Being a Professional
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Being a Professional
Working in IT, most of us are white collar, career individuals that take pride in our work. However being a professional is more than just doing a good job in what you're asked. It's more than going to work everyday, getting things done as they were asked for and on time.
Being a professional in many white collar occupations also includes giving back to the community, participating in professional organizations, and in general going above and beyond. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, all usually support their professional organization (IEEE, AMA, ABA, etc.) and help in the community with pro bono, or unpaid work.
Late last week Andy and I went to meet with the Professional Association of SQL Server board on a few issues to see where we could work together. Afterwards we all went to dinner and spent a bunch of time discussing how PASS could grow and become a more useful and desirable organization for the SQL Server community. I think it's a little sad that only about 7,000 of the over 100,000 MSDBAs are members of PASS. I know it's not for everyone, but I'd think that most DBAs would join and support the organization, but that's another topic.
However that's not what this editorial is about. It was brought to my attention that a number of very capable and talented SQL Server DBAs, some MVP's and some not, were bad mouthing PASS for a very simple reason.
PASS doesn't pay them
These individuals wanted to be paid to come speak at the PASS Summit, which is in Seattle this November. They wanted to be compensated for their time when no one else is. The PASS board works hard to maintain this organization and run the conference
FOR FREE.
Volunteers, including the leaders of over 80 chapters, work on supporting PASS and trying to help other DBAs
FOR FREE.
Many DBAs and developers around the country submit presentations and while they get a conference admission, they get time off from work and come to give back to the community, including spending nights and weekends getting their presentations together.
FOR FREE.
Apparently some MVPs and others think they're above helping the community, at least for free.
It's ridiculous in my opinion and I think if they don't want to give back to the community, then don't. Stay away from PASS and we don't need you. I've met many wonderful and talented people who haven't written a book, answered 1,000 posts, or done anything else to get their name out there, but they give great presentations and they work hard.
So support PASS, join, get your company to join, go to the conference, or go to a local user group once in awhile. I know you can learn more elsewhere, but giving back to the community is important and a part of being a professional.
Steve Jones
PS: We are a for-profit company and we do receive a referral fee for everyone that registers with the conference using our code. We also spend all of that money on our Tuesday night reception. All of it.
If you haven't been, check out the report from last year. We had money left over Tuesday afternoon, so the three of us had a $2000+ shopping trip to find more prizes to give away. It's one of the ways we give back to the community.
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Thanks.
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Hey Steve,
I understand your frustration. Running an organisation that does not charge a membership fee and provides good service is changeling. You're doing good work!
I disagree with your assessment of MVP's in general. I get a lot of good advise and pointers from them on various forums and blogs. I could be wrong, but I don't believe they are paid for providing this service.
However, I have a question for you:
As a recognised professional in the SQL world, how many conferences have you spent hours or even days preparing for, purchased airline tickets, paid for a hotel including cabs and car rental, and spoken at in the past year (excluding those hosted, sponsored, or endorsed by your employer):
FOR FREE
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If you examine the nationality the 100,000 MCDBA's, a lot of them probably live outside the US. I am a South African, living in London, and while the conference fee is a quarter of my monthly salary in Pounds, it is a full month's salary in South African Rands (ZAR). The airline ticket from Cape Town to Seattle is almost as much as the conference itself.
Many South African MCDBA's would love to come to PASS, but they simply cannot not afford it - they go instead to the annual Technet conference in Sun City (Johannesburg).
These conferences are great for those who live in the Northern Hemisphere, but the rest of the world sadly gets left out.
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Steve,
There are 100,000 MSDBAs, but I don't think you count a lot of good DBAs that don't take the exams. There are a lot more SQL server DBA out there. I think only MSDBAs are qualified to go to the conference.
Secondly, with company tight budget, sending a person to a conference causes a lof of money. Even you pay for everything, the company loses a person to work for a week ! To company, company work is much more important than attending a conference !!
Just my 2 cents.
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Bah! PASS is not a "Professional" association - its simply a personal networking and vendor spruiking opportunity!
Where's the expression on required standards of members behaviour and ethics, sanctions for malpractice, etc, like one sees with the Medical profession?
Cripes, its just like every other IT body where the word professional is abused to try and give statue to a bunch of uncontrolled geeks operating on an "all care, no responsibility" basis!
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I have to agree with the comments ont he price of the conference. Being a DBA on the east coast and trying to figure a way to get my employer to pay for my travel and the registration fee for the PASS Conference is very difficult $1600 is a bit steep. For a 4 day ColdFusion Conference (CF United) you could spend as little as $650 if you registered early.
I understand they need to have Money to rent the hall and everything else that goes into the summit, I just wish it was a bit more affordable. As a governement employee and former Small business Employee neither my current employer or any of my previous ones thought that spending that much for a conference was warranted, when they could get a week long class for about the same price or less.
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Hi,
The reason people are complaining is because there is a conference cost to attend.
If the conference was free, they probably wouldn't complain.
Since you charge money, top professionals ( a lot of them anyway ) feel they should have a piece of it, if they are helping to make it happen.
Not that I agree, or disagree, but I understand what they are thinking.
