About the Book
Enjoy reading interviews with more than two dozen data professionals to see a picture of what it’s like to work in the industry managing and analyzing data, helping you to know what it takes to move from your current expertise into one of the fastest growing areas of technology today. Data is the hottest word of the century, and data professionals are in high demand. You may already be a data professional such as a database administrator or business intelligence analyst. Or you may be one of the many people who want to work as a data professional, and are curious how to get there. Either way, this collection helps you understand how data professionals work, what makes them successful, and what they do to keep up.
You’ll find interviews in this book with database administrators, database programmers, data architects, business intelligence professionals, and analytics professionals. Interviewees work across industry sectors ranging from healthcare and banking tofinance and transportation and beyond. Each chapter illuminates a successful professional at the top of their game, who shares what helped them get to the top, and what skills and attitudes combine to make them successful in their respective fields.
Interviewees in the book include: Mindy Curnutt, Julie Smith, Kenneth Fisher, Andy Leonard, Jes Borland, Kevin Feasel, Ginger Grant, Vicky Harp, Kendra Little, Jason Brimhall, Tim Costello, Andy Mallon, Steph Locke, Jonathan Stewart, Joseph Sack, John Q. Martin, John Morehouse, Kathi Kellenberger, Argenis Fernandez, Kirsten Benzel, Tracy Boggiano, Dave Walden, Matt Gordon, Jimmy May, Drew Furgiuele, Marlon Ribunal, and Joseph Fleming. All of them have been successful in their careers, and share their perspectives on working and succeeding in the field as data and database professionals.
What You'll Learn
Stand out as an outstanding professional in your area of data work by developing the right set of skills and attitudes that lead to success
Avoid common mistakes and pitfalls, and recover from operational failures and bad technology decisions
Understand current trends and best practices, and stay out in front as the field evolves
Break into working with data through database administration, business intelligence, or any of the other career paths represented in this book
Manage stress and develop a healthy work-life balance no matter which career path you decide upon
Choose a suitable path for yourself from among the different career paths in working with data
Who This Book Is For
Database administrators and developers, database and business intelligence architects, consultants, and analytic professionals, as well as those intent on moving into one of those career paths. Aspiring data professionals and those in related technical fields who want to make a move toward managing or analyzing data on a full-time basis will find the book useful. Existing data professionals who want to be outstanding and successful at what they do will also appreciate the book's advice and guidance.
Table of Contents:
Part I: Database Administrators.- Chapter 1: Mindy Curnutt: CEO, Mindy Curnutt and Associates Consulting.- Chapter 2: Julie Smith: Business Intelligence Consultant, Innovative Architects Inc..- Chapter 3: Kenneth Fisher: Senior Database Administrator, Aegon.- Chapter 4: Andy Leonard: Chief Data Engineer, Enterprise Data and Analytics.- Chapter 5: Jes Borland: Premier Field Engineer, Microsoft Corporation.- Chapter 6: Kevin Feasel: Engineering Manager, ChannelAdvisor Corp..- Part II: Developers.- Chapter 7: Ginger Grant: Principal Consultant, Desert Isle Group.- Chapter 8: Vicky Harp: Principal Program Manager Lead, Microsoft Corporation.- Chapter 9: Kendra Little: Trainer, SQL Workbooks, LLC.- Chapter 10: Jason Brimhall: Principal Consultant, Database Masters.- Part III: Data Architects.- Chapter 11: Tim Costello: Data Architect, Brindle Pup Consulting.- Chapter 12: Andy Mallon: Database Architect .- Chapter 13: Steph Locke: Data Science Consultant, Locke Data.- Part IV: Business Intelligence and Analytics Architects.- Chapter 14: Jonathan Stewart: Business Intelligence Consultant, SQLLocks LLC.- Chapter 15: Joseph Sack: Principal Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation.- Chapter 16: John Q. Martin: Product Manager, SentryOne.- Chapter 17: John Morehouse: Consultant, Denny Cherry & Associates Consulting.- Part V: Analytics.- Chapter 18: Kathi Kellenberger: Editor, Simple Talk, Redgate Software.- Chapter 19: Argenis Fernandez: Principal Data Storage Architect, Pure Storage.- Chapter 20: Kirsten Benzel: Senior Database Engineer, SurveyMonkey.- Part VI: Consultants.- Chapter 21: Tracy Boggiano: Database Superhero, Broadvine.- Chapter 22: Dave Walden, Cloud Architect.- Chapter 23: Matt Gordon: Data Platform Solution Architect, DMI.- Chapter 24: Jimmy May: Storage Architect.- Chapter 25: Drew Furgiuele: Senior Database Administrator, IGS.- Chapter 26: Marlon Ribunal: SQL System Support Engineer, JustEnough Software.- Chapter 27: Joseph Fleming: Senior Consultant, StraightPath Solutions.
About the Author :
Malathi Mahadevan is a senior database consultant and has over 20 years of experience working with data, primarily in Microsoft SQL Server and related technologies. She has worked in many industries, such as healthcare, finance, and consulting, to name a few. She also has been volunteering with the SQL Server community by arranging free training and seminars for the past 15 years, and is a recipient of the PASSion award for being an outstanding volunteer from the Professional Association of SQL Server (PASS). She blogs frequently at the Curious About Data site, and is active on Twitter as @sqlmal. Malathi is a featured blogger on the SQL Server Central site, and has also written several articles for the site.
