I don't do.....

[Diestl]

Sorry to say this but there are going to be some very unlucky people who will be benched for well over a year during this down turn.

Set yourself targets for each day. Doesn't matter how small - winking, winking, winking, winking, bit of winking, winking etc etc etc. Try to feel that you have accomplished something each day.

FTFY.

[Ruse]

Maybe its the skillset, .NET has never left me wanting.

No doubt that is a big factor. My primary skill set centres around Sybase which is pretty much limited to IB and those guys just haven't been hiring until recently. With .NET you have a far wider potential client list than me and also across multiple sectors.

[DimPrawn]

No doubt that is a big factor. My primary skill set centres around Sybase which is pretty much limited to IB and those guys just haven't been hiring until recently. With .NET you have a far wider potential client list than me and also across multiple sectors.

Surely if you are a Sybase expert, the learning curve to also include being a SQL Server 2008 guru is not that great.

Get yourself trained up on SQL Server 2008 and get the certs.

[rsingh]

Read this thread http://forums.contractoruk.com/gener...sing-gown.html. It should kill a few hours

[Ruse]

Surely if you are a Sybase expert, the learning curve to also include being a SQL Server 2008 guru is not that great.

Get yourself trained up on SQL Server 2008 and get the certs.

Already doing that even though I'm not convinced of the value of the Certs, but I suppose if they get you interviews they're worth doing.

[DimPrawn]

Already doing that even though I'm not convinced of the value of the Certs, but I suppose if they get you interviews they're worth doing.

I reckon it is worth doing. Better than ing into a sock.

[rsingh]

Already doing that even though I'm not convinced of the value of the Certs, but I suppose if they get you interviews they're worth doing.

I can recommend the value of the certs. If anything, they;ll give you an idea of some of the features that you may not have been too aware of. Are you doing the developer, DBA or BI track?

[Ruse]

I can recommend the value of the certs. If anything, they;ll give you an idea of some of the features that you may not have been too aware of. Are you doing the developer, DBA or BI track?

I'm doing the SQL2008 DBA track, it's a very dry topic when you're sitting at home with a book and BOL going through it, looked into training but they wanted about 3K for the certification course.

[rsingh]

I did the developer track with a training company. It took three days but I had the advantage of having worked with various versions of the product for the last 10 years. It cost 2.5k but it was worth it. It meant less bench time for me.

One of the guys on the course had done the DBA track the previous week and found it very intense and dificult. He didn't think that he'd have been able to do it on his own (studying on his own time in the evenings).

The certs will be worth it, as you need to differentiate yourself from the crowd in the current climate. Recruiters are still quite impressed by an MS cert logo on cvs. It has a little visual impact that will help your cv stand out from the scores of identikit cvs that they may receive.

[Ruse]

I did the developer track with a training company. It took three days but I had the advantage of having worked with various versions of the product for the last 10 years. It cost 2.5k but it was worth it. It meant less bench time for me.

One of the guys on the course had done the DBA track the previous week and found it very intense and dificult. He didn't think that he'd have been able to do it on his own (studying on his own time in the evenings).

The certs will be worth it, as you need to differentiate yourself from the crowd in the current climate. Recruiters are still quite impressed by an MS cert logo on cvs. It has a little visual impact that will help your cv stand out from the scores of identikit cvs that they may receive.

Do you find clients mention your certification at interview or is it really just to help you get a foot in the door ?

I'd like to do the BI track also but I think that would be very tough as I haven't really touched on Analysis Services previously.