This post is for anyone looking to gain an insight into the world of a SQL Server professional or thinking of applying for a position within the Dedicated Support Team here at Coeo. Let me start by explaining what we do within the Dedicated Support Team; we provide a proactive monitoring service that works alongside our customers’ current DBA teams, that is, if they have one. If they don’t, we step up and become their DBA team. Our in-depth and bespoke monitoring system alerts us to a whole array of SQL Server issues, ranging from a simple job failure all the way through to database corruption and that dreaded P1 incident.

Our work is ticket based, but, in my opinion that’s a plus; you could start your day looking into why a database transaction log grew the previous night which lead to a disk space issue. You could end your day looking into that T-SQL script that a customer has reported to be running slower than normal. What I’m trying to get at is, because we support a wide range of SQL environments, the SQL Server issues that you encounter every day can be so diverse that you’ll never tire, and if you love to expand on your SQL Server knowledge, the Dedicated Support Team might be the place for you!

Coeo invests heavily in the development of its SQL Server professionals, be it through access to learning sites such as Pluralsight, in-house development sessions, and to external SQL gatherings such as User Groups, SQL Saturdays, and of course SQL Bits. Every week, we all get a half a day of personal development which most of us choose to use for study for the SQL Server-related MCSA and MCSE exams, which, might I add, the cost of which is covered by Coeo. In my experience, the best type of development is hands on, and if you don’t understand something I can guarantee that someone within Coeo will know the answer and be willing to share their understanding with you, which is something you wouldn’t normally find within your average DBA team.

Moving onto a more broader aspect, there are plenty of non-SQL related activities that go on within Coeo. There’s the annual Ski trip, Summer BBQ, regular off-site activities within our teams, the Golf society and even a film club! So, even outside of Coeo there’s plenty going on to keep you entertained.

I hope this has given you the insight you need into life at Coeo, and if you have any specific questions about working here or about the Dedicated Support team, please feel free to drop us a comment below.