May 08, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Database Apprenticeship
One thing that saddens me is that this country has lost the concept of apprenticeships. It used to be that whenever you wanted to learn a trade you would pick a professional who could teach you and you would become his apprentice. What does it really mean to be an apprentice though? What separates an apprentice from what he have here now?
Well, it's really the frame of mind of both parties. Here in America we have the concept of a jr. DBA, though few companies actually take advantage of this personnel goldmine. In radio and medicine both they have interns, and those are more or less apprenticeships, but we don't have anything like that in IT. Again, the problem is in the mindset of both parties... the Sr. and the Jr. In IT, you get hired to do a job. You may be at a jr. level, but you're still hired for that specific job. And the company and the sr. both expect you to be able to do it. There is no real education going on though, and anything you learn, you pretty much have to take on yourself through books and seminars. When you take on an apprenticeship you're there to learn databases. That means that mentoring is the primary goal and the job itself is secondary. That doesn't mean you don't pay them, it just means that you change the dynamic from sr. and the jr. to master and apprentice.
In my former life I was a French chef. I apprenticed the old world way under a real French chef. What does that mean? Well, I traveled with him, I did his laundry, I washed his car, ran his errands, and did whatever other piddling thing he wanted. He paid me well, but only in the restaurant. Outside the restaurant, everything I did for him was completely on my own time, and honestly it's the least I could do for teaching me his life's work. I've been out of the kitchen for several years now, and I still come when he calls. I know that kind of lifestyle sounds strange to a lot of you, but my dream was to become a chef, and that's how it's done in the real cooking world. Of course, I don't still do his laundry, but I do help him with things especially since he's in his twilight now. After all, he did teach me his life's work, and it's still the least I can do.
Maybe that's the problem. Maybe nobody grows up saying, "I want to be a DBA." There's no passion for databases like there is for cooking. I mean, you can't smell SQL code(even though a lot of it stinks), and you can't make nice flowers out of a DR strategy. I think I'm one of the very few who actually gets excited about databases. I completey geek-out when something new comes out, or a find a new way to solve an old problem. It may not be pretty to look at, but I can look at a SQL window just like I'm staring at a plate of Lobster Thermidor.
I guess this is a good time to talk about why apprenticeship is so important to begin with. I mean, why am I making this distinction in the first place? Well, the most honest answer is the quality of learning that goes on. Sure, you can read books, but a lot of times you fail to grasp the meaning, or the significance unless there's someone there showing you what's important. Books are also limited in what they can cover, and they may only be concentrating on one aspect of the topic. A mentor can take a topic and fully expand on it so you have a full understanding. Plus, in case you don't understand something, a mentor can keep explaining until you get it. Is it possible though that you can't really learn databases solely from books? I'd say it's entirely possible. I see it every day in the poor quality of the code I review from DBAs and developers with over 10yrs experience. Clearly nobody ever took them aside and showed them what they need to know.
Right after I left cooking, I took a low-level helpdesk job at a start-up company. The company only had 2 customers, so I wasn't very busy and I read all day long. I read SQL, and IIS and NT. I practiced and I practiced some more. There was a very senior tech there who took me under his wing and showed me things, and explained the things I had misread or just plain didn't understand. I considered myself his apprentice though I don't think he ever knew it. The truth is I learned more in our 30 min. talks than I did all week studying on my own. He was probably the most knowledgable tech I've ever met, and he was patient and gave me lots to think about. In fact, he was our very own Tom Yager, and I don't think he knows to this day what our time together meant to me(don't anybody go tell him, he doesn't read my blog), and how his teachings not only gave me a solid foundation of basics, it inspired me.
Anyway though... the colleges are full of young people who would love to apprentice. Think about it. You can pay them less, and even draw up some kind of agreement that they'll stick around for a year or two. It's a win/win. And if enough companies do that, the poor code, and low knowledge bar will slowly start to disappear.
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Posted by Sean McCown on May 8, 2006 07:46 PM
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I was actually blessed to end up in a situation where I was apprenticed. I had been working at a bank on the help desk. I had enough experience with MSAccess that I was put in charge of managing/maintaining the Access database used for our help desk ticketing system. I had shown enough promise in this position that people took notice including my department director. When the bank was unable to hire a new DBA (for the previous one had stayed long enough to get all the paid training to become an MCSE then left), they asked around and my director recommended me for the position.
They decided to try training inhouse and offered me the job. I took it and my new boss sat me down and in two days, explained SQL in comparison to Access. After those two days, I was on my own. By the time I was able to go for training, I already knew most of what they could teach me in the course. I'm where I'm at now (Reports Analyst and SQL Developer at Comcast Cable) because of that chance they took apprenticing me to be a DBA.
Honestly, I agree that more companies need to take that chance. Growth within means greater employee loyalty and the ability to hold on to those who have experience with the company.
Posted by: Charles Martin at May 10, 2006 07:38 AMYour notion is fab and would work wonders in a range of applications. Real world experience trumps anything you could get from a class.
The idea that colleges turn out folks who can actually function in the world has always been a puzzle to me. Going to class and passing tests doesn't cut it.
Posted by: Tom Randolph at May 10, 2006 12:54 PMI agree with Tom to a certain extent. Classroom training is fine for a particular population or mindset. It has its place and is okay for passing along the tools of a particular trade. The gist of this discussion did not appear to be the tools, rather the application of those tools. Ability in a given area cannot be taught, it remains inherent within the individual. If the individual uses the tools learned in the classroom (or an apprenticeship) and does not have the ability to think beyond the basics or grow from experience, then all the training in the world, no matter where obtained, is going to produce a functioning, productive worker.
Posted by: Diane Catanzaro at May 11, 2006 07:30 AMThis can be easily explained...There is no loyalty remaining in corporate America.
Neither companies nor employees hold any loyalty to one another. So why spend all the money necessary to train an apprentice only to see that investment leave for greener pastures.
Posted by: Martin Vrieze at May 15, 2006 06:33 AMI'm very glad you brought up this issue. There is, of course, no blanket answer, but I think we need to consider the two primary aspects of education in general...teaching and learning. For most ITers I think that 1. They CAN learn from a book (compared to most people) and 2. they don't usually make good teachers (usually from a lack of communication and interpersonal skills). ITers are typically left-brained and good teachers are usually right-brained, hence the lack of a straight-forward teaching/mentoring/apprenticeship idiom for IT learning.
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