This post is a response to this month’s T-SQL Tuesday #111prompt by Andy Leonard. T-SQL Tuesday is a way for the SQL Server community to share ideas about different database and professional topics every month.
In this month’s topic Andy asks why do we do what we do?
First and foremost, because i like it and because my boss lets me.
The first part is the most important part. I’ve been a bit of a career switcher, trying to find out what i like to do and ignoring some of my talent. Or maybe just not ready to accept it. At highschool i was working with computers, but because most of my class choose to educate themselves in management, i followed. The choice seemed to fit the first few months, but after a while my grades plummeted and no matter what i tried, i couldn’t keep up. At the end of the first year i was asked to leave. So i changed to human resource management. This was like a walk in the park. Running on half my cores i got through with nice grades. I got a job that lasted about a year and then the jobs just dried up. I wrote to many companies but got letters back that i was one of over a hundred applicants and they had chosen someone else.
Ok, back to school, let’s study psychology. Again, focused on human resources but with a side track in sports psychology. In the end, the bills had to be paid and i started a full-time job at the government. Basic work but i made money and tried to continue at university. Long story short, i didn’t make it at university. I got a long way, learned a lot but no degree. But my IT skills were revived during that time. My boss at the government gave me a number of chances (still very gratefull for that) and i got to grow into my role as… ehm… a mix of file management, data management and support. But the government being the government, i hit a ceiling. My manager really tried but i couldn’t get through.
By then the IT passion was full on, but database wise i knew a bit about Oracle and was at home playing with PL/SQL. When i got at my current job, playing around at home with database stuff (i went from Oracle to SQL Server) expanded really quickly from a bit on the side to long evenings and nights. As my knowledge grew, so did the respect of my coworkers. I don’t mind investing an evening or more in learning, watching vlogs or reading.
For me, it feels like a fun rollercoaster ride that mustn’t end. I get to meet a lot of fun and nice people who share the same passion and the same drive to share knowledge. The latter part is something i’m working on by writing blogs here and for my company (Axians) and by writing training material.
The second part is something i feel i have to mention. When i got to work at Axians, the status quo was that database management was a client responsibility. If we encounter an issue, the client has to solve it. I disagreed but didn’t raise an argument. I tried to train myself, argued for certifications and became a sparring partner for our clients. My current boss let me for some reason, Maybe he was testing something out, maybe he saw potential. Anyway, i’m gratefull to him as well for letting me grow to the point i’ve reached now. I’m not “there”, nor will i ever be. But looking back on the last ten years, i’ve come a long way.
Why do i do this? Because i really enjoy it!
Thanks for reading 😀
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