Re: Remote DBA
- From: Kellyn Pedersen <kjped1313@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:22:29 -0700 (PDT)
"Daddy, he hit me.."
LOL...funny, if that happens even now, I still get a call from my ex-husband
and hear, "Tell your mother what you just did to your <brother/sister>!" :)
I only tried this with the kids at that age for a short while. The company was
a start up and required too many hours per week, so I was working in the office
40hrs, odd business hours to boot and then another 30hrs+ from home. I was a
single parent at the time, newly divorced and I have to say, the only reason I
survived was because I had a live-in nanny, so to answer the original
question- Yes, there was another adult in the household who's primary
responsibility was for the children.
I think I'm extremely competent at time-management and multi-task like nobody's
business, but also have the opinion that both the work at home parent should
have the focus on the job required to do the job without interuption and young
children need an adult focused on them, not distracted by work.
~Kellyn
--- On Mon, 9/27/10, Andrew Kerber <andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Andrew Kerber <andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Remote DBA
To: "Kellyn Pedersen" <kjped1313@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Richard.Goulet@xxxxxxxxxxx, cicciuxdba@xxxxxxxxx, "oracle-l-freelists"
<oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Monday, September 27, 2010, 1:42 PM
And how well would you have done working from home when the children were 2, 5,
and 8? 'Daddy he hit me...'.
On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 1:39 PM, Kellyn Pedersen <kjped1313@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"If the remote has young kids at home, it is likely to be very difficult for
him or her to be able to work effectively unless there is another adult there
to keep an eye on the children."
This subject always peeks my interest, as I work from home approximately 20
hrs. per week. I'm a combination of both the ticket closer and the lone ranger
type, appreciating small tasks to finish quick and challenging mysteries to
solve, so this discussion gave great discription of why I have never had an
issue working from home.
I would have to say that Andrew's comment is a necessity if the children are
young and if teens are home due to after school/out of school situations, the
remote DBA must guarantee that they have an office separate from the family
area to work in.
My three children, (ages 10, 13 and 15) have the library where their computer
workstations and media area is set up and I avoid the location like the plague
if I'm working. I have my office on a separate floor and as lucky as I am to
have incredibly independent children, their inane banter is still very
distracting, (has never been scientifically proven, but may disolve braincells,
too, which I can't afford... :))
As for a positive vote on remote DBA work to the company- I can honestly say
that my manager gets a good 3 or 4 more hours out of me a day than he would if
I were in the office. One, I don't have the commute to and from the office,
which I apply towards working. Two, I have a tendency to lose track of time
and continue to work past 7 or 8pm until one of the kids comes and tracks me
down to tell me I better cook dinner or they are ordering pizza with one of my
credit cards.
Kellyn Pedersen
Sr. Database Administrator
I-Behavior Inc.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kellynpedersen
www.dbakevlar.blogspot.com
--- On Mon, 9/27/10, Andrew Kerber <andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Andrew Kerber <andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Remote DBA
To: Richard.Goulet@xxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: cicciuxdba@xxxxxxxxx, "oracle-l-freelists" <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Monday, September 27, 2010, 9:20 AM
I have worked very well remotely. I have worked with people who should not
work remotely.
Unfortunately, here in the US, some of the questions that need to be asked
about someone working from home cannot legally be asked. For example, if
someone is working from home, you really need to know who else is in the
house. If the remote has young kids at home, it is likely to be very difficult
for him or her to be able to work effectively unless there is another adult
there to keep an eye on the children.
On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 10:00 AM, Goulet, Richard <Richard.Goulet@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Alan,
Well, I will agree with others on the list that working from home takes a
person with very good time management skills and discipline. I've done the
work from home thing and still do when Mother Nature makes a real mess up here
in the winter and it's hard to concentrate on work when home projects beckon or
the cat decides she wants to sleep on your lap. I do it, but their not exactly
my most productive days. If your going to hire people who will be remotely
located like this it's best to have someone manage them who is familiar with
the concept and how to manage it. I've worked for a manager who didn't know
how to do that, mandated that I work from home at least 2 days a week, and made
me miserable in the process never mind the customer that I was actually working
for.
As to hiring someone you've never personally met, sure. We've two in
Hyderabad right now, one of which no one here has ever met in person. Damn
good technician too. And yes we did verify references and work experience. If
you don't want to do that then why are you bothering with an interview?? Once
saw a resume for an individual who claimed to have played 2 seasons with the
Boston Celtics. Problem was that he was about 4 foot 6 inches. Didn't exactly
pass the smoke test, now does it.
As for hiring or contracting with a service provider your basically hiring
a consultant who does DBA services. The more important point here is what does
the statement of work say and how do the service providers references stack
up. Good people sometimes work for poor providers which can make for a bad
experience and a poorly written SOW is not the provider's problem.
Dick Goulet
Senior Oracle DBA/NA Team Lead
PAREXEL International
From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Guillermo Alan Bort
Sent: Sunday, September 26, 2010 5:27 PM
To: oracle-l-freelists
Subject: Remote DBA
Hi List,
I've been reading a lot about remote DBA services, these appear to be
companies based on different locations that provide customers with DBA services
while having all the DBAs physically in one location (or a limited number of
locations). These services are usually hired by companies whose primary focus
isn't IT.
My question now is...would this work in reverse? Having several DBAs
working out of their own homes in whatever city or country they want for a
single company (or for one of the remote DBA services)? I understand the
complexities of having people without Green Cards or working VISAS working for
US based companies, even if they are now physically in the US.
This one may be for recruiters or decision makers: Would you hire somebody
you've never met (or met only by phone) who lives in another country (worst
case) and whose experience you can't verify if they asked for half of what an
on-site DBA would?
Thanks in advance
Alan.-
--
Andrew W. Kerber
'If at first you dont succeed, dont take up skydiving.'
--
Andrew W. Kerber
'If at first you dont succeed, dont take up skydiving.'
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