The Spotlight is on David Pascuzzi. Mr. Pascuzzi wrote some of our SQL Server DBA and Developer content.

RN: Please tell us a little about yourself.

PASCUZZI: In 18 years working in software development and operations, I have specialized in design, development, tuning, and support of database applications. I have filled various roles on projects from project lead, technical lead, data modeler, to production DBA. Over the past few years I have been involved with the sales, new business development, the management of technical teams, database design, and system engineering

RN: What interested you in writing ReviewNet tests?

PASCUZZI: I was interested in writing the ReviewNet test because there is a lot of uncertainty in the IT hiring process. I have also taken tests that other companies have internally developed, and I have found most of those test have not gone through a review and the internally developed test tend to be incomplete or wrong. The industry needs a competent complete test to evaluate the skills of prospects.

RN:How do you keep up with changing technologies and the latest trends in the IT industry?

PASCUZZI: One of the hardest challenges is to keep up with technology changes. The best way to keep up with the trends is to get tot work on interesting forward thinking projects. Since there are not enough of those postions out there, the next best way is to read and work on new technologies on your own time.

RN: What advice would you give to someone learning your discipline? Are there significant barriers to learning about this subject?

PASCUZZI: The best advice I can give to someone that wants to learn how to use SQL Server is hands on practice. You can read all of the books and take all of the training courses, but you will not learn as much as if you try before looking up the solutions. The largest barriers that someone writing code will find is working with a set instead of a single item. DBAs challenges will be that you have to know everything. When something goes wrong a system, the DBA/SA is usually the person that has to figure out what has happened.

RN: When did you decide to get into the Information Technology field?

PASCUZZI: Going to high school in Minnesota in the late 1970's I had a hand up over people from other areas. Minnesota had a state wide educational computer association. Most of the people that accessed that system used it for social studies to play Oregon Trial. My friends and I became hackers. I was planning to go into mechanical engineering like my father and older brother. But, my bother decided to become a teacher at the school I was going to. So I decided to switch to my other next choice, IT, and haven't regretted it.

RN: Please share your thoughts with us on the role that ReviewNet evaluations play in hiring IT professionals.

PASCUZZI: I feel that ReviewNet has an important role in evaluating IT professionals. While a certification shows that the candidate has memorized what is on the test for a short period of time, a ReviewNet evaluatoin is not something that you can go to the web and be given the correct answers for.

RN: How did you design your ReviewNet test to help eliminate IT hiring mistakes?

PASCUZZI: I designed my tests to try to cover a wide section of the tasks, issues, and problems that a SQL Server DBA will have to do in the real world. I also tried to make the tests so that someone guessing at the answers or someone that normally uses other products will not be able to guess based upon the knowledge.