This month’s T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Malathi Mahadevan. Our topic comes during the PASS Summit, a SQL event filled with learning, networking, and the #SQL Family! So it is only fitting that our topic is regarding learning and education. Thank you Malathi for hosting this month and for the great topic!
The topic is to pick one thing that is not SQL Server that we want to or already know. How do we or did we learn this skill and how do we add it to our resume?
Something that interests me is analytics, big data, machine learning, and deep learning. Python and R are some of the leading languages that are integrated into SQL Server making it an easy choice for a topic I would love to learn and add to my resume.
I feel like the IT world is changing and so is the world of data. Many things are becoming automated and administration is turning more into architectural design instead of the administrative world we once knew. We’re going to need to start changing the way we think about data.
How would I learn Python though? I have made some C# text-based video games and C# objects in SSIS / DTS, but my programming experience is pretty lackluster in comparison to my SQL / Powershell skills.
It’s important to learn how to learn. Finding a teacher or teaching material that has shown successful results will help create a path for success. So the first thing I’ll look for is a community with solid suggestions. Here are some of the ones I’ve found that I will utilize to learn Python.
Reddit /r/LearnProgramming Wiki
Reddit /r/LearnPython Wiki Page
These two pages give me a solid start to find additional communities and make suggestions to begin learning Python. As you study and grow, it’s important to branch out to more sources for varied opinions and ways of doing things. You don’t want to become so ingrained in a single resource because your educational diversity WILL empower you to become better.
I would structure my learning with 40% of my time based on curriculum learning. The book Learn Python the Hard Way is where I’d start and it would outline a beginning path for me. Once I’ve completed the work course, I would do a little research to see what other folks suggest for continued study.
The other 40% of my time would be spent on creating something meaningful to me. It’s important to build your foundations and the curriculum learning helps establish that. Most importantly though, it’s necessary that you are doing something that gives you meaning that you find useful and/or fun. Creating something that achieves a task on the side is a great way to build your knowledge in a swiss cheese fashion that keeps you interested and motivated.
This leaves us with 20% left which I prefer to spend in a lighter manner. I take breaks throughout my day studying accounting for that remaining time. This time can be reading forums, question/answer sites, talking on discord, reading articles, or even listening to podcasts or watching videos. This is just free time to learn however I want to, which can help alleviate some stress of banging your head against the wall.
It’s also important to note that most of this time spent studying is broken across the week. Typically in one hour a day, two or three times a week and one longer session on the weekend that is around two or three hours.
The work itself is not that hard, it’s the dedication to be consistent that is challenging. It doesn’t matter if I have to read the same page 20 times to really understand what is happening. It matters that I keep trying UNTIL I understand and continue practicing. As for when to add it to the resume, I would say whenever you have work that you can showcase on your Github. Anything that shows you are working to improve yourself can go a long way.
