This forum got me in trouble...

[Bigmo2u]

I feel your pain, the same happen to me about 2 years ago by just messing around and someone saw it turn into a huge project with me designing and developing it. I was one of the fools that knew nothing and didn't create Normalized DB it took me a few months for the light bulb to come on to whatever one was telling me on this site.

I am now in college finishing up my degree for CIS and learning as I go. learning the code or how to write code was the hardest for me. This site has saved me numerous time and thankful to everyone on here for taking the time to help.

The best books or ways to find the best books for your need is the library and then you know what you are getting before you buy. Just a thought.

 

[Sprawl]

tell me about it! I started here 3 years ago as billing clerk. I decided in my spare time to write access reports that will help me get payroll and billing information out of the cumbersome, stupid and quite frankly hard to use front end.

I then moved on to create a PHP / MYSQL database in my spare time to do some extra tracking of information not even in the payroll / billing system. Tied it all together with an access database.

Then management saw it

I'm now Database Coordinator. And i got to even pick my own title. Manager of Business Systems... or Manager of B.S. as i like to call myself.

full time now, I write reports, Access databases, Excell worksheets, PHP pages, MYSQL structures.

Sure is a lot better than being yelled at by clients for screwing up an invoice

 

[tehNellie]

That's pretty much how I ended up doing Access and SQl server administration. I only came here for a month, 2 years ago, to switch off a few system accounts.

 

[Villarreal68]

Thanks to all...

First i want to apologize for not responding sooner to all your posts. I had read all responses and was about to respond when a user issue came up and had to rush out. And for some reason I thought I had responded to it then, but obiously didn't.

I just wanted to thank everyone that answered to this thread. I appreaciate your comments and advice. By the way I have purchased some of the recommened books and am going through them as I have time.

I have so far created some small but decent db's that I would have not been able to create with out the help of this forum. There are a few helpful people that generoulsy provide time and energy to teach us newbies and this is greatly appreciated. I can only hope to be as knowledgable as they are so I can give back even if in a small portion what I've taken from here. I just thought I would let you all know that. Thanks!

René

 

[ajetrumpet]

Good luck to ya Rene,

glad to hear about the job. I didn't know this forum doubled as an employment agency...

 

[Banana]

Figure this is a good place as any to ask this:

I'm currently working toward MySQL certification, and did a quick search about getting some kind of credentials in Access. I wasn't very impressed with MOUS as it looked pretty basic to me, but there seems to be third party that offers presumably more rigorous certification in Access... Would any of you recommend such pursuit or can it be better sent somewhere such as MS SQL certificate or something?

TIA.

 

[Moniker]

Experience trumps credentials every time. I have lost count as to how many people have "credentials" that basically look okay on a wall and that's it. When it comes to a real-world situation, the experience wins almost every time. (This is not to downplay credentials and certifications and such. It's just that if that's all you have, it's not enough.)

That being said, an easier way for some people to really get the grasp of the fundamentals is to pick a topic you find interesting and do a DB concerning it. Obviously, you're not going to make a drawing program or a first person shooter or something with a DB, so think of something you want cataloged. Examples:

Your CD/MP3 collection
Your photos/movies
Your recipes

And so on. Pick something that can be organized like an address book since that's a very common example used in a lot of books. From there, and this is important, don't just start writing your DB. You'll end up rewriting it. Make 100% sure you get normalization and general design and theory principles (as many have said here).

Finally, as a little tip (and I know I've learned this the hard way), make sure the data is right before you design the front end (input forms, etc.). You can have the slickest, easiest-to-navigate form in the world, but if the data is wrong, then who cares. It's like having a car where the speedometer is wrong. It might be a $100K car with beautiful wood grain and leather and everything else. But, if the speedometer says you're going 60MPH and you get a ticket for going 90MPH, none of the bells and whistles matter. Yes, make simple forms to test your data, but don't go off on the "wouldn't it be cool if..." tangents until you know the foundation is solid.

 

[Banana]

Experience trumps credentials every time. I have lost count as to how many people have "credentials" that basically look okay on a wall and that's it. When it comes to a real-world situation, the experience wins almost every time. (This is not to downplay credentials and certifications and such. It's just that if that's all you have, it's not enough.)

I don't doubt it; I've had my share of people who were supposed to be renowned authority in X, but were consistently stymied by that poor sod who had no papers but had tough and callous hands to show for it.

My reason for taking certification path (actually workshops training toward certifcations) is simply because I want to and because I like to have an opportunity to interact with other like-minded people for a short while and maybe learn something from them. Heck, that's why I'm a regular here!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

On a narrower topic than general use of Access, I have been working through a book I found on a "cheapy" rack.

Access 2003 VBA - Programmer's Reference by Cardoza, Hennig, Seach, and Stein, under the WROX imprimatur, but a product of Wiley Interscience. ISBN is 0-7645-5903-6

It is very detailed, even covering topics for collections and applications objects. It also has a chapter on client/server apps. As I mentioned, it is a narrow-focus text, probably heavy enough to count as a deadly weapon capable of stupefying all who read it. But it has some good stuff in it. Also some "ho-hum" -but heck, there's not a book out there that DOESN'T have some fractional proportion of gold to poop.

 

[ajetrumpet]

hey Banana,

I've worked with quite a few people that occupy positions they're really not qualified for. Coincidentally though, they all have gotten these certifications you hear about. It's not my place to say this but I'll say it anyway; its a waste of time and money.
Most of the people I've worked with are certified in memorization, not working knowledge.