What's On Your Plate For 2016?

There's a lot of stuff I'm hoping to accomplish for the upcoming year. No, not New Year's Resolutions, per se. These are things that have been in the works for a few months or more.

Certification

I picked up two certifications over the last two years. That's a glacial pace I'd like to improve upon. I'm about half way through the study guide for Exam 70-483. If I can finish that up and pass the test in January, that'll give me most of the year to work on Exam 70-464 or Exam 70-465 (or both).

Presentations

My employer has asked me to do some SQL Server-related presentations for customers and employees. The first presentation is slated for January. There's a palpable sense of nervous excitement. Those of you that are presenters surely can relate. What a wonderful opportunity for me to do something different!

PASS

I only made it to two of my local chapter's PASS meetings last year. Both times, there was a SQL Server MVP presenting. Why didn't I take advantage of this throughout the year?

There's also the session recordings from PASS Summit 2015 that will keep me busy for hours and hours.

Publications

I may start writing some technical articles for a SQL Server community site. I've never written for other sites before--it's a big step. Getting published carries a lot more weight and responsibility than casual blogging. I'm sure I'll learn a lot along the way as I strive to "get it right".

SQL Odds & Ends

There's so much in the realm of SQL to learn about, whether it's learning something new or brushing up on something old and familiar. Here's a few things on my radar:

• R
• In-memory OLTP
• Columnstore Indexes
• Windows Containers
• SSRS
• Query Store
• Always Encrypted