Removing Assumptions

Before getting into why I’m making this transition, I want to be clear about something: I genuinely loved my time in consulting. The people I worked with, top to bottom, are smart, kind, supportive, and deeply capable. Having the opportunity to work with and learn from them was a privilege.

This move isn’t about any sort of dissatisfaction, but purely about career direction.

Over time, I realized I was becoming increasingly interested in deeper platform ownership that fell in line with focusing on building long-term systems. That shift in interest ultimately shaped my decision to take on a new challenge.

I’m intentionally not focusing on the company itself here. This post isn’t about where I’m leaving, it’s about the thought process that led me forward. Writing helps me clarify my thinking, and this feels like a meaningful moment to document.

Where I’m Coming From

I feel like it’s appropriate to give some background on myself here. I started off as an intentional DBA. Every choice I made towards the back half of my college career was geared towards Database Administration. From the classes I took, to the major I had and even to the internships I applied for. DBA internships are few and very far in between to come by, so I started off as a Data Engineer intern. Two weeks into that internship, I went to my manager at the time and asked “How do I become a DBA?” He smiled, pointed me towards the DBA team and the rest was history.

I worked extremely hard at this company, learning all I could from the Seniors there, and taking every training I could get my hands on. I happily spent hours after work (and some during) learning, practicing, and building. I applied my newfound knowledge anywhere I could and enjoyed being apart of that team.

Quick anecdote here. Apart from hands on experience and learning from other teammates, the training provided by Brent Ozar and Edwin Sarmiento have been invaluable in my DBA career growth. So, if you haven’t looked into their training offerings, you’re missing out.

I eventually left that company and chased an opportunity in consulting for a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that specializes in MS SQL Server. I drastically increased both my breadth and depth in SQL Server Administration. I was exposed to so many different environment setups, implementations, problems, needs, issues, caveats, and solutions. I proudly worked my way up to a Sr. DBA Consultant and I couldn’t have done that without the support of my team and leadership there. Being here, with the exposure I’ve had, has made me actually believe and that I’m a Sr. DBA, not just by title.

The Shift

If everything was so intentional and geared towards being a DBA, why the change? What shifted? There’s nothing wrong with being a DBA, or consulting, or working as a single shop DBA. There’s career stability, growth, and opportunities to learn in all of those paths. I’ve been all of those things, and each stage of my career journey shaped me into the technical professional I am today. In fact, there will still be a good element of DBA-ing in my new role, but with an expansion in the other areas of data, coding, automation, AI implementation, and working with other tools and techs. And that right there is what shifted. I found myself heavily gravitating towards those other tools and techs that I mentioned. I found myself growing out of the DBA silo and with a desire of expansion into other platforms and technologies. I’m grateful for the chance to bring my expertise in SQL Administration along with my desire to learn and grow in these new areas.

I got some great advice from a colleague during my final weeks as a consultant. She talked about mindset. The context around this was in reference to automation. That is applicable to anything I’ve talked about. Being a DBA is a mindset, being a Database Reliability Engineer is a mindset, being a Data Platform Engineer is a mindset. I’m greatly looking forward to bringing all of the foundational approaches and mindsets that I’ve learned along the way and apply them to the new processes and systems I’ll be building.

Where I’m Heading

I’m heading to a place that will allow me to maintain my passion for SQL Server Administration, but will also give me the opportunity to expand beyond that. I’m ready to take on any and all challenges that come with this change. Change can be uncomfortable, but that means you’re growing. I’m still going to be blogging about SQL DBA things, but be on the lookout for a different flavor of blogs. I’m excited to share the struggles, wins, and evolutions that come with this new role change.