Oracle DBA Contracting/Consulting/Career Discussion

From: Taylor, Chris David <ChrisDavid.Taylor_at_ingrambarge.com>
Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 08:04:45 -0500
Message-ID: <C5533BD628A9524496D63801704AE56D75B26DFD31_at_SPOBMEXC14.adprod.directory>



Guys/Gals (specifically in the U.S.),

I've been with my current company for almost 6 years and I have identified a trend in my own career that at about 5 years I'm ready to move on to something new. So, I need some advice/thoughts/etc from people in consulting and/or contracting positions - specifically as Oracle DBAs.

I haven't pursued anything yet and it seems to me that the paths before me are similar, yet lead to very different conclusions.

I *think* what I really desire is a company that has an Oracle practice group of accomplished technologists that collaborate and get assigned consulting projects as a team to go to client sites, but allow their employees a 'break' in between projects for training, time off, conferences and the like. What companies would fit that type of idea? Accenture? IBM? Oracle Consulting?

These are things I enjoy and give me a sense of job satisfaction:
- the feeling of 'moving forward' instead of standing still

  • collaborating with other SKILLED Oracle technologists (developers and DBAs)
  • working with people who DO seek to be the best, and provide excellent quality solutions/ideas
  • solving problems
  • performance tuning (SQL queries, database architecture, server setups and configuration)
  • working with new technology
  • meeting new people
  • traveling
  • working with other people who achieve at a high level and are enjoyable to work with
  • having time (a week, maybe 2, maybe a month) between projects to relax, take time off, recharge before jumping right into the next one

Things I don't enjoy:
- routine maintenance

  • working in the same building day after day for years on end
  • dealing with the ramifications of internal/departmental power struggles
  • No longer solving real problems
  • dealing with people who do NOT seek to be the best, or provide excellent quality solutions
  • 'falling behind' - having perceived gaps in my abilities as an Oracle technologist such as Exadata, RAC, ASM

These are the thoughts I'm working through:
- Do I pursue a position with an Oracle practice group within a larger corporation? Think IBM or Oracle Consulting or BIAS or any number of other consulting companies that (I think) have specific practice groups that focus on delivering solutions from the ground up)

  • Would I rather pursue a smaller specialized consulting/services group such as Pythian or other similar services provider? (Being intentionally simplistic here and I'm aware I'm minimizing the services of Pythian here a bit, but it's an example I needed)
  • Would I rather pursue a contracting job through a group like TEK Systems (or similar) and work mostly solo as contracts expire?

Chris Taylor

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort." -- John Ruskin (English Writer 1819-1900)

Any views and/or opinions expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ingram Industries, its affiliates, its subsidiaries or its employees.

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Received on Wed May 16 2012 - 08:04:45 CDT

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