Speaking at my first conference.

Recently I had the opportunity to speak at DATA:Scotland. It was my first time speaking at a conference where I presented my session on Guillotines, Sat-Nav and the Query Optimiser. During my time there I met quite a few people who were interested in speaking too but hadn't quite yet made the jump, so I thought I'd try and use a blog post to give people a helpful nudge.

Firstly, although this was my first conference I did get the opportunity to speak at a couple of local(ish) user groups beforehand. This was ideal because I could try out the session in front of a very friendly crowd and get a lot of instant feedback too. I could also get a feel for some of the bits that worked and some of the bits that didn't. 

I'd also read a lot about public speaking but in truth when it comes to actual delivery style I guess that's just develops (or is constantly developing) quite naturally. For me I throw in quite lot of humour into my session which helps me break the ice with the audience and build a rapport with them, but that is something that fits my personality and works for me. I guess if I try to be or present as someone else then it's probably not going to work.

I also try to speak about topics that I am really interested in, it sounds obvious but it's also true. I'm quite happy to talk about the query optimiser because I really enjoy the inner workings of SQL Server, particularly around optimisation. Ask me to talk about merge replication and a session will be totally different, or more than likely non-existent!  

Practice is key. Another rather obvious bit of wisdom but another that is also completely true. I would go over parts in the car, in the shower, in my sleep and to my rehearsal audience of the dogs. For me it's about constantly tuning the delivery; what works, what doesn't sound right, would this slide be better over there, does this even make sense etc etc?! 

I'd also add that the practice doesn't end after delivery, I'm still very much making tweaks!

Having the support of DATA:Scotland was crucial. They provided me with a speaker mentor, Alex Yates, who provided some absolutely priceless insights into speaking and gave me some awesome advice on my session. After our first talk I genuinely was full of ideas because I was able to look at the session from an attendees perspective, something I hadn't really done. Now I had questions such as, "why is this useful to me?" or "how does this make me do my job better?" in mind when putting it all together.

Having the newcomer session option was a big nudge for me. I'm not even sure I would have submitted a session without it and genuinely I think it's brilliant. Not only did I have a superb mentor but there was also a couple of web sessions on presenting. Also, being introduced as a new speaker at the conference helped too, it didn't feel like I was plunging into the deep end as much!  

There's loads more and I'll definitely write more about the experience but what I will say/write is that just before I went into the room I told myself that never again would I be experiencing speaking at a conference for the first time again. This was it and I needed to immerse myself in the experience, nerves and all, as much as I could. I like to think I did just that and as such it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

It's also rather addictive. 

If you are wondering about it then reach out to the community, local user group or even me, I'm more than happy to share my experience of speaking and give any advice that I can (though wisdom may be rather limited).

In the defence of certification.

The usefulness of IT certification is a constant question and I don't actually think there's a definitive answer just lots of opinions, here's a couple:

https://www.scarydba.com/2019/08/26/certifications-are-a-bonus-not-a-path-to-employment/

https://itsalljustelectrons.blogspot.com/2017/04/Certified-And-Inexperienced-The-Kiss-Of-Death.html

Here's mine:

Certification is very useful.

Now I totally get why many people see them as surplus (or a bonus). I've met so many talented and highly skilled IT pros who don't have a single cert to their name and it has to be said that I've also met a few people who have an abundance of certs that haven't quite necessarily lived up to them.

There's also the age old problem of certification not equating to real-life experience, which is absolutely a fair point. At the end of the day you just cannot substitute actually doing the job, but does make certification a waste of time?

I honestly don't believe so. Although I only have one SQL related cert to my name (well I did but then it expired shortly after William the Conqueror took the helm) it proved to be an extremely valuable thing to have early on my career when it undoubtedly got me through the door to a few interviews where it was always mentioned (and subsequently led to my first "proper" DBA job).

Now it would be easy to ask that if they were that useful then why did I never take any more? In all honesty until recent times I've never really needed to but now with the emergence of so many new technologies I've hit the studying again. Taking certification in unfamiliar technology is a great way to learn because of the structured path that it provides and let's not forget the sense of achievement in actually gaining certification in something that has often started from very little knowledge.

I use the word achievement because gaining a cert really isn't easy, providing you do it in the right way. It takes hours upon hours of repeated studying, practice, not to mention an exam at the end of it which isn't everyone's favourite activity! Unfortunately though there are some short cuts available and there are people that take them but there's absolutely miles between someone who has taken a cert properly and someone who hasn't and that shouldn't devalue what certification stands for - that's not fair.

I've been on the other side of the interview table many times. For me certification really stands out and I can fully appreciate the efforts that people have taken to get it, and what it really means to them. I've interviewed people that are really trying hard to get into a role but they lack the significant experience but they've done the exam(s) to at least try to prove that they want to do it and for me that stands for a lot because I think it shows a great deal about the person, it's not just the cert.

Some people that I have met also take the certification path because they do stand for a certain level of expertise. I've seen more experienced people be very dismissive of certs, just like the MCTS which was the one I had. In fact I saw a whole social media conversation on that very subject shortly after I got mine. That really sucked because I think the point was missed; alright, I was in no way an expert (neither would I make out to be) but I'd learnt a lot, from nothing and at that time I had something to show for my efforts.

Like I said at the beginning, there is no definitive answer because many people haven't needed them and just as many have found them extremely useful. They don't substitute real world experience but then you can't really compare the two, they're completely different things but certification helps people get there, that, based on my own experience is the most beneficial factor.