Tutorial 4: IT Computer Careers Data Warehouse/ Data Architect Professional

When reviewing the list of computer careers in lesson 15, I discovered that one of the most challenging and rewarding IT careers with very good growth potential was not listed. It is one of the IT careers where excellent business skills are as necessary as excellent technical skills. It is Data Warehouse/ Data Architecture Professional

According to Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_architect) some of the duties of a data architect or data warehouse designer are
• Logical Data modeling
• Physical Data modeling
• Development of a data strategy and associated polices
• Selection of capabilities and systems to meet business information needs
• Data Analysis Capabilities using SQL (Structures Query Language)

Data Professionals are also called upon to create or manage a Data Strategy. (including data best practices, metadata repositories, data retention policies and data stewardship.)


Below is a sample of a Data model and as SQL Data Analysis Query:



Sample SQL for Data Analysis


An original work by Theresa Fortnash



Sample Physical Data Model


An original work by Theresa Fortnash



With the exponential growth in all kinds of electronic data, the demand for professionals that can turn data into information is expanding. If you type in Data Warehouse or Data Architect in to Monster.com (http://jobsearch.monster.com/search/data-architect_5) you will find hundreds of very well paying jobs


Results
245 Data Architect jobs matched your search
706 Data Warehouse jobs matched your search

There is an important caveat. Almost all jobs in Data Architecture or data Warehousing require years of prior IT experience with large data systems.
(http://jobsearch.monster.com/search/data-architect_5)


An Excellent source for Networking, training and certifications for Data Professionals are:
The Data Washhouse Institute (http://tdwi.org/) (TDWI)
DAMA International (http://www.dama.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1)

Both organization have annual conventions and have regional chapters.

There are also certification available that can enhance your marketability as a Data Professional:

DAMA Certified Data Management Professional Certification Program (CDMP) (http://www.dama.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3399)
- Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP)
DAMA sponsored vendor-independent professional certification/designation. There are two levels of certification: Practitioner and Mastery level. This certification program has been offered by DAMA since 1993. The ICCP manages the delivery of the CDMP certification for DAMA.
Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP)
(http://www.dama.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3365#ICCP)
- Certified Computing Professional (CCP)
When taking the CDMP you can also look into this certification.

I have been working as a Data Professional for over 15 of my 25 years in Information Technology. I would recommend this path for anyone considering a career in IT.

Secure Email Project

Secure E-mail was a fun project and has given me a fun new tool for e-mail. I plan on continuing to use the Thunderbird e-mail. The only real issue I encountered the forwarding issue. I had my UF email forwarded to my home e-mail as that is the one a I check several times a day. When Dr. Means replied to my encrypted e-mail it was automatically forwarded to my home account so I had to turn off forwarding and have her resend the e-mail. Bow that I have thunderbird installed, I will probably not turn forwarding back on as it is quite easy for me to see my UF mail.

INBOX





Data Security


Data Security is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I did a presentation for SEEMUG ( Southeast Erwin Modelers Users Group) a few years back where to topic was data as an asset to be protected and the case study I used was TJX (TJ Max and their subsidiaries) This link http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2007/012207-bradner.html is an good primer article about the event. The author, Scott Bradner, of Network World gives a cursory explanation of the PCI (Payment Card Industry) security standards. The main point in the article is that there were 3 parties that share responsibility for a breach that is believed to have compromised over 40 million credit card numbers at an estimated cost of 7.2 billion dollars in damages. The author believes that the thieves of commission were the actual people that breached TJX’s non-compliant network and stole the numbers. But, he believe that there is also equal blame for the extremely lax network and data security employed by TJX and the lax enforcement by Fifth Third Bank, TJX’s acquiring bank. The acquiring back is the back that secures the funds for TJX from the credit card transaction and is the entity, according to the PCI standard, that is responsible for insuring compliance. Since the breach in 2006, most large companies have taken many extra precautions to insure that all PCI specification are met. At the company I work for, twice a year, I review all data warehouse databases to insure that there is no sensitive data stored in any of the reporting databases.