SQL Experts and MVPs
Your responses to the question "Are there any SQL Server Experts?" have provided a lot of food for thought. In fact, the biggest question that has come from the whole conversation is, "What is SQL Server?"
I mentioned the breadth of the product in my original post. Others have also commented about how much is now included in an SQL Server license. Still, simply because a person is not an expert in all things that SQL Server can do, does that mean they do not have expertise?
Others have commented on the value add of an Expert. Simply because our MVP community generally does not charge for their assistance, like myself, they do not go into a great deal of depth. Unlike most things, when you use MVPs, you get a LOT more than you pay for; however there is a limit to how much they can assist. You have to dig in yourself. Or, hire an expert or two.
Want to get into the conversation? Send your comments to me at btaylor@sswug.org. Here are some more comments from our readers…
Cheers,
Ben
1. have no life
2. have a desire to continue having no life
I’ve been using / supporting / knowing MS SQL Server since version 6.5 & I’m nowhere near an expert. It’s become such a wide subject area (especially if you include the SSxS products & differences between versions & other products like Oracle, and its usage in C# and vb.Net, and as a basis for other popular MS products like SCOM, and clusters, and up to the minute knowledge of all the bugs & which versions they effect & any known workarounds … alll of which I would expect an expert to know) that I believe that the level of dedication that would be required to become an expert… and a social life… just cannot exist together concurrently in the same person.
In fact, I’m not entirely certain that it is possible, even without a social life… but I think perhaps the lack of a social life is a prerequisite to even try!
For me, I know enough not to break anything, do some maintenance, keep a cluster ticking over… and the basics to intermediate level of most of the subjects I mentioned… and then I also know what I don’t know and how to find out more. That seems like a reasonable compromise to me (and, as an added bonus, I still have enough time left to have friends too!!)
😉
Best Regards,
Robert
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A SQL Server expert is someone who has a good background and experience in the inner workings of SQL Server. But also can quickly solve problems when they arise. A SQL Server expert may not know everything about SQL Server such as SSIS, SSRS and SSAS. Due to there solid background and experience, they can pick up on it very quickly.
Andre
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In today’s world of ever expanding technologies, features and specialties, I agree that it’s hard to be an expert in any general area, i.e., Programming, Databases, Hardware. When I began my career in the 1980’s, those were attainable areas of expertise. Now days, you can be certified as an expert in one of many specific specialties of a category. I hear you voicing a similar approach to mine, I try to know what’s out there so if I need to know it for a project then I’ll dig deeper, until then, it’s too lofty a goal to deep-dive into everything in I.T. That’s where team-building of different, sometimes, overlapping skills is so important for a well-equipped project team.
John
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I saw Brian Moran’s article on Shortage of SQL Server experts.
I agree that the SQL Server community needs more MVPs. SQL Server encompasses many areas (SSRS, SSAS, SSIS) – too many to be an “expert” in all of the areas with SQL Server’s technology changing every few years. But it is possible to be proficient in all of the SQL Server areas. And that is where the MVP comes in….
Wayne
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