Re: Professional or Not (was Database Design)

"Noons" <wizofoz2k_at_yahoo.com.au.nospam> wrote in message news:<3ffacb1a$0$18750$afc38c87_at_news.optusnet.com.au>...
> "Niall Litchfield" <n-litchfield_at_audit-commission.gov.uk> wrote in message
> news:3ffaae9c$0$9391$ed9e5944_at_reading.news.pipex.net...
>
>
> >
> > Um does this have anything to do with database design any more?
> >
>
>
> :)
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> My point as well: design is not the same as administration, is
> not the same as development. Yet, all three are under the umbrella
> of the ubiquitous "Oracle DBA". Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Not disagreeing with the design/development/admin differentiation, the original comment was that we were being self important because we were not dealing with life threatening situations, like doctors.

Not all doctors work in ERs and in fact, if a GP faces a life threatening situation they refer the patient to a specialist. Is that GP less a professional?

I have been a DBA for 25 years. I have worked on projects (design/development/implementation/administration) that did involve life threatening situations, ie criminal justice databases designed to identified dangerous people, military databases used in battle situations, medical databases identifying diseases and medications.

Professionalism has more to do with personal commitment, ongoing learning and using standards (or at lease knowing them.)

Every occupation has it professionals, its hacks and its amateurs. Received on Tue Jan 06 2004 - 15:23:26 CST