FreeLists / oracle-l / Re: Oracle DBA future

[Tim Gorman <tim@xxxxxxxxx>]

My (belated) US$0.02...

Back in the 1980s, I worked for a company that had built some really 
cool applications in the area of travel reservations.  Eventually, the 
travel providers (i.e. airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, etc) 
caught on to what we were doing and did it themselves, effectively 
putting us out of business overnight.  So, it came time to sell the 
company off in pieces.  We tried to sell the applications, but nobody 
wanted them -- they had their own, or could buy or build better.  We 
sold the hardware and facilities, but for pennies on the dollar.  Then, 
when we tried to sell the data, we hit the jackpot -- everybody wanted 
the data, and we were able to sell it over and over again, to multiple 
buyers.
I never forgot that lesson, and several years later traded being a 
programmer for being a DBA because (as Michael just said, below) I like 
working with data.  Data, not programs, is the only thing that matters 
-- applications are transient and have no value except to acquire, 
manipulate, and display data.  Data is the only thing with value.  The 
long-term value of data is the reason I've moved toward data warehousing 
and business intelligence, too.
Data is important.  Databases manage data.  DBAs architect, configure, 
and manage databases.  So, being a skilled database administrator will 
always be necessary as long as data exists.  If the state of the art 
ceases advancing, then automation will finally catch up to extinguish 
the DBA role/job.  But until then, being a DBA is a career.
I have one kid starting college this year, and another in 3 years.  I 
figure on staying in this industry at least another 15 years, to get to 
the point where I can sleep late, bicycle, snowboard, and travel all the 
time.  The only way to make those all into good years is to work like 
crazy to retain past lessons, learn new things, share them, and make 
things happen.  It's worked for over 20 years, so I hope it'll work for 
another 15...


Michael McMullen wrote:
> "Get a permanent job instead of contract gigs
> and first time one hits a work problem, try
> to solve it instead of running away to another gig."
>
> This doesn't sound like Oracle DBA future more like somebody's bitter past.
>
> For me, I became a DBA because I like working with data in its' raw form,
> (ie I don't like building pretty apps), and I also like solving problems. I
> think there will always be a job in getting people their data, whether that
> is a DBA or not, I don't know.
>
>
>
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