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Was that $100k+ job that you turned down looking for a purple squirrel?
No, it was a velvet sweatshop. If a job isn't one, it's usually the other. (Purple squirrel vs velvet sweatshop.)
I turned it down because between the hours they were demanding and the distance from home + traffic, I'd have been out of the house 12-14 hours a day. I know for some people that wouldn't be a dealbreaker, but it is for me.
Plus, I always assume bonuses are BS. In my experience they mostly have been.
No, it was a velvet sweatshop. If a job isn't one, it's usually the other. (Purple squirrel vs velvet sweatshop.)
I turned it down because between the hours they were demanding and the distance from home + traffic, I'd have been out of the house 12-14 hours a day. I know for some people that wouldn't be a dealbreaker, but it is for me.
Plus, I always assume bonuses are BS. In my experience they mostly have been.
It really depends. I've worked at velvet sweatshops for 80K a year, and worked jobs with 40 hour weeks making 100K a year with a 10K bonus on top and company paid health, training, phone, etc. Work from home too. While I wasn't a purple squirrel, most of the people they hired couldn't do the job they were hired to do at the level they were expected to do it.
At one point we had 5 agencies trying to recruit for a single position and it took us 9 months to find a remotely close candidate, even when offering 100+K salary. We just couldn't find the talent, and this person was incompetent; even though I advised against it, they hired them anyways only to try to get rid of them right after when they realized I was right. Sadly it took them a year...
I think the biggest thing is to shop around and always be looking.
I'm still really curious who the person is that has SQL knowledge of any level, but doesn't know how to use Office. Is that really even necessary on these applications?
Old technologies like SharePoint, VMware, SQL Server, Visual studio, PHP, are still very widely used even today. As people move on to newer technologies, they create a hole for older technologies that temporarily increase salaries in these areas. Unfortunately, many organizations do not have a focus on technology and slow to move forward even though it can have a positive impact.
This works out for the people who are slow at learning the latest technologies as they can continue to work without investing in themselves while being paid a reasonable salary (albeit lower than newer technologies that are in demand).
Hate that the term Purple Squirrel is used to describe any person with IT "possiblilities".....it's a freaking unicorn scenario! Take the dang job, already.
I am still shocked that Fortune 100 companies use a combination of MS Access and imported Excel spreadsheets for data analysis and reporting in operations.
Banks and financial services companies are using ancient technology. If they upgrade to anything, it will be migrating their imported/linked Excel spreadsheets to their existing SQL servers. They are so slow to move.
Where in Texas is that, because it sure isn't like that around here. If you want to break $100k in SQL Server here, you have to be much more than an SSRS monkey to do it.
The jobs I've seen paying over $100k involve one or more of the following:
Extensive DBA experience
Extensive data warehouse/ETL experience using SSIS/C# and know OLTP like the back of your hand
Be able to explain the difference between Kimball and Inmon, all the different types of data normalization, and MOLAP/ROLAP/HOLAP
Actually know how to use windowing functions in T-SQL in addition to being an actual T-SQL ninja
XQuery, anyone?
Cubes/OLAP/MDX/SSAS
Expert skills with entire BI stack plus .NET
The last job I was contacted for that had a heavy SSRS emphasis (and expected expertise in T-SQL and SSIS as well) paid $70-$85k per year. That's low even for this area, but average is still not $100k.
Weren't you contacted for another job that you accepted last month for more money? Is this $70-85k job that one?
Weren't you contacted for another job that you accepted last month for more money? Is this $70-85k job that one?
No. The job I accepted is for an integration/performance specialist. I'll be using SSIS, but as you probably know some shops prefer their SSIS packages to be nothing but Execute SQL tasks strung together with all the logic wrapped up in stored procedures. I prefer that as well because then I have complete control over the integration and I think the performance is better.
They also need someone who can dig through execution plans and actually understand what's going on in them in order to speed up slow queries. All of the questions I was asked in the interview dealt with either integration or query optimization. Those two areas are my rock-solid strengths in SQL.
I do know how to use SSRS, but I have no professional experience with it because I've never worked anywhere that used it. Cognos and Crystal Reports, yes. SSRS, no. But I did take the initiative to learn it on my own. For a lot of hiring managers, however, that doesn't count. They don't care that I learned it anyway despite it not being required anywhere I've ever worked.
The job I accepted pays over six figures as a contract. The company looking for an SSRS developer between $70k-$85k passed on my resume even though I could have done that Mickey Mouse job standing on my head. I wasn't upset about it, though. The pay was crap and the commute was even worse. With their job req (expertise in SSRS, SSIS, T-SQL, and C#/VB.NET FRONT-END development, 6+ years of experience) and unbending requirements, they will struggle hard to find someone with those skills willing to work for that salary. The recruiter sighed when I told her that and said, "I know...I've been trying to fill this position for six months." I wished her luck.
No. The job I accepted is for an integration/performance specialist. I'll be using SSIS, but as you probably know some shops prefer their SSIS packages to be nothing but Execute SQL tasks strung together with all the logic wrapped up in stored procedures. I prefer that as well because then I have complete control over the integration and I think the performance is better.
They also need someone who can dig through execution plans and actually understand what's going on in them in order to speed up slow queries. All of the questions I was asked in the interview dealt with either integration or query optimization. Those two areas are my rock-solid strengths in SQL.
I do know how to use SSRS, but I have no professional experience with it because I've never worked anywhere that used it. Cognos and Crystal Reports, yes. SSRS, no. But I did take the initiative to learn it on my own. For a lot of hiring managers, however, that doesn't count. They don't care that I learned it anyway despite it not being required anywhere I've ever worked.
The job I accepted pays over six figures as a contract. The company looking for an SSRS developer between $70k-$85k passed on my resume even though I could have done that Mickey Mouse job standing on my head. I wasn't upset about it, though. The pay was crap and the commute was even worse. With their job req (expertise in SSRS, SSIS, T-SQL, and C#/VB.NET FRONT-END development, 6+ years of experience) and unbending requirements, they will struggle hard to find someone with those skills willing to work for that salary. The recruiter sighed when I told her that and said, "I know...I've been trying to fill this position for six months." I wished her luck.
My experience with SSRS has been that writing and tuning the SQL query for the report is the hardest part. The rest of the effort is in making the parameters work and making the report look "pretty."
My experience with SSRS has been that writing and tuning the SQL query for the report is the hardest part. The rest of the effort is in making the parameters work and making the report look "pretty."
Yup, pretty much; and a lot of report writers don't write the SQL anyway...someone with more experience does.
I'm the one banging away in my cube, nameless and faceless...until someone has a piece of SQL code that used to run fast and no longer does. That's when I dig into it without even being asked and tell them what the problem is and how to fix it. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't. I'm never thanked or acknowledged for it. But I do enjoy it. I kind of get off on solving the problems other people can't solve.
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