Why am I attending the PASS Summit?
As I type this, I’m on AA flight 439, seat 8A hurtling through the sky hundreds of miles an hour in a pressurized metal tube. Tight quarters in here, but it’s a window seat that I picked…so still a win. 4 hour flight, direct from DFW to Seattle.
As a contractor, I don’t get paid for the three and a half days I’m using for Summit and travel. I also paid my own way for Summit registration, flight, hotel, shuttles, parking, food, entertainment…even a couple of decks of cards for Thursday’s game night should there not be enough. Oh…and a kilt. Because Grant Fritchey and more importantly the Women In Tech cause.
So again…why shell out the cash?
Because I am 48 years old. If I don’t keep fresh on the new technologies that makes me a dinosaur, relegated to taking care of the old legacy SQL Server that nobody dares to touch. Its SQL 2000 now…but SQL 2016 will also be ancient someday. I expect to be working until 60. Probably more.
If I don’t attend events like this and learn, the new technologies will go flying past me and I’ll have to chase things down on the fly (like I’m doing now with PoSH). I have a bad hip…not allowed to run!
If I don’t learn to exploit the goodness that is the cloud (which I am currently flying in) or Hekaton or the underpinnings of virtualization…I’m toast.
I’m not worried about some hotshot junior DBA taking my job. I want them to try. I’ll even help them through mentoring or team leadership. I have 18 years in, and that puts me at the top of a lot of candidate stacks.
As long as I keep up.
Why Summit?
There are webinars, SQL Saturdays, MVC classes, Twitter, blogs galore and hundreds of other places to learn things that are all a whole lot cheaper.
BUT…nowhere else can you gather all of that in one place. Add in more choices of learning such as BI, Professional development and SQL Development (I’m a pure admin)…and it gets even better.
Even more…when the best of the best are crawling all over each other to pay their own way to come and present at this event, and learn from each other…you know it’s the number one SQL training event in the world.
Add in the networking opportunities! Between sessions, at meals, after parties, community zones, luncheons, breakfasts…if you can’t make a friend and meet people here you might want to reach out of your comfort zone and say hello to the person next to you. But if not…that’s ok too. I’m an introvert as well, so I get it.
I went to Summit 2008 and suffered from information overload. Now that I have recovered, its time for a return visit. The investment dollars pale in comparison to the future dollars in income that will likely grow organically out of being here.
I’ve been like a kid waiting for Christmas the last few days. Figuratively jumping up and down as the time to board got closer (remember…bad hip…no literal jumping). My teammates back at the office all say hi! And they are glad to be rid of me for a few days I suspect.
So as I hurtle along, playing armrest games with 8B, I’m excited. On Saturday I expect to be exhausted but happy.
Why are you at Summit? Why didn’t you come? Can you come next year?
Comments encouraged below!
Kevin3NF
The OnPurpose DBA