Just my two cents,
John
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Interesting comments all. My thoughts on some of them:
- It's not about whether MVP's are paid (they are not), but whether PASS should pay speakers or stick with their current model of seeking volunteers from thoughout the profession to speak/contribute to their profession. Just like being an MVP, there are some non-cash benefits to speaking at a conference - something to add to your resume and plenty of exposure to people that may hire you after seeing you speak.
- You're right that PASS needs to grow into a more complete organization. It's run by volunteers and change seems to come slowly, but it does happen. One of the commitments Steve & I made at the meeting he references was to provide our thoughts on the changes we would like to see made. We'll definitely be looking at comments made here and seeing if there are additional items that we think should be added to our document. I will say it is and always has been run by the best and nicest of people. They give freely of their time and while PASS may not be what either you or I wish it to be, I respect that they are putting a lot of effort into it for no compensation.
- I've never been unhappy with the conference, or the price of the conference. Conferences are different than classes. Not better or worse, just different. Conferences energize me in a way that classes never do. But that's something for each of us to decide and really no different than deciding whether we will attend the Agile Conference, TechEd, or VSLive.
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Thanks for the comments and I agree that the conferences are expensive. Lots of people go every other year and still others rarely get to go. However they are a good way to learn that's different than a classroom training class.
On the cost, there are a few things you can do. One is that right after the conference and usually through the end of the year, the cost is like 1/2 price. If you can get the budget, or plan for it, it's a good deal. You learn things, network, and bring some new, fresh ideas back to work. You have to convince your employer of that.
It's also a bit of a perk since it's it's not that intensive. The days are long and I know I'm exhausted by the end of each day, but I've met lots of people, heard new ideas, and my mind is really sparked with new ideas.
As far as the professionals. I've spoken at a couple conferences and spent days preparing. I just don't like speaking that much. But Brian and Andy spend hours preparing slide decks, going over their presenatations, and I spent time reviewing stuff and helping.
There's a cost of time and effort and if you plan to speak at the conference, you agree to do it. You don't need to get paid.
I think most MVP's are great. They're great professionals that have worked to help the community. But there are a few bad apples making noise about not getting their "cut" and that isn't right in my opinion.
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According to dictionary.com, the word professional, when used as a noun, means:
1. A person following a profession, especially a learned profession
2. One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation
3. A skilled practitioner; an expert
DBA’s fall under all of these definitions, so there is NO abuse of the use of this word as claimed by the (apparently disgruntled) Frank Hamersley. If he is so upset that there is no ethics statement (and I wouldn't know if there is one or not, I haven't researched that), I nominate him as the person to write up and provde one (FOR FREE!)
Steve, thanks for updating us on PASS and how it works behind the scenes. I can understand why some people think they should be paid to present - especially if they are contractors, working for themselves - it's lost income to them. However, I'm with you in believing that they should consider giving back to the community, and I wonder how many of them have used the free tips and tricks they got from others to make their money. It would be nice if presenters got at least free registration, and even travel expenses, if/when the PASS budget allows.
For those who bad-mouth PASS for not paying them, this is my suggestion - instead of bad-mouthing a volunteer organization, maybe you should spend you time encouraging others to become members - maybe with increased membership EVERYONE could get paid at least a stipend.
You can add that to the bank as my 2 cents worth.
Here there be dragons...,Steph Brown
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I don't know about those who are presenting, but I submitted an offer to speak at the conference, which was declined. I got a mail from PASS recently, thanking me for the application and offering a substantially reduced conference fee as an acknowledgement, so they do do something for those who offer to present.
Hopefully enough that my company will consider letting me go.
Wayne, you're right about the cost for the South Africans. The full conference fee would be around R13000, with current exchange rate, and the flight to Seattle is around R11000. Also, it's a 22 hour flight from Johannesburg to Seattle.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverabilityWe walk in the dark places no others will enter
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Another good way to cut down on the price is to volunteer. Many times PASS gives discounts to it's volunteer's to thank them for there support. Not to mention anyone that want's to complain about what PASS is doing has the ability to get in and volunteer and make a difference. It is slow moving and doesn't always change the way you want but you have a voice and an opinion. If you don't like how the organization is run then you have the power to make suggestions and help to change it.
Personally I think that if the MVP does speaking for a living then yes they should seek out where they can be paid for it. But I think PASS should continue there policy of comping the conference price for anyone that speaks.
-Pat
Pat Wright
Dba -
Steve,
Pass is for SQL Server DBA, architect and developers, but all you talked about just DBA. I just went to another conference from TDWI for data warehouse users. I learnt a lot from that conference, one thing was very different about that conference. Each session was either 1 full day 9 to 5 or half a day 9 to 12, 1 to 5. They also helped to you to find which session was good for you. Each session would show who would benefit from it, either DBAs, developers, business analysts or architects. Each session speaker mostly was president or partner of consulting company. Those people actually did the work everyday. Each session provided us a book instead of a few pieces of paper, there were many heated conversation, dissusions in all the sessions that I attended. I really learnt a lot.
I am not saying PASS is bad, I went to other conference liked PASS. However sitting in a session for 1 - 2 hours really does not give me too much insight unless I am already familiar with the topics. But sitting in a session from 9 to 5, it really helped me to learn something new. Even though they charged more, I thought I got more benefits.
Just my 2 cents.
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