Choose Your Weapons Carefully…
Probably one of the most-asked questions when talking with people facing down the SQL Server beast is "where do I start…" followed by "how do I know what pieces to pay attention to?"
I typically end up talking with the person about what they like doing with information and systems – do they prefer creating new systems? Perhaps managing existing systems? There are big dfifferences when you consider the wide range of requirements from admin to developer to "architect."
Once you get into a "discipline" – how finely do you tune your approach? Most of the time, the suggestion comes down to choosing those big areas to focus on and then knowing those… cold. If you’re going to do the admin thing, know it, and know it fully. Performance tuning, disaster recovery, configuration options and tools all tend to fall under this.
To borrow from another of Ben’s thoughts in editorials lately, consider a team approach to learning. Find a mentor and see if you can work directly with them. Team programming works well for DBA-oriented duties as well. Call it Team DBA’ing. Not quite so crisp, but you get the idea. If you can work with, rather than have your work reviewed by, an experienced DBA, you’ll learn very quickly. You’ll also get a sense of what they’ve focused on professionally.
My question to you – how have you "chosen your weapons?" How have you selected the areas to focus on and stay on top of? Drop a note in the comments and see what works for everyone.