Careers database design question

[Annie]

Hello -

Can anyone provide some guidance on how to get started
creating a database that matches job seekers' information
(such as interests) with possible career choices?

I need help basically from the ground up...for example,
what tables should I create, what fields do I need in the
tables and which fields should I link together? I would
like to have job seekers enter their information,
including interests, and then have those interests serve
as "keywords" that would match up with careers and return
those results on a form.

I know this is a lot to ask, without a lot of specific
information, but any help just to get me started would be
appreciated. I'm a beginner trying to muddle through
this.

Thanks.

Annie

 

[tina]

Annie, you need to learn the basics of table design/normalization and table
relationships. once you do, you'll be the best person to answer your
questions, because you know more about the "real world" entities you want to
model than you can hope to put in a newsgroup post.

to learn table normalization and relationships, one good manual is Database
Design for Mere Mortals, by Michael Hernandez. you can also google table
normalization, there are a lot of articles, etc. out there. once you
understand the concepts, you'll know how to set up your
tables/relationships. then you can post specific questions for any issues
you're having trouble with, and you're likely to get good advice (that you
understand) from lots of experienced developers.

as a beginner, your first inclination will be to skip all that "boring
stuff", and it will be your first mistake - the same mistake that a whole
lot of beginners make. if you don't learn to build tables/relatonships
correctly now, you'll definitely learn later - as you struggle to fix all
the problems caused by poor structure - and it'll take you ten times as long
to build a database that works and gives you the results you want.

hth