Re: Career questions: databases

On Jun 30, 8:12 pm, DA Morgan <damor..._at_psoug.org> wrote:
> dreamznatcher wrote:
> > Hello,
> > I'm considering a career switch to a more database-related job, but
> > need help on a few questions and issues. I'm a Computer Engineering
> > graduate and have always felt most comfortable creating database-
> > driven applications, preferably for web portals.
>
> > [My questions:]
> > 1. What are the most viable career options for me out there? What
> > profile do I fit in?
>
> You don't fit into any specific hash bucket but rather likely have
> the ability to morph into whichever one you wish.
>
> Rather than approaching it from the standpoint of "I'm a square peg
> which hole should I put myself in?" Turn it around and say "I am a
> morphable peg and which hole would I most enjoy being in?"
>
> > 2. What is the current job market/salary situation for database
> > professionals? With my current skills, what kind of job might I end up
> > with?
>
> Best place to look is dice.com, monster.com, hotjobs.com, etc. But
> the job market today is not the job market of tomorrow. Certainly
> there are some things that are safer bets than others. One can
> essentially guarantee Oracle will still be around in 20 years whereas
> one can be rather certain a large number of products and companies
> will not be: At least not in their current form.
>
> > 3. What are the stuff I should focus/learn to advance my skills
> > optimally?
>
> Depends on what you want to be doing when you are 57 years old. The
> only correct answer is asking strangers is a sure road to disaster.
>
> > 4. And finally, is there any university degree (MS) specializing in
> > databases anywhere? (I'm also deeply interested in the internal
> > mechanism/theoretical aspect of databases.)
>
> What country? I'm not aware of one in the US but you might want to
> contact Professor Carl Dudley at University of Wolverhampton with
> respect to the EU.
>
> > _Please read my (following) profile before replying!_
>
> > [I'm proficient in: ]
> > - Oracle (8i, 9i), MySQL (4.1.xx), MS Access
> > - Have working knowledge of SQL Server 2000
> > - Intend to learn SQLite and MySQL 5 soon
>
> > - HTML, DHTML, CSS
> > - JS, PHP
> > - Intend to learn AJAX, JSON, ASP.Net soon
>
> To be brutally honest with you ... no you aren't. One of the things
> that gets me to toss a resume into the discard pile when looking at
> resumes is a laundry list of technologies so vast no person could
> possibly be competent in all of them. Above is such a list and not
> only are you not proficient in all of them neither is anyone else.
>
> Lists like this create an immediate negative impression except in
> HR departments staffed by former shoe salesmen. <g>
> --
> Daniel A. Morgan
> University of Washington
> damor..._at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
> Puget Sound Oracle Users Groupwww.psoug.org

Hello everyone,
(Mr Morgan and rkc on comp.databases.ms-access:) I've mailed you about this a little while ago (I actually wanted to post it but had clicked on "Reply to author"), but don't want to bother you further on this and through your mailbox, so I'm posting this here again.

Yes, I am extremely sorry for appearing so naive and having such ill taste, but I tried to express my situation as honestly as possible and unfortunately that's what I came up with. I do agree with you on the use of the word "proficient" -- one truly cannot be that skilled in anything these days. All I wanted to say was that I know a bit of those stuff, enough to get my work done, and not in standards considerably horrible by any means.

I don't claim that I'm bullet-proof in any of the scripting languages or web stuff I've mentioned. But I do know that I can conceptualize (including front-end design and dealing with constraints and integrity issues) complex database-shouldered systems (here's one for you: I often fiddle with the idea of creating a singular application that can integrate and manage all the possible tasks, divisions and departments of an organization on the scale of the EU or UN in their totality) pretty fast (fast, e.g. I was working on this project that would handle $30M in the national reserve, an application that would reduce stagnancy of stored cash in the banking network by branching out to web portals that would circulate revenue. The idea is far more complicated than can be stated in a few lines, and was slated to be reviewed by the Finance Ministry. If anyone of you follow the current political scenario of Bangladesh, you'd know drastic political changes are going about here, and the project got lost amidst more realistic problems in the backdrop of a country where computer literacy accounts for less than one percent. Getting back to the time factor, the whole thing only took me 2 days to chalk out, including drafting the interfaces.) I'm no expert, but whenever I took a database related course in my university, literally half of the CSC department would crash in to watch the demonstrations. Teachers and students would repeatedly inquire about my project throughout the semester, and the whole faculty has repeatedly asked me to get serious in this business. These are the kind of things that have got me inspired and pushed the humble, stupid likes of me far enough to be seeking for your advice.

As I've mentioned, I come from Bangladesh. Lots of problems abound in the tech domain here: lack of books and information, near-zero advanced expertise in specialized fields, sluggish bandwidth, fund crises, lack of support from the government, a dearth of firsts. Therefore, questions I might be asking might actually appear more stupid in your context than ours.

By posting this post (the original one and this), I didn't and don't intend to appear smart, or show off (I very definitely know how illiterate I am in this area), or pull anyone's leg, etc. I started it because I am just an average mid-career guy who feels he has a knack for something and would like to pursue it, despite all odds if necessary, and just want to know what the odds are in advance and from people who are most certainly more knowledgable than I am.

No offence, and thank you to everyone in all earnest. dzn Received on Sat Jun 30 2007 - 15:39:10 CDT