I submit to you you must be proficient in two of those to be in the top 25% of the market. A DBA better be sufficient in tsql if they need to write admin scripts or troubleshooting OLTP code and performance. A BI professional needs to know database development for loading data and writing reports. A Database Developer definitely benefits professionally by knowing either of the other two pillars.

I would specialize in one at the 500 level and get to know a 2nd one at the 400 level. Think of the side skill as your “minor” in college. There are not many who can focus long enough to master all three and gain real world experience. So you have two pillars that you are fully functional in, now what?

Here is a far inclusive list of desired talents in Database Professionals:

• SAN administration
• .Net development
• Powershell administration
• Project management
• Windows\Active directory administration
• Biztalk
• Message queuing apps like MSMQ
• Hardware experience
• IIS administration
• Other RDBMS
• MSFT or Vendor X App\Middleware servers
• Technical writing
• Automated load testing
• Presales consulting skills
• Virtualization experience
• etc

The list is really endless. You could even find small shops that would love their DBA to also know exchange so they get 2 for 1. If you can think of it, there is or will be an employer looking it. “Nude midget” returns a job posting on Monster. I kid you not.

So what do you “minor” in? You probably choose out of necessity first. The success of your project requires a project manager or some small .net code refactoring. You either suck it up or the project fails. That is why they have a DBA who has to manage the project instead of a PM who learns database administration on the fly. If you have the luxury of choosing, I would pick the skill that balances what interests you and what adds to your brand the most. This makes learning easy while helping you professionally.

Now you know what you are going to work on. What is next? I would try to tie the learning with experience. If you are learning out of necessity, that is a non-issue.  If you are trying to pick up a new skill in between consulting gigs, you may consider other options. If you are working on project management, volunteer. A lot of charities post their IT projects on craig’s list and you may be able to help while learning. They may post looking for a Dev but hit them up and see if the need a PM, tech writer, OS admin etc. If you are going with .Net development, you can join and contribute to an open source project like on codeplex or DotNetNuke. Use your imagination. For every one paying gig, there are hundred of opportunities to gain experience while learning. You see, a project manager suddenly becomes an option when the price is free.

Once again, complimenting your DBA skills is a definite YES. Complimenting your DBA is optional but don’t blame SQL Server when your resources automagically get governed.