This month’s T-SQL Tuesday topic is learning goals for 2018, hosted by Mala Mahadevan (blog/twitter). Mala has challenged the SQL community to list out specific learning plans for the upcoming year. It’s a great topic for this time of year, especially as we slow down to focus on family and gear up for a New Year.
Learning in the New Year
I’m a DBA first and foremost, so I’m always going to focus on getting better with the SQL Engine, performance tuning, and working with tools (SSMS, SSIS, SOS, etc.), staying current on SQL releases, and testing new functionality. I also realize the world is changing and so is the role of the DBA. More and more environments are moving to the cloud or will have some kind of cloud connection in the near future. That means DBAs are going to have to embrace working more with code. Having some development skills can only be an asset, not a hindrance.
My focus for 2018:
- DevOps and how to use CI for normal DBA tasks
- Query tuning
- Containers and how to use containers with SQL
- Getting better with SQL development and development in general
- T-SQL
- PowerShell
- C#
- Python
- Keeping an eye on AI, machine learning, and data science
- Health
How to Get There
I’m going to use the resources at my disposal. I already have subscriptions to Pluralsight and Safari Books Online. I try to carve out an hour each day to work on a video or read a chapter of a book. I use Feedly to follow various blogs and feeds, plus a few podcasts, PASS Virtual Chapters, and SQLSaturdays to round it all out.
Listening, reading, and watching are great ways to learn, but I need to practice for it to stick. With the new job, I get to use more of these skills all the time — but I still need to continue practicing outside of work. Virtual Machines (VMs) are great for heavier configuration work and query tuning. In the future, I plan on using containers for labs where possible. Containers are quick to spin up, and if I trash something I can just nuke the environment and start over. It also gives me some cross-platform experience.
Improving
It’s great to learn the basics, but to get better you have to work on more complex problems. I can spin up a couple of VMs to test with, and containers should help me learn to manage a number of them quickly. Ultimately I’m hoping to reach a point where I can work comfortably with Azure by the end of the year.
Health
You might have noticed health on my list. It wasn’t an accident. Why? It’s more than a resolution — at this stage of my life it’s become a necessity. I’ve spent the last 15 years focused on my career, and I’ve let my physical health slide. Getting out to ride a dirt bike or hike occasionally isn’t enough. Going to the gym here and there isn’t enough. I need to learn more. No, I’m not sick, but I can be better.
To be a better data professional, I need to undo the years of sitting in front of a computer. I need to move more, eat better, get better sleep, and find a way to occasionally unplug and actually enjoy life. So I’m going to focus as much energy on my health as I do on my job this year.
Key Takeaways
- The DBA role is shifting — development skills, DevOps, and cloud fluency are no longer optional.
- Structured learning (subscriptions, podcasts, chapters) works best when paired with hands-on practice.
- Containers are worth learning for lab work — fast to spin up, easy to nuke and restart.
- Physical health is a legitimate professional development goal. Burnout is real, and sustainable performance requires taking care of yourself.