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Data Management Today by Craig Mullins

News, views, and issues involved in managing data as a valuable corporate asset.

DBA Rules of Thumb, Part 3 - Share

Knowledge transfer is an important part of being a good DBA - both transfering your knowledge to others and participating in having others' knowledge transferred to you. So be sure to share your knowledge freely with others in need instead of hoarding it, thinking that it buys you job security.

The more you learn as a DBA, the more you should try to share what you know with other DBAs. Local database user groups typically meet quarterly or monthly to discuss aspects of database management systems. Healthy local scenes exist for DB2, SQL Server, and Oracle: be sure to attend these sessions to learn what your peers are doing.

And when you have some good experiences to share, put together a presentation yourself and help out your peers. Sometimes you can learn far more by presenting at these events than by simply attending because the attendees will likely seek you out to discuss their experiences or question your approach. Technicians appreciate hearing from folks in similar situations... and they will be more likely to share what they have learned once you share your knowledge.

Another avenue for sharing your knowledge is using one of the many online database forums. Web portals and web-based publications are constantly seeking out content for their web sites. Working to put together a tip or article for these sites helps you arrange your thoughts and to document your experiences. And you can garner some exposure with your peers by doing so because most web sites list the author of these tips. Sometimes having this type of exposure can help you to land that next coveted job. Or just help you to build your peer network.

Finally, if you have the time, considering publishing your experiences with one of the database-related print magazines. Doing so will take more time than publishing on the web, but it can bring additional exposure. And, of course, some of the journals will pay you for your material.

But the best reason of all to share your knowledge is because you want others to share their knowledge and experiences with you. Only if everyone cooperates by sharing what they know will we be able to maintain the community of DBAs who are willing and eager to provide assistance.

Here are some valuable links for regional and worldwide database user groups:

 

Published Monday, September 29, 2008 9:43 AM by cmullins
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About cmullins

Craig S. Mullins is a data management strategist for NEON Enterprise Software. Craig has extensive experience in the field of database management having worked as an application developer, a DBA, and an instructor with multiple database management systems, including working with with DB2 for z/OS since Version 1. Craig is also an IBM Information Champion and is the author of two books: "DB2 Developer’s Guide" and "Database Administration: Practices and Procedures."

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