We are about to hire a Graduate Student to help us construct a database in MS Access and we want to make sure we hire someone that really knows what they are doing. We are looking primarily at Computer Science Masters Candidates because they would have additional resources if there is a question they didn't know. My question to the board is can you suggest some things that they should know how to do as advanced MS Access users? We are all Access noobies and we need someone way above our level but there is no way for us to tell if they know what they are doing or just say that they do. Thanks in Advance...
If you are building a database of decent size Acess is not the way to go. SQL SERVER, MY SQL etc are better for that purpose. Do not confuse datbase with database application. Acess is sort of strange in that it let you build a front end application in addition to the database in one application. Most other databases require you to build the front end application seperately. Acess can really kill you if you have say 10-20 concurrent users and your data is of any significant size.
Yes, that is true. If you really want someone who knows access. Ask what have they done before. They should be familiar with vb code which more advanced Acess application requires. Oh and he should of couse know his SQL.
We are looking at the most 5 Concurrent Users with data on students, alumni and corporate contact from 3 programs. Probably around 2000 individuals represented in the database total with that number increasing over time although most will lay dormant once they graduate... Thanks for the help guys. So I will be looking at resumes that list SQL experience.
I would look to see if they are Access certified. I know many people say that doesn't matter but I got certified in Access and Excel through the University of Memphis for free with courses that I took. Those courses really taught you had to use the programs and their functions without having to delve into any of the programming. I would see if they knew VBA (Visual Basic with Applications). It is the programming that is used to modify Microsoft Office applications and you can do some really great stuff with it. I went through and read three books and taught myself VBA. I used a crash course book and over the span of a weekend I could write basic code to do some basic functions. I would also to look to see if they knew any SQL, MySQL, or other database-type programming in case you needed to do something outside of what Access can handle. I would also ask about previous programming work with examples and maybe a portfolio. Many programming languages are similar and the more you know the easier the next one is to pick up.
not only that, they don't teach access in computer science at all! not only that, you don't even need a masters degree to be an access developer for ms!
Did somebody specify Access for the project or was it chosen because it is already installed? Is it going to be a contact database or something else?
They are right in that hiring a grad student most likely means that the person has not had too much if any working experience in Access. They may know their SQL, VB and concepts but if you really want someone to hit the ground running, hire experience. Access experience isn't that pricey. Anyway - one of the tests we do is we show them a couple of simple tables, and then ask them to script certain functions. Some are simple (so as to not rattle them too much in the beginning) and then some get harder. Like - insert a row into table A. Update that row from table A. Delete that row from table A. Write a select statement that will return all the rows in table A that don't have corresponding rows in table B. Really all are very simple for SQL people but you'd be surprised at how many people struggle at even the simple stuff - it can be rather painful to watch. Do the same with VB scripts. You can get harder examples off of google of things you can do in Access and ask them to do them. Compare their results to the googled version. Of course there are many ways to do the same thing and many times googled versions are not the best way so it helps to have some working knowledge.
Correct. Universities use the Graduate Assistants jobs to attract and hire international students. We pay them a monthly sum but also give them in-state tuition and fees and a waiver for the tuition (they still pay the fees.) It is a good deal for them and we get good labor without having to pay full time salary or benefits. Actually most of the resumes I have received are from Grad students that have already worked full time (in India mostly) and have experience with C, C++, C#, HTML, PHP, MS Access, SQL Server 2005, Dream Weaver, Photoshop, and all different OS's. Thanks again for the advice guys.
In that case it should be a piece of cake for those students to do what you need for the cheap! Provided they did not lie on their resume, that never happend before. Better do some simple tests like another poster suggested.
Make every one of the interviewees do part of your project for you That way you dont have to hire any of them ...
