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Thread: MidCareer Crisis

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    2

    MidCareer Crisis

    I'm mid career and currently titled as a Senior DBA in a medium sized Telcom with approx 40 DBA's. From what I can tell I'm earning in the top 90% for this field by location and do not expect that I could make much more under my current title elsewhere. I would not ordinarily ask a career question in a forum but also would rather not deal with a recruiter because I'm not planning on making any changes. I managed to work my way into the field From MS Access through SQL Server, onto the Linux side with MySQL, Oracle and Oracle-RAC and other Clustered Analytics DB technologies. I've been with my current company for 6.5 years and my role has evolved into walking Priority Rapid Development "Big Data" products through development, UAT and into production. I've been working exclusively with clustered DB technologies for the last 4 years. I had neatly avoided Oracle until I was assigned lead over a Rapid Develpment project that was the first to use RAC 11Gr2. I'm certainly not an oracle expert and I received alot of help with that one but now work comfortably it. It also obviously wasn't too long ago. I don't mean this to be a resume, but my point is that my current employer seems to consider me capable for my job function and learning pretty much anything on my own. Many of my coworkers have masters degrees. I have no college degree or major certifications. I have accumulated a number of minor certs from week long vendor classes. Some of them issued from Oracle U. Until this point, I was quietly proud for having avoided jumping through those hoops. I know there is some % of potential employers that would dismiss me from the candidate list for not having major certs or a degree. I'm trying to determine whether it is worth adding school to a DBA's schedule with no likely benefit to my salary. Basically can I find a job elsewhere in today's market based on experience and minor certifications.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    4,166
    Well if you have enough money you should retire and move to The Bahamas and hang out at the pool bar...

    Where is your passion for what you do? Then do that.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    2
    This is not a solicitation but since you ask....I'm interested in addressing problems through technologies that can actually make the world a better place. Despite being connected by modern media I believe people are more disconnected with each other than when I was younger and neighbors talked. There was greater ignorance on issues and of other cultures back then but the interpersonal loss we have today is reflected in the callousness of our by modern media. Discussions have been reduced to sound bytes that jump from topic to topic without any conclusions. Issues are created for 'hype' and marketing and Television has become hopelessly schizophrenic. I don't want to talk to my neighbors personally (I'm an introvert) but more people should be. It will take people working together to make the world a better place. I see technology which allows people to say what they really think. Maybe this technology will use gathered personal input to assist the individual with things import to them but it will also aggregate those beliefs and opinions and in turn give context for what people actually think and want by a variety of demographic groupings. The lone babbling idiots on the extreme sides of most political discussions will lose their context if numbers don't support their opinions. Mabey they'll actually self edit if they realize how futile their position is. The media and politicians will be judged based on how they respond to issues that are actually numerically significant to the people. But... I also believe that this solution needs to be open source for trust purposes and long term sustainability. I've coded several variations that would work but are essentially unmarketable. I'm now wondering if it would be better to write and publish on this topic rather than trying to actually implement a solution which would necessarily be on the scale of "Facebook" simply because of the data value. Facebook by nature cannot get this data because they are not anonymous and people don't want their friends, coworkers and family to see what they actually think on anything important. Google cant get this data because they don't know with certainty who is on the keyboard and search submissions don't necessarily mean the searcher endorses what they are searching for. I'm convinced any solution will emerge as an interactive dialogue we begin to have with our phones.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Largo, FL.
    Posts
    42
    I just submitted a resume for the first time in eleven years. Have a feeling they tossed it in the trash for lack of the degree they wanted...

    I would think my 30 years of experience in the exact same industry/field would mean more... On the other hand - I might need to try and dumb down the 30 YEAR part

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    4,166
    What do you want?!?!?! If you want to change the world, being a DBA won't do it.
    You should be a CEO of a fortune 500 company...

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