[dba-SQLServer]MCDBA

FWIW, IMNSHO SQL Server is leaps and bounds over typical Access Database
administration.  There are DBA's I email with that can script out procedures
to take care of a full restore plans in case of a catastrophe.  So besides
server A going down or HDD 3 of the Log Raid, is down, They often manage a
Farm of SQL Servers that take care of mountains of data.  It's one thing to
know "how" to do something and I have great respect for these DBA's as they
always seem to have a minute or two to answer any of my "dumb" questions
:oD.  I belive the same thing holds true for System Admins... We have a
"good" System Admin here at my current job, but he is by no means GREAT...
there are many mistakes he makes and many more things he doesn't know.  If
for example he were a certified CISCO engineer, perhaps he'd be able to have
a better idea of subnetting our entire large collision domain network.  This
is true for our own in-house Sql Server DBA,  poor guy tries his damndest,
but still comes up short on many DBA specific duties... he is not too
familiar for example with SQL backup and restore process... or even SQL
Server Agent Alerts... ouch!... I am a Programmer/Developer by title, but I
dabble in everything, from software to hardware.

-Francisco
http://rcm.netfirms.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "John W. Colby" <jcolby at colbyconsulting.com>
To: <dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 9:07 AM
Subject: RE: [dba-SQLServer]MCDBA


: Steve,
:
: Whine away, I feel the same way.  No, actually knowing how to DO something
: is not enough!
:
: What a crock.
: John W. Colby
: Colby Consulting
: www.ColbyConsulting.com
:
:   -----Original Message-----
:   From: dba-sqlserver-admin at databaseadvisors.com
: [mailto:dba-sqlserver-admin at databaseadvisors.com]On Behalf Of Steven W.
: Erbach
:   Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 11:56 AM
:   To: dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com
:   Subject: Re: [dba-SQLServer]MCDBA
:
:
:   Allan,
:
:   I can appreciate the structured learning bit. I was wondering because I
: had a conversation with a good friend who, in the past, always kept up the
: certifications that he had. He seems to be despairing of the cost and
: bother. Unless one is focused very clearly on one skill these days,
: certification can become very expensive very quickly. Some--Cisco, for
: example--require re-certification every two years. I just wonder what that
: buys you once you get it. Continued advancement? Better-paying jobs?
:
:   I looked up MCDBA certification classes in my area and found some being
: offered by another old friend of mine in the Chicago area. The
certification
: tests apparently cannot be taken unless one also takes the courses. I
found
: that a bit of a put-off.
:
:   I was also curious that, on the Microsoft site, the MCDBA is geared for
: those with big company experience and big servers and big databases.
Somehow
: I doubt that these required courses offer anything in the way of
simulation
: of huge databases or multiple platform connections...or do they?
:
:   I've worked with PCs since 1982 and on mainframes for a bit before that,
: back to 1975. It seems demeaning somehow that I cannot take a
certification
: test without going through an approved set of courses for which I pay a
: large sum of money. I'm perfectly capable of learning SQL Server--or
: anything else, for that matter--just fine on my own or in connection with
my
: client experiences. I guess I'm whining about having to take those
courses.
: If I do and if I get an MCDBA, what does it mean?
:
:   Regards,
:
:   Steve Erbach
:   Scientific Marketing
:   Neenah, WI
:
:   "Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits." - Mark Twain
:
:
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