How do you find and evaluate online mentors and coaches for database administration?

Mentorship is key but you would need to understand the fact that not everyone can be your mentor. Also, be realistic about your expectations. All mentors are humans and are expected to keep learning and evolving. I would recommend identifying your needs and managing your expectations. Why do you need a mentor or a coach? Are there gaps that need to be filled in skillsets or knowledge areas? Where do I see myself after a certain timeline? How qualified is this person? Is the person approachable and willing to mentor me? Believe me, not everyone is qualified to mentor or even willing to mentor you. Mentorship takes a lot of commitment, diligence, and devotion.

Before seeking an online mentor or coach in database management, clarify your learning goals and desired skills, like project management, tool proficiency, certifications, performance tuning, security, or data modeling. Align this with your career objectives, such as promotions or role changes. To find suitable mentors, first explore existing resources and communities, engage with content creators, and remember that not all experts may be available for mentoring.

LinkedIn is also a great resource to search for potential mentors and coaches. Doing a search of your desired skillset or knowledge area would produce a number of individuals who fit that criteria. Check out their profile and their contributions. But be pragmatic in your search.

To find online mentors and coaches in database management, explore platforms and communities, and engage with social media and blogs by experienced professionals. Utilize professional networks and referrals, including connections with colleagues and former teachers. Participate in online groups and events for further opportunities. Be aware that not all experts have time for mentorship, and be selective in choosing mentors, particularly for paid services.

In my experience, the top mentors in building my expertise have been the various online courses in linkedin, udemy and other educational training sites, but nothing beats a "hands-on" experience. If there were technology areas that were either not used in my current infrastructure at work or being managed by other teams not in my scope, I always ensured I tested it in my personal lab environment.

When looking for database management mentors, it's crucial to evaluate their experience, knowledge, project history, and expertise in tools, technology, and current trends. Assess their teaching and communication abilities, including how they handle complex concepts and adapt to various learning styles. Also, ensure their personality and values align with yours, fostering mutual trust and respect. It's important to match the mentor's skills with the area you want to improve, like database administrator, and to be open to learning and engaging with the community for feedback.

Be visible to potential mentors. - can to be active member of community around database engine that you choose, and produce content that helps others. Be it articles, blog posts or answering questions in stack overflow. You are likely to already know something that may be of interest to others who just started. - If your database is open source, you potentially can contribute to it's development. And this option does not always require coding - sometimes simple things like translating or improving documentation will be of great help to ecosystem. - alternative way to establish self as active, passionate user is to contribute to open source software that uses your favourte database.