• Home
  • Contact

John Sansom

SQL Server DBA Blog

  • About
    • The Blog
    • John Sansom
    • Contact
  • Ebook
  • Archives
    • Start Here
    • Popular Posts
    • All Posts
    • SFTW
  • Becoming a DBA
    • What it’s Really Like
    • Interview Tips
    • Certification
    • FAQ
  • Books
  • Resources
    • Blog Tools and Technology
    • UK Events Schedule
    • References & Resource Lists
  • Subscribe

How To Simply Say You’re a DBA

September 3, 2012 by John Sansom 14 Comments

Have you ever looked back on a conversation where someone asked you “what do you do?” and felt disappointed with your reply? Same here. So how do you explain to someone, who is not familiar with your field, what it is exactly that you do? Just last week my girlfriend and I were out to dinner to […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Career, Database Administrator, Job Description

What’s it Like to Be a DBA?

June 10, 2012 by John Sansom 7 Comments

Absolutely fantastic of course! You regular readers know that the Becoming a DBA area of the blog is one of the most visited and talked about, with the professional development posts often proving popular. All the comments, questions and emails you guys send tells me that there’s a lot of interest in the community about […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator, Guest Post

Where Have all the DBAs and DB DEVs Gone?

April 17, 2012 by John Sansom 6 Comments

Last week the SQL community and in particular the blogosphere, was buzzing with interest noise following the Microsoft Learning site publishing details of significant changes to SQL Server Certifications. Here We Go Again You know the drill. It’s the usual dance we go through every 5 years or so, where the Microsoft marketing machine spins […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Career, Database Administrator, Database Developer

What Does a Database Administrator Actually Do?

March 5, 2012 by John Sansom 11 Comments

Most people in your organisation, never mind everyone else, have no real clue as to what it is you do. It’s not because you don’t actually do anything, at least I hope not, it’s because the domain of responsibility for a DBA is both vast and varied. Ask any two DBAs what it is they […]

Filed Under: SQL Server Community, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator, DBA Responsibilities

How To Write an Interview Winning CV

February 21, 2012 by John Sansom 25 Comments

Writing a CV that rocks is not an art. It just requires some planning and an understanding of what you want your CV to achieve for you. Of course therein also lies the problem because of lot folks are not exactly sure what they want their CV to do for them. This is why you […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: CV, Database Administrator, Job Interview, Resume

Why Every DBA is a Clown

February 6, 2012 by John Sansom 4 Comments

It’s late, really late and you’ve got a mountain of work to get through to meet the deadline. To add to it, you also have numerous other urgent items and they’re all high priority of course. You feel panicked because you cannot possibly get it all done, you know that you are going to fail. […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator, mememonday, Multi-Tasking, Time Management

Your Road to Becoming a DBA: Acquiring Experience is Key

February 1, 2012 by John Sansom 23 Comments

Knowing precisely how to start on your next adventure is tricky. With so many options and decisions in front of you, identifying what is the best way to move forward for you is vital. This post is part two of the series Your Road to Becoming a DBA, where I talk about how you can […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Career Progression, Database Administrator, Getting Experience

Your Road to Becoming a DBA: Laying a Strong Foundation

January 31, 2012 by John Sansom 19 Comments

Knowing precisely how to start on your next adventure is tricky. With so many options and decisions in front of you, identifying what is the best way to move forward for you is vital. Last week I received an email from a reader who was looking for some advice on how to start their own […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Becoming a DBA, Career Progression, Database Administrator

New Year New Job?

November 28, 2011 by John Sansom 2 Comments

Are you 100% satisfied with your current job? Of course not! When given serious consideration most people will agree that there are some things that they would like to be different or change in their current role. The Christmas holiday season is a popular time for self reflection. The gift of time away from the […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator

Stop Asking and Start Making Decisions Today

April 26, 2011 by John Sansom 4 Comments

Ever have one of those days where no matter how hard you try you just can’t seem to make any progress with your work? Sure you have. We all have days and moments like that. Sometimes it can feel impossible to get any real work done, with every task in your schedule requiring feedback from […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator, Leadership, Time Management

7 Essential Habits of Successful DBAs

April 19, 2011 by John Sansom 5 Comments

There are many different paths you can travel on the journey to success. There is no precise route that everyone can or should follow. The environments we manage are different, our customers are different, we are each different. There are many different ways of performing our art. It’s one of the most enjoyable and rewarding […]

Filed Under: Administration, Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator

Taking It To The Next Level

April 1, 2011 by John Sansom 5 Comments

Raising the bar of your customer service

Have you set the bar high enough to ensure your success? You’re reading Taking It To The Next Level, day 5 of 5 Days to Outstanding DBA Customer Service. What prompted this journey into exploring what is Outstanding Customer Service for the Data Professional?  Good Question.  You can find exactly why in day 1 here. This week […]

Filed Under: Customer Service, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator

Think Like a Customer

March 29, 2011 by John Sansom 6 Comments

"Monkey Thinking"

This is the most important and essential first step for a DBA on the journey to providing outstanding customer service. Make sure you too are headed in the right direction. You’re reading Think Like a Customer, day 2 of 5 Days to Outstanding DBA Customer Service. What prompted this journey into exploring what is Outstanding […]

Filed Under: Customer Service, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator

How to Raise Your Game by Doing Nothing

March 8, 2011 by John Sansom 6 Comments

A hammock in the sunset

What if I told you that you could become a more effective Database Administrator by doing nothing? That’s right, in this post I’m going to tell you why doing nothing could be best thing that you have done for your career and performance for some time. In my post The DBA Ultimate Fitness Workout Plan […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Database Administrator, Database Developer

What makes an exceptional DBA?

January 13, 2009 by John Sansom Leave a Comment

When attempting to define what makes a good Database Administrator, understandably the focus is often placed on the technical skills that are deemed to be required. There are plenty of great resources available on the net that can be used to research this aspect. For instance, Brent Ozar has some excellent material on his site. […]

Filed Under: Professional Development Tagged With: Database Administrator

Popular Articles

  • Top 10 Free SQL Server Tools
  • Performing fast SQL Server delete operations
  • How to identify the most costly SQL Server queries using DMV’s
  • Top 10 Junior DBA Interview Tips
  • The Database Administrator’s Primary Responsibility
  • Your Road to Becoming a DBA: Laying a Strong Foundation
  • Top 5 SQL Forums
  • SQL Server Memory Configuration, Determining MemToLeave Settings
  • Script SQL Server Agent Jobs Using PowerShell
  • Using sys.dm_os_ring_buffers to Troubleshoot Connectivity Issues

Categories

  • Administration (38)
  • Blogging (8)
  • Customer Service (5)
  • Disaster Recovery (5)
  • DMVs (4)
  • Index Optimisation (6)
  • Interviews (1)
  • Link Posts (243)
  • Memory (2)
  • Performance Tuning (15)
  • Professional Development (70)
  • Reporting Services (5)
  • Reviews (1)
  • SQL Server Community (144)
  • SQL Server Tips (11)
  • SQLServerCentral Syndication (112)
  • SQLServerPedia Syndication (116)
  • Tools (7)

Copyright © 2023 · Santech Solutions Limited · Powered by the Genesis Framework · Privacy Policy