One key trait I see over and over again in successful DBAs is their willingness to share their knowledge with others. Instead of just focusing on what their profession can bring to them, these DBAs also consider what they can bring to their profession. While at first this might seem contradictory (how can giving of your time help you?), I have discovered that there are many benefits to be gained from sharing your knowledge with the SQL Server community.
Increase Your Depth of Knowledge
Without a doubt, the most common feedback I hear from DBAs who spend a lot of time in SQL Server forums, answering questions, is this: "I have learned more from answering questions than I could learn from any other source." In other words, by giving up some of their own time to help others, they have ended up benefiting enormously from the experience.
How is this possible? Many DBAs use the questions posed in forums as a way to learn more about the behavior of SQL Server. For example, a question posted in a SQL Server forum may ask the best way to optimize a particular query. Many DBAs will regard such a question as an opportunity to improve their skills. They will consider the question carefully, even doing additional research and testing if necessary, before providing a detailed and thoughtful answer. By repeating the process of reading, analyzing, and answering questions, over and over, the these DBAs can significantly increase the depth of their SQL Server knowledge.
In other cases, DBAs will encounter questions that touch areas or behavior that they have never seen before. Again, such questions are often taken as a challenge, and many DBAs will research the question until an answer is found, learning something new about SQL Server in the process. This experience broadens their knowledge base.
While I have used forums as an example of how contributing to the SQL Server community is valuable, this benefit is not limited to forums. For example, every time a DBA writes a blog entry, an article, a book, or makes a presentation to other DBAs, they have an opportunity to learn more about SQL Server than they did before.
Virtually every time you participate in the SQL Server community, you will be rewarded with new learning experiences.
Make New Contacts
However you share your knowledge and experience with the SQL Server community, you will be meeting new people. If you participate in forums, you will meet DBAs from all over the world. If you write blog entries, you get to exchange ideas with other DBAs. If you write articles or books, you will attract an audience who enjoys your work, and who often encourage you to write even more.
If you make presentations to local user groups, or national conferences, you get the opportunity not only to meet other DBAs, but also industry leaders and Microsoft SQL Server team members. These people can provide insight into the industry that you can't get anywhere else. Making new contacts is useful for making new friends, finding new jobs, and learning information to which most people don't have access.
Increase Your Non-Technical Skills
Sharing your SQL Server knowledge, and making new friends and contacts, will also help you to develop other essential traits that can help your career. For example:
- Writing forum posts, blog entries, articles, and books will help you to develop your written communications skills.
- Making new contacts helps develop your people skills.
- Speaking before groups gives you more experience as an oral communicator.
- Volunteering for local or national user groups helps develop leadership, teamwork, and project management skills.
- Developing your own website helps to develop your writing and coding skills.
- Writing and sharing Transact-SQL scripts helps to develop your Transact-SQL skills.
The examples could go on and on. Almost anything you do to help the SQL Server community will also help to boost your skill set and experience.
It's Fun to Help Others
Another comment I often hear from DBAs who contribute to the SQL Server community is that it is just plain fun to do so. In other words, helping others is fun and makes being a DBA a more enjoyable profession. Whenever you answer a forum question, it's great when the person who asked the question thanks you for your time and effort. When you run a website or write a book, it's a great feeling to receive "fan" mail from people who read and benefited from what you wrote. Making it into the "top 10 posters" list on a forum, for the month or year, can give you a great sense of achievement.
Give It a Try
If you aren't currently participating in the SQL Server community, I suggest you give it a try. It won't take that much of your time, and the benefits are real. And if you know of other benefits of sharing your knowledge that I haven't mentioned, please post them below.