Critical Career Advice

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Melissa Martin

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” – Lewis Carroll

I just read  The #1 Career Mistake Capable People Make, an article by Greg McKeown which gives some really good advise on the importance of being distinguished in your career.

I’ve found that this was true in my career. I have an abundance of knowledge in the services division of the Petroleum Industry but I had no specialization. I believed at that time that the more broad my knowledge of the business was the more I would be able to climb the ladder. What I found was that I was always given a lot of projects and that my promotions were usually lateral or not bringing me into the position that I wanted.

About a year ago I decided that I would specialize in working with databases and put the majority of my focus in that area both at work when possible and after work as well. I also took some time to interview a couple of people in my organization that was already in the type of position that I want to move into and they were most helpful. As a result, after 9 years on the job, I was able to get my first position that landed my foot on the proverbial ladder to becoming a DBA.

Posted in Business, Career Advice, Database, Work Flow Processes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving Day

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Melissa Martin

There is so much that I am thankful for – so many blessings that I can’t name them all. But I am grateful for each and every one. And may God bless you and your family and friends on this Thanksgiving Day.

Much Love,

Melissa A Martin

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Work Flow Process

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Melissa Martin

“The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.” – Jim Rohn

Wow, I can’t believe that it’s almost been a month since I started my new position. I can definitely say that the past month has been busy. Lots of new processes to learn - business processes, departmental processes, Having been in my previous position for 5 years, I must admit that I forgot that with every new opportunity comes new work flow processes.

I remind myself of when I started my previous position and learning those processes and eventually creating my own. Heck, I was even asked before leaving my previous position to document my work flow process so that it could be used as a training guide for my replacement and for others who will one day have the position. I must say that I was and am, honored.

In this new position, I suspect that once I am familiar with the current processes, I will no doubt find a way to automate some of my tasks (I already have some ideas based on what I have learned so far). One thing that I’ve learned is that when you have an idea, write it down right away. For me, I like to use my breaks to take a walk. While I’m out I think out loud (I’m so grateful that no one hears me or they would think I’m nuts) as I record on my phone the ideas that I have. We deal with so many things in a day that it’s easy to forget all the ideas that come into our minds on a daily basis. It’s a tool that works for me so I just thought to share it.

I guess that I can say that my biggest challenge at the onset will be learning about business, understanding and writing contracts, understanding invoices and the like. I’m sure it will come in handy one day. The report writing is not complicated because I have been taking my extra time at home (with the exception of this past month) and learning about databases. That part is fun. Coming around to that, now that I am getting more settled into my position, I can go back to devoting my time to learning, and finally sharing what I learn as I grow into the DBA that I will become. Change and growth is good. That said, the journey continues.

Posted in Business, Work Flow Processes | Leave a comment

Reaching a Milestone

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Melissa Martin

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” ~ Walt Disney

I've reached a milestone

Recently I accepted a job as a Service Operations Specialist within my company. So why and I so excited about that?

I get to work with databases, specifically Oracle and MS Access at work now on a full-time basis. For me that is a milestone and it means that I am one step closer to my dream of becoming a DBA.

I’ve been working with Oracle now since about October and now I get my first chance to work in a database that someone else created. Until now I have only been able to work in my database that I created at home.

It’s a step in the right direction. The experience I’ll gain will be invaluable I’m sure. But it is still just a step. I’m working toward the next milestone, Oracle certification.

Posted in MS Access, Oracle | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Resource Materials

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Melissa Martin

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

I recently read a good article on one of the blog posts that I follow by Jeff Smith, and he shared some of the resources that he uses to get information. He has great information on databases in general and SQL Developer. I’ve benefited from many of his articles. Check it out here : thatJeffSmith.

Also, if you are a beginner and you want to get some very good training on writing SQL queries, I would recommend a book titled ‘A Guide to SQL’ by Philip J Pratt. It has great practical exercises and you get a lot of hands on experience with writing queries. You create the tables that you will use for the exercises. And it does a very good job of explaining concepts. It’s a step by step process to learning SQL.

