see Microsoft
folks out there posting solutions."
"Microsoft is also a fantastic supporter of live conferences," Rubbelke goes
on."I was at TechEd this year, and it was fun to see a presentation being simulcast
as a Webcast. That's a nice way to bring a community together." Rubbelke notes
that she's noticed a tremendous increase in the overall number of available
Webcasts, which are popular because they give professionals the luxury of scheduling
training when it's convenient.
And Rubbelke is an advocate of basic networking. Within her company, her team
members participate in bi-weekly "coffee talks" in which the team members communicate
about what they're doing and share information and resources. In addition, she
networks with people on both coasts. "Being able to test ideas and network directly
with a colleague who's working on the same problem is incredible," she raves.
Finally, Rubbelke strongly encourages people to not just attend conferences,
but to present at them as a means of validating their ideas."I never learn so
much as when I have to present," she asserts. "Having to learn every aspect
of a topic—even if it's already familiar—and predict questions that
might come up really drives up my learning curve." But regardless of whether
you're presenting at a conference or lurking on a blog, Rubbelke articulates
what most of the experts we talked to also said: "Nobody works in this industry
in a vacuum. I don't want to, either. I enjoy the different aspects that everybody
brings to the table."
Ascending the Spiral
From the answers our Salary Survey respondents gave us, we formed a picture
of a cyclical spiral of knowledge.You start with what you know, add to that
knowledge by getting information from various resources, form a theory about
what the right answer might be, vet your idea through the filter of your peers,
and use your conclusion to add to your core base of knowledge. Every time you
solve a problem or answer a question, you add to your foundation and move up
a bit on the spiral of expertise in your field. When you get to be an expert—whether
you call yourself one or not—you instinctively know it. And then you see
the next step up on the spiral.