Monthly Archives: November 2009

Tuesday at the PASS Community Summit

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Today was the first official day of the full (3-day) conference, with about 2,200 full conference attendees. Officially, PASS claims there are 2,998 registrations from 46 countries, but that number includes pre- and post-con attendees (who are also attending the full conference), plus Microsoft employees.

As you might expect, the Seattle Convention Center was packed with DBAs all wearing their orange and brown lanyards with their attendee badge, many carrying bags of swag they picked up from the various vendors attending the conference.

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What Do You Do When Your Employer Doesn’t Want to Support Your DBA Career?

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At the 2009 PASS Community Summit, I have gotten the opportunity to talk to many DBAs, and to find out about what it is like to work for their organizations. In my book, How to Become an Exceptional DBA, and in many of my presentations, I highly recommend DBAs get as much training as they can so that they can stay at the top of their game; and to also get involved in the SQL Server Community as much as possible, such as posting in forums, speaking at user group meetings, writing articles, blogging, or whatever most interests them. I feel these two activities, among many others, can help enhance one’s career.

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Monday at the 2009 PASS Community Summit

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Monday at the 2009 PASS Community Summit, for the most part, was reserved for pre-conference sessions, Microsoft Customer Insider sessions, and lots of meetings for the many people who put the Summit together. Monday evening, on the other hand, was devoted to networking and relaxing, with the PASS Welcome Reception and Quiz Bowl, the insider party sponsored by SQLServerCentral.com, and many other informal parties and get-togethers.

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2009 PASS Community Summit Registration Starts Out Strong

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Registration for the 2009 PASS Community Summit started out strong with many attendees registering early the Sunday evening before the Summit’s commencement. What really surprised me was seeing so many familiar faces so soon. Lots of attendees were already catching up with each other and networking, even before the event officially starts. In fact, I had to turn down several dinner invitations because I couldn’t be at the same place at the same time. I have a feeling that this entire week will be more of the same: too much to do, and too little time. Below are a few snapshots of some of the attendees I saw when I registered.

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Attendees are greeted with colorful signs as they enter the 4th floor of the Seattle Convention Center.

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