Early in my career I worked at places where time had to be accounted down to 5 minute intervals. While it was a hassle I did pick up a skill that is still valuable today, basically log everything. Every phone call, every conversation ( I don't have to account for my time like this anymore so I don't associate times any more with my list). It's amazing how it adds up. An added bonus is I did it with my kids to compare what my wife and I do for them and the house as opposed to what they do. If you get the whiff that they want this information because they are thinking about outsourcing then it's a good idea to use this list to get your resume ready. The outsourcing ship is a hard ship to turn around once it's launched in your direction. They won't use your time to justify your value but how much the outsourcer should charge and how to allocate your time to Level A, B or C support. _____ From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Taylor, Chris David Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 4:28 PM To: 'oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx' Subject: Question about time accounting at your work Ok fellow full-time employee DBAs I have a question. (Not for contractors :) How many of you use project accounting at your place of work. Where every hour has to be accounted for against projects, or maintenance or some other code? I was basically told I'm not "visible enough" --- this is 1 year after receiving a ton of awards and accolades for solving a problem at one of our sister companies. Now it "appears" that my value to the company is being questioned. I imagine questions like "What does he do all day?" are being asked. Usually I lump database support into 1 group, and patches/maintenance into another group and performance tuning into a 3rd group. Now, I'm goign to have to start micromanaging my hours. I work for an internal IT department at a large corporation. I think we bill the other departments for services, but not sure. Anyone else have to deal with this? Chris Taylor Sr. Oracle DBA Ingram Barge Company Nashville, TN 37205 Office: 615-517-3355 Cell: 615-354-4799 Email: chris.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxx