There May Be No Free Lunch But You Can Have Free Training Meagan Longoria SQL Saturday #300 Sept 13, 2014

Getting Started Slides are on the SQL Saturday site as well as my blog. Questions and comments are expected and welcome throughout the presentation. Questions: –How long have you been working with SQL Server? –How did you hear about KC SQL Saturday?

Who Am I and What Am I Doing Here? Business Intelligence Consultant with Valorem Consulting in Kansas City, MO Organizer of Kansas City SQL Saturday LinkedIn: Twitter: Blog:

Can’t Go to PASS Summit/BA Conference? You have options: –Twiddle your thumbs until the next year –Purchase the video of the conference –Purchase any new SQL/BI books –Look for other ways to learn and connect If you go to one conference each year and do nothing else to learn and improve your craft, you are unnecessarily limiting yourself and your potential.

Free Your Mind Free yourself from thinking you need to attend a big conference or expensive class to advance your skills or career. Embrace continuous learning. Supplement the big events with other activities: –In Person: User groups SQL Saturdays –Online Virtual Chapters Blogs Websites and Online Forums Social Media

Free* (As in Beer) What is free*? User Groups – sometimes have dues or sponsors SQL Saturday – sponsor tables and s Websites – free with registration or ads Blogs – ads and occasional promotions Social Media – promotions and noise PASS Virtual Chapters - promotions

Get Involved There is a whole SQL Server/MSBI community out there that wants to learn and grow with you You can choose how involved you want to be, but… I have found that I learn more as I get more involved and connect with more people.

KC User group: –Meets 3 rd Thursday of the month –Sign up for s on the website –RSVP to meetings through Eventbrite –Any SQL Server or MSBI topic welcome Other user groups: –Southwest Missouri SQL Server Users Group (SWMOSSUG)Southwest Missouri SQL Server Users Group –St. Louis SQL Server User Group (STLSSUG)St. Louis SQL Server User Group –Wichita SQL Server User GroupWichita SQL Server User Group User Groups

SQL Saturdays SQL Saturdays are happening all over the world Don’t be afraid to travel! Combine business and pleasure. Make friends! Talk to speakers. (We don’t bite.) Get addresses, websites, social media accounts to continue communication and learning.

Virtual Chapters Many cover specific topics, others are in foreign languages. Usually meet once or twice a month

Websites TechNet, Microsoft Virtual Academy, MSDN, Channel 9TechNetMicrosoft Virtual AcademyMSDNChannel 9 SQLServerCentral.com MSSQLTips.com SqlMag.com SQLTeam.com Simple Talk (from Red Gate)Simple Talk SQLPerformance.com (from SQL Sentry)SQLPerformance.com Project Botticelli (BI)Project Botticelli Sql-Server-Performance.com

Consultant Websites BrentOzar.com SQLBI.com Pragmatic Works Denny Cherry & Assoc. Blue Granite SQLSkills.com DawaBI

Forums DBA.StackExchange.com StackOverflow.com MSDN SQLServerCentral.com SQL-Server-Performance.com

Blogs There are tons of them! People all over the world blog about all kinds of topics at all levels of difficulty We are sharing our knowledge and experiences Good blog rolls can be found at and

Blogs Blogs I read regularly:

Twitter #sqlhelp Browse list membership

LinkedIn Join groups that fit your interests Set your notifications appropriately Some groups have better discussions than others

Train Yo’ Self Write a blog post Answer questions on a forum Answer #sqlhelp on twitter Present at a user group, SQL Saturday, or virtual chapter *If you don’t get this reference, you need to watch more Parks & Rec

Please feel free to contact me with questions or feedback Meagan Longoria BI Solutions Architect Blog: datasavvy.wordpress.comdatasavvy.wordpress.com Twitter: LinkedIn: Company Website: ValoremConsulting.comValoremConsulting.com Questions and Final Comments