This is Part 4 in a series I am writing about my journey to the PASS Summit 2011. If you missed the previous entries, you can read about them here [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3]. Follow the journey on twitter with the #j2pass2011, and feel free to use the tag for your own journey!

Pre Cons!

Choosing a pre conference session for Monday/Tuesday was rather difficult. Do you choose something completely new to learn, or do you learn something new about a subject area in which you are already fairly familiar? Not to be outdone by my own questions, I chose to do one completely new subject area and one deeper dive into something I am fairly good at (but know I could be even better). Here are my picks:

• Keeping it local with Rob Farley (Blog | @rob_farley)– “Fixing Queries with Advanced T-SQL constructs”
• Something new with Aaron Nelson (Blog | @SQLVariant) – “After 7 hours you won’t be able to shut up about PowerShell either”

It’s my belief that you can always improve the skills you already have and that’s why I’m going to Rob’s Pre-con. My T-SQL is pretty good, but I know there are areas that could do with some improvement. I hoping to get quite a bit out of this session. No pressure Rob!

I also believe that you should stretch yourself and try to learn something new every now and again. Especially when it comes to software or processes. Learning something new gives you a broader perspective and you’ll be better equipped to make the right decisions. This is why I’m taking Aaron’s Pre-con. I have only ever heard the great things about PowerShell can do. I’ll be looking to apply this new knowledge immediately for all the BI projects I work on.