Continuous Learning for the Modern Age Peter Shore SQL Saturday Nashville

About Me SQL Server Database Administrator - RDX Intentionally Accidental DBA Over 20 years IT experience Server Engineer Desktop Engineer Network Infrastructure Desk side support President CBusPASS Co-Organizer SQL Saturday Columbus How to find me Twitter: @pshore73 E-mail: pshore73@outlook.com

Specialize in remote database administration, operating system, and enterprise application support services 24x7, 100% onshore support across all major database platforms including SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Oracle Applications, and DB2 Full suite of Microsoft Business Intelligence and Database Activity Monitoring services available Currently support hundreds of customers and thousands of databases daily www.rdx.com

Continuous Learning “As IT professionals, our second most critical skill is our ability to learn. (The first is our ability to communicate effectively.)” – David Maxwell “If you do not like to learn new things, IT might not be right career for you.” – Peter Shore

Continuous Learning Cognitivism Constructivism Theoretical framework for understanding the mind Often used to describe how we learn Constructivism Theory of education Philosophical viewpoint regarding the nature of knowledge

Continuous Learning We learn each day Often learn without realizing it Most learning is not formalized Formalized learning is any learning that follows a plan Research for a project Web based course Certification training Scholarly classes (aka you are in school) Self designed

Continuous Learning What should I be learning? How do I know what to learn? How do I balance learning for my job vs. the job I want?

Continuous Learning Job needs Next job needs Emerging technologies Operational Break/Fix Projects Skills that do not exist Next job needs Job postings Recruiters Interests Emerging technologies Emerging technologies Keynotes Build Ignite Pass Summit New features SQL Server PowerBI Azure PaaS

Continuous Learning Learning Styles Reading Listening Watching Doing Previously – different people learn in different ways Reality – people learn different things in different ways Reading Listening Watching Doing

Continuous Learning Plan Formal Semi-formal Throw it to the wind Specific concepts Specific targets within those concepts Timeline or order Semi-formal Concepts you want to learn General targets Minimal timelines Throw it to the wind https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/default.aspx

Continuous Learning What resources are needed? Environment Local hardware Desktop, Laptop, Server Physical or Virtual Specs do not need to be like prod Acquire from Criagslist eBay Auctions Cloud IaaS PaaS

Continuous Learning What resources are needed? Software OS Linux is free Windows 10 Pro/Enterprise, reasonable chance you have this Windows Server 180 Day Trail MSDN SQL Server PowerBI BE MINDFULL OF LEGAL LICENSING

Continuous Learning What resources are needed? Data Not required to use AdventureWorks or WorldWide Importers Find a dataset that meets your needs Data.gov CDC Census https://registry.opendata.aws/ Various APIs Stock data Sports Data

Continuous Learning What resources are needed? Learning Resources Blogs Vendor documentation Twitter #SQLHelp Hashtag #SQLFamily Hashtag Microsoft Learn https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/ Books Pluralsight https://www.pluralsight.com/

Continuous Learning Other Resources User Groups Virtual User Groups SQL Saturday Conferences PASS Summit Dev Intersection/SQL Intersection DogFood Con Azure DataFest Enterprise Data World

Management of your learning and your career is up to YOU! Questions?