I believe the amount of mentors I was offered in my career and the
difference it made is the reason I reach out so often to those around me in
the communities to mentor now. I started out as a jr. DBA with no
experience and after the first 9 months was quite frustrated with the
lacking leadership and training. As a consultant was having similar
difficulties, Tim Gorman was brought in to try to smooth things over.
After observing him the first day, I thought- "This is how a DBA should
act and INTERACT." I was incredibly impressed and this verified the way I
was approaching users and other technologists was inline with those who
were successful in the database industry. Tim mentioned to my manager that
I was naturally far beyond the other DBAs in learning RMAN and that it was
a shame I was considering leaving for project management. My manager took
the hint and brought me back into the DBA group, which was great for me and
years later, great for Tim, as almost a decade later, we were both divorced
and he moved from mentor to partner in life.
Alex Gorbachev, Cary Millsap, Mary Melgaard, Karen Morton, Gwen Shapira and
so many others have made a difference in my career. I think the biggest
myth about mentoring is that its a formal relationship with some type of
agreement. Mentors are those that not only help you find your path, and
especially for women in tech, sponsor them in opportunities to grow in the
industry. Locating mentors requires reaching out into the community- go
to local conferences, networking, become part of forums just like Oracle-l
and connect on various platforms. Ask and ye shall receive.
[image: Kellyn Pot'Vin on about.me]
*Kellyn Pot'Vin-Gorman*
DBAKevlar Blog <http://dbakevlar.com>
President Denver SQL Server User Group <http://denversql.org/>
about.me/dbakevlar
On Tue, Aug 21, 2018 at 12:52 PM Jeff Chirco <backseatdba@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Did any of you have a mentor to help you along your DBA career path?
Someone to coach you on what is right/wrong, offer advice for various
projects, etc… I was the first DBA for my company and never had someone to
go to for advice and such. I learned completely on the job besides going
to some classes at the beginning and a couple conferences recently. And
then some consultants over the years. I’ve always reported to a
Programming manager, and they understand some of the job but not everything
that needs to be done. Although I have been a DBA for over 10 years I feel
there is still a ton for me to learn and be better at. I was alone for many
years and did a lot of database development in addition to DBA duties. Kind
of a jack of all trades expert at none. I am a lead now, we have one other
DBA and maybe a third in the near future, but I know I can be a better
leader and hope to advance that further.
Did any of you have some kind of mentor during your career? For most of
you it probably was someone inside the company but what about outside? How
did you find this person and was it helpful? What did they do for you?
Another other details or advice?
Thanks,