I would also recommend Oracle PL/SQL 101 by Christopher Allen. It doesn’t have as many exercises but it’s still a good guide for getting started.

And remember Google is your friend. When I was taking an introductory Oracle class last fall we had to create and populate a table that had about 10 to 15 records in it. The instructor had us insert the records one by one (I’m sure that was for a good reason). But after entering a couple of records I started to think that there was surly a way to enter more than one record at a time. My investigations brought up the insert all command. I came across the command on Tech-On-The-Net, another site that has been very helpful for me. To demonstrate,

I create the following table in SQL Developer:

After the table is created, I issue the following command:

You have to use the last part (select * from dual) because the command requires a select statement. The dual table is a dummy table that Oracle has implemented and you can use for just that purpose.

You can review your data by using the select * command. The * let’s SQL know that you want to see all the fields from all the records. Your query will produce the following results:

You still have to write everything out, but you can use copy paste (at least up to end of the ‘values’ part and then input the rest of your record. In the books mentioned above there are as many as 20 records to enter for some tables and I find that this method works faster.

Posted in Book Recommendations, insert all, Inserting records, SQL, SQL Developer | Tagged | 2 Comments

Blogs, blogs, blogs

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Melissa Martin

 ‘If you build it they will come’ ~ Field of Dreams

 After reading so much about them and reading being so engrossed in reading them I finally decided to start my blog. It wasn’t hard because I had already been thinking about for a while. Actually, the hardest part for me was deciding how I would name it. I already knew what I want to write about.

At first I just wasn’t sure how to get it started. But I attended an excellent Webinar by Toni Coleman-Brown , founder of The Network for Women in Business, on how to build a blog. I also came across a great blog post by Brent Ozar that talked about how to determine what to write about and what to expect. After that I decided to go for it. I spent part of the day (on and off ) continuing to set up my blog. Pesky interruptions.

Most importantly, it will be great to connect with other professionals in the database and programming community, and to get more involved in development and support. I am looking forward to it.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Choosing a database platform

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Melissa Martin

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

First things first. When I decided to learn more about databases, I chose to work with Oracle. I downloaded Oracle XE from the Oracle website (it’s a free download) and walked through the install. You’ll have to register and set up an account, (yeah, I know – yet another username and password) but it’s well worth it. They have a great tutorial on getting started and before you know it you’re up and running.

Oracle XE has a really nice interface that you can work in and I used it for a while. Then someone suggested that I use SQL Developer. I connected it to my Oracle XE and I am now converted.  There are others that I haven’t explored yet but please feel free to try them out and find one that works for you.

Of course you can use other databases too like SQL Server, MS Access, MySQL etc… Oracle is just my flavor. I’m not sure of the cost of the other database systems so check out the websites for more information.

I’m enjoying my personal training. Some things like basic SQL statements I was already familiar with, just had to learn the Oracle syntax. I’d love to work as a developer as a profession and that is my goal. So, since I graduated so long ago and any credentials I had have long expired, I’ve looked into sitting a certification exam. My plan is to do that by June. Stay tuned!

Posted in Oracle XE, SQL Developer | 2 Comments

Welcome!

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Melissa Martin

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~ Lao Tzu

Hello and Welcome!

This site is designed to express what I am passionate about – databases and programming. So the majority of my postings will be about that. Of course there may be other topics thrown in here and there as well.

I’ll warn you now that I have a quirky sense of humor, and I love play on words. Hence ‘it’s all about relationships’.

As I learn new concepts and procedures I will gladly share them. I’m also grateful to anyone who can offer any tips and/or advice you have to share with me and others who will read this blog. Don’t be shy about correcting me where you see I may have erred or if there is a better or more efficient way to do something. But please be respectful. This is about sharing and learning.

Through this page I plan to educate, motivate, learn and grow. I’ve read that what you give yourself to will give itself back to you. I’m putting that to the test.

I look forward to talking with you. Let’s do it!

Posted in Welcome | Tagged , | 2 Comments