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Career Change

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IronRocket

IronRocket

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I've written in this forum before, but I'm trying to switch over being a Crystal Reports Developer. My experience is with Crystal Reports and writing queries in SQL. The problem is that companies now days want you to know .net, C#, etc.

I was in an interview w/ a contracting company and they asked me if I had any database administrator experience and told me that this would play a big part in the job. This was labeled as a Crystal Reports position, but they added this to it as well.

Here I am, 40 years old, and feel like I have to take another year out of my life to learn additional stuff. I I do have some programming experience (not much), but am very frustrated that I can't just concentrate on SQL and Crystal Reports for a solid career.

So what should I do? Should I start learning more stuff (and by the time I learn it, I'll probably be behind)? I just feel like giving up and getting my CDL license and drive a stupid truck for the rest of my life.
 
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IronRocket,

I'm 56 and in the same boat. The DBA type job is a good way to go. Depends on the platform, but it can be a good thing to move into that type of area. Everybody is going to need a DBA to some degree if they are keep a relational database, depending on the complexity & volitality of the data. In our business the more you know the better and the DBA type position can be a good way to go.

Jim C.


 
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Be aware there's different types of DBAs.

The classic DBA is someone who writes queries, makes sure the backup runs, and generally monitors DB performance. They usually carry a pager.

There's also a developmental DBA, who assists a development team in creating a new database from scratch. This job is much more involved with the Normal forms, object to relational mapping, working with the developers, but more importantly, working with the business to make sure the database is able to work with the product and create the reports that will be needed.

Chip H.


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