Re: Can I, too, become an overpaid Oracle DBA (reissued in English)

Kevin wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Over the past few weeks, I have basted myself in Hotsos: "Method R",
the
> profiler and the whole nine yards. I've uploaded a trace file to
their
> website, and used the profiler report to pinpoint and optimize
processes.

You can also check out SimpleProfiler on my site and http://oracledba.ru/orasrp/ which are both inferior to the HOTSOS product in every way apart from cost.

> Along the way, I've stumbled across evidence that makes me question
if I
> should bill my clients $550 US / hour, rather than the 1/10th or
> thereabouts (depends on the current US/CAD exchange rate) I currently
bill.

<snip>

> Which begat Mike Ault and Don Burleson. I visited their web site, and
felt
> comfortable again: they spoke of Oracle tuning as I remembered it
before
> Cary & Tom. Then I saw Don's billing rate: $550 / hour.
>
> So, perhaps Mike and Don are the nicest guys and treat their clients
nicely,
> but I do that too. And, at Don's insistence, I can wear a suit and
comb my
> hair, ride a horse, etc.
>
> So, is there some reason why I, too, can't command $550 / hour ?
>
> Seriously, I notice that when someone is some combination of DBA /
Oracle /
> Expert / consultant (or all four) their billing rate goes through the
roof.
> And if they've written a book, their rate goes up even more. It's
like
> putting a rocket under your bank balance and lighting the wick.
>
> Am I selling myself short?

I am no fan, to put it mildly of some of the output from Burleson Consulting, but this does seem somewhat harsh to me. The question that clients will ask is, essentially, is what I will get from this worth it (and can I get it cheaper for the same quality elsewhere). Mike posted a list of what they do for a database health check on his blog (the Why No Comments post). (I've raised some, er issues, with the tuning advice and troubleshooting on mine). For many sites - particularly those without full time or trained dbas - it seems to me that this sort of exercise can easily be worth thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars to them.

This would also be the answer to the are you selling yourself short question. Is what you have to offer worth significant chunks of cash to your clients. Can they get it elsewhere at half the price? that sort of thing.

Then there is the name thing. I've never really understood this but companies do look for recognized names - I used to be an Auditor with KPMG. I worked in the small business section where most of the clients had no reason whatsoever to pay KPMG rates for the annual audit but considered that the name was worth the money.

Then again it might be the unique abilities of the consultants that you pay for, for example "Col.
John Garmany, with his background in Electrical Engineering and Oracle, can
diagnose performance problems at every level, right-down to the chipset

instruction, and I'm amazed every time I watch how quickly he grasps and solves
a problem." Don Burleson.

now that sort of diagnosis of an Oracle issue must be well worth $550 an hour to watch

Niall Litchfield
Oracle DBA
http://www.niall.litchfield.dial.pipex.com Received on Tue Apr 26 2005 - 09:03:12 CDT