Education and Work

[Kerensky18]

Hello;

As I've stated I'm currently a student attending classes to earn a Database
Management certification through my local community college.. I have a few
questions and concerns that I would like to ask this community.

One if it's my goal to work as a database designer, manager and so on, what
should I do to continue my education (my class's end with an introduction to
sql and using sql and vb to interact with webpages.)?

Secondly what do I need to know to get started in the industry? I would ask
my profesor but he has not been much help. I had to use these forms to find
out how to do just a simple query. And now that he has started teaching us
SQL I'm very concerned I'm not going to learn enough. He doesn't seem to know
how to write code. And we have only done very basic things in access (I and
two other people out of the 6 person class are brining or concerns to the
dean.) He is good at doing ER Diagrams and it's what he dose in the industry.

So what other sources should I use to learn this information?

Thank you for reading my post and I appreciate any help you can give.

 

[Allen Browne]

That's quite a big question. As you have already discerned, there's quite a
lot to get to know in Access.

Different people learn different ways, so you will ultimately have to decide
whether you want to enrol in more advanced courses, buy books or videos on
development, track down local developers and get an internship, or whatever
suits your style. Ultimately, nothing can replace experience, so whatever
means you use to learn, just *do* it. Fiddle with stuff until you start to
get to know what works and what doesn't. That's how you really learn.

If you have never created relational databases before, I can't stress enough
about how important it is to grasp the relational concepts, i.e. what
relates to what. My guess is that this is what your lecturer is trying to
get through to you with all those ER diagrams. Getting the relationships
right is what makes or breaks a database project. Everything else is
subservient to that.

If you are looking for resources, here's a freebie to start with:
http://allenbrowne.com/casu-22.html
It consists of 8 PDFs that walk you through the basics.
The last one contains heaps more resources.
And here's a source for more tutorials, books, and other sources:
http://allenbrowne.com/links.html#Tutorials

Once you start to nail things down, you will have specific questions about
how to solve a particular issue, or which is the most efficient way to do
something. At that point, these Usenet groups are invaluable.

As for how to get started, do a couple of projects for yourself, friends, or
not-for-profit groups. Even though you are not being paid, you will learn an
invaluable amount, and also discover whether it fires you up or not. If you
are able to get workable results, you can demonstrate your usefulness.
Beyond that, it probably depends what openings exist where you live.

All the best for your future in Access.

 

[Jerry Whittle]

I teach Access at a local community college part time. The class teaches the
basics and is good enough for some students to realize what a database does
and how to use one. It's also a good start for someone who wants to get into
the field at a professional level. I sometimes get students like you who are
very interested in the subject; however, I'm constrained by the course
syllabus and the needs of all students in the class.

There are more advanced classes at the college for SQL and programming;
however, it you really want to get the proper "book" learning, you may need
to eventually attend a four year school.

I was self-taught and only later took college classes to have "paper" to
match my informal training. I've found that once past the initial job
interview, people are more interested in what you can do than college degrees.

Mr. Browne has given you some sage advice.