50+ Things Every Data Geek Should Do Before They Die...

In no particular order, here's a list of things I believe each and every Data Geek should try to accomplish/do during their tenure as Data Geek...

Work on a Merger and Acquisition team (you want to do WHAT in 40 days?)

Manage Data Analysts

Manage Database Administrators

Never give up trying to make things better - even when your told to

Write a book

Write a blog

Join a club

Experience a software roll-out “under cover” - “eating your own dog food” is a very humbling experience

Give a bonus/raise

Receive a bonus/raise

Write a job description

Hire new employees

Fire an employee (builds character, very humbling experience)

Learn about Data Quality and Data Governance

Implement some sort of Data Quality and Data Governance program - having something in place is WAY better than nothing

Profile a database table using a really cool data profiling tool

Monitor a database table for issues using a really cool data monitoring tool

Argue with a Software Developer about hibernate (Object Relational Mapping software)

Convert a database from one platform to another (preferably something to Oracle[still my favorite]!)

Build a very large database schema (think hundreds of tables, all tied together like spaghetti)

Build a table which will hold a billion records (someone out there owes me a steak dinner for one I built a few years ago, you know who you are...)

Get in a good fight (argument) with a Business Analyst, Marketing Person or some other person who “just doesn’t get it”

Write a report using your companies BI tool (another humbling experience for DBAs, Data Architects and Managers)

Merge duplicate records in a table & determine column level survivor-ship rules

Estimate a database byte size one/two/three years from now, and circle back to see how close you where...

Be asked “can you build me some reports” and answer “sure, what would you like” and hear back “I don’t know, just some reports”

Feel like crying when reading a Dilbert because it’s sooo damn true sometimes...

Experience a great offshore engagement

Experience a not-so-good offshore engagement

Help a random person

Ask for help from someone you don’t know (another humbling experience)

Ask for help from someone you don’t like (another humbling experience)

Befriend an Executive (or two)

Befriend a software vendor, small vendors love “good customers”

Try out Oracle’s analytic functions

Understand that most people don’t really know what terms like “data quality”, “data governance”, “data modeling” and “data mining” really mean

Present at a conference - even if you’re an introvert or shy

Introduce yourself to someone you think you’d like to meet (again, go against your natural instinct of being an introvert)

Write a journal - some thoughts are best kept to oneself

Learn to code - even DBAs and managers should (still) know how to do some coding, try something easy like PHP

Keep your resume up to date

Do some consulting (nights and weekends work), you’ll learn a ton

Volunteer

Mentor a junior staff member

Ask to a senior executive/manager to mentor you

Learn your companies business

Tune a random SQL statement

Do projects in a repeatable manner

Take a class in communication - we can always do a better job communicating

Learn to HATE PowerPoint - but recognize you have to use it anyway

Learn to HATE Excel - but recognize you have to use it anyway

Learn to write an Excel macro - very powerful, very underutilized

Learn to HATE Microsoft Access - but recognize some folks have to use it anyway

Tag along with a sales person from your company on a sales call

Build a prototype

Be part of an “A-Team”

Be part of a “B-Team” and still succeed - sometimes one does not get to be teamed up with all the best people, but you still need to succeed anyway

Have an elevator speech - a few interesting sentences ready for when you meet someone

Last but no least...

Be passionate in everything you do. People who seem disinterested in what they are doing are dis-interesting, it’s that simple

Until next time...Rich