Oracle DBA Contracting/Consulting/Career Discussion
Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 08:29:03 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <1337354943.35358.YahooMailNeo_at_web164505.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
Dba DBA has made some good points. The bigger "shops" do things to their own advantage and do push their people to perform and more about the bottom line - I would add CGI to that list too. There are others on the list who can talk more about Pythian though I can say that they prefer fulltimers rather than contractors though maybe that has changed since I met with them a couple of years ago. Mind you the place sounds good but busy.
I agree about Tek-Systems... seems like a decent sort of place but like any agency like them it all depends on the person who you deal with. Mind you I have dealt with a couple of them from Tek and they were, for the most part, fair. Randstad might be another one to think of too.
A thing about contracting - you need to know the types of contracts available and what can and cannot be done with them. For me, I would stay away from the temporary term contracts as you actually make less with those (a Tek-Systems person explained that to me some time ago). And you do get more if you are incorporated - actually most agencies will not look at you if you are not incorporated.
Being independent you would also foot your own training - companies don't want to pay for a temp employee to get trained ... you should already know it.. that's why they would contract you in the first place.
Rui
On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 9:04 AM, Taylor, Chris David < ChrisDavid.Taylor_at_ingrambarge.com> wrote:
> 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.
>
> --
> http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l
>
>
>
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