Junior DBAs - Where to start?

I personally would start with your local user groups. Getting to know people and networking may be your best bet to sneak in with low/no experience.

Start testing theories at home. you can install VirtualBox and get a SQL instance up and running off trials.

Watch the forums, see the problems people have and see what you can fix. If you can't figure it out, follow the thread and see how others helped. Watching others work may help you get your troubleshooting steps down.

Watch the free videos all over the net. They can give more insight and help you pass that interview if it gets technical.

Get at least your entry level certification. I know I'll get some disagreements here... If you can put in the effort to show you're trying to be more marketable, that alone could be favorable. Regardless of whether or not people think the certifications hold any weight.

Also, don't forget to comment on Mondays post! As long as you have an E-Mail address attached to your UserID, I will put your name in the hat.

The giveaway dates are listed below! (all items are sent out that following Wednesday)

12/2 - 1-Month Plural Sight Code - Congratulations Daniel!
12/9 - 1-Month Plural Sight Code
12/16 - 1-Month Plural Sight Code
12/23 - 1-Month Plural Sight Code
12/30 - Professional SQL Server 2012 Internals and Troubleshooting



rant

I'm not exactly a old DBA. I've been in the community for 3+ years and working as a full DBA for over a year. The trek to becoming a DBA at all wasn't exactly simple. I spent my own time and money studying for the MCTS and MCITP, went to the user groups, followed the blogs of other well known DBAs, helped with SQL Saturday in OKC for a few years, built labs to break and fix over and over, and I signed up to any free training I could get my hands on. The funny thing... I'm still doing all these things.

There are good recruiting companies out there that will try and help place you, but first they have to convince the employer that a JR is worth taking on. I've not heard of a  company yet that hires people ahead of the need for more bodies. It makes sense though. Why pay people to sit around just in case?

A JR DBA that you can train could be invaluable to a company. As their skills grow and depth of knowledge grows, they become intertwined in your company. This could have immense returns of value. After a few years they'll know how to talk your business and work your major problems much better than a SR coming in from the outside.

I'd like to see more JR's in the field. I hear most places have more DBA jobs than DBAs. Getting these JRs may just fix that problem.

/rant