Manage Your DBA Career, Don’t Let It Manage You

Presenter: Brad McGehee, Red Gate Software

Session 13 (00:00 GMT on May 20)

Session Details

Many people tend to "fall into" their career instead of making a conscious decision as to what their career should be. Because of this, many people wander about in their career, not particularly satisfied with how it is going. Instead of letting your career manage you, all DBAs can learn to manage their own career by consciously taking control of it. By doing so, not only will you have a financially rewarding career, but one that gets you excited about life and your contribution to it.

In this session, you will learn specific steps to follow to take control of your career, including:

Defining your career path
Deciding if you want to be an average or exceptional DBA
Selecting a career specialty
Determining how to match your career with your personal goals
Developing the appropriate skill sets
Managing your brand

Whether you are successful in your career or not boils down to the following: deciding what you want out of your career; developing specific goals; and taking action. This session is targeted at DBAs who are tired of letting their career just happen and want to take control of it.

About the Speaker

Brad M. McGehee, Director of DBA Education for Red Gate Software, is a SQL Server MVP with over 15 years’ SQL Server experience and over 6 years’ training experience. He has been involved in the industry since 1982 and is a MCSE+I, MCSD, and former MCT with a bachelors’ degree in economics and an MBA.

Brad is a frequent speaker at PASS Summit, PASS European Conference, SQL Connections, SQLTeach, devLINK, SQLBits, SQLSaturday, TechFests, Code Camps, SQL Server user groups, and other industry seminars. Brad is the author or co-author of more than 15 technical books and over 250 published articles. His most recent books include How to Become an Exceptional DBA (2nd Edition), Brad's Sure Guide to SQL Server 2008: The Top Ten New Features for DBAs, Mastering SQL Server Profiler, and Brad’s Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans. These books are available for free in PDF format at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Books/.