Thomas Nicholson
Behaviour Specialist Intern at Community Care Trust- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Tyler van Vierzen
There are both technical and non-technical aspects of being a great DBA. Tom has both. Yes, he knows all the DBA "things" ... RMAN, tuning, maintenance, GoldenGate, PLSQL, and the like. But he's also calm, careful, measured, and amazing at working with projects that have gone off the rails. He stands up for process when it's the right thing to do, yet finds a way to work with teams when there's a real crisis. He is one of those people that works steadily, churning through tasks quietly and without fuss. He asks for help when he needs it and handles things when he doesn't. He's an excellent communicator in all mediums. I hesitate to say I mentored Tom because I feel like most times we learned together. We've done a lot of collaborating on performance issues and he was eager to dive in and analyze, and our hand-offs between deep dives were effortless. Usually he found things on his own that were indeed the root cause, and any assistance I provided was just to provide some extra proof to show the development team. Tom is thoughtful and considers all the angles of a technical solution. Many times Tom brought up a, "What if?" situation that changed the course of how we chose to solve problems and probably prevented a crisis. On top of this, he has the experience of working as a Peoplesoft Admin to inform his DBA work. He led the database end of a major Peoplesoft upgrade and it was launched with remarkably few issues and great database performance from day one. I was impressed by how Tom kept reviewing his launch plan and adding things that made it safer, better, and easier to execute, probably long past when many DBAs would have called it good. In addition to being a great DBA, Tom is a great guy to have around the office. All in all, I feel really lucky to work with Tom and would recommend him for any DBA role.
Chuck Wessel
As an Oracle Certified Professional it goes without saying that Tom knows his way around Oracle. Add to that his extensive PL/SQL and Database + SQL tuning experience, and you begin to see how valuable Tom was to my team. Then when you consider his friendly nature and positive can-do attitude it is clear why I will forever regret the economic cutbacks resulting in the loss of Tom from my team. I sincerely hope that future circumstances bring an opportunity for us to work together again.
Tyler van Vierzen
There are both technical and non-technical aspects of being a great DBA. Tom has both. Yes, he knows all the DBA "things" ... RMAN, tuning, maintenance, GoldenGate, PLSQL, and the like. But he's also calm, careful, measured, and amazing at working with projects that have gone off the rails. He stands up for process when it's the right thing to do, yet finds a way to work with teams when there's a real crisis. He is one of those people that works steadily, churning through tasks quietly and without fuss. He asks for help when he needs it and handles things when he doesn't. He's an excellent communicator in all mediums. I hesitate to say I mentored Tom because I feel like most times we learned together. We've done a lot of collaborating on performance issues and he was eager to dive in and analyze, and our hand-offs between deep dives were effortless. Usually he found things on his own that were indeed the root cause, and any assistance I provided was just to provide some extra proof to show the development team. Tom is thoughtful and considers all the angles of a technical solution. Many times Tom brought up a, "What if?" situation that changed the course of how we chose to solve problems and probably prevented a crisis. On top of this, he has the experience of working as a Peoplesoft Admin to inform his DBA work. He led the database end of a major Peoplesoft upgrade and it was launched with remarkably few issues and great database performance from day one. I was impressed by how Tom kept reviewing his launch plan and adding things that made it safer, better, and easier to execute, probably long past when many DBAs would have called it good. In addition to being a great DBA, Tom is a great guy to have around the office. All in all, I feel really lucky to work with Tom and would recommend him for any DBA role.
Chuck Wessel
As an Oracle Certified Professional it goes without saying that Tom knows his way around Oracle. Add to that his extensive PL/SQL and Database + SQL tuning experience, and you begin to see how valuable Tom was to my team. Then when you consider his friendly nature and positive can-do attitude it is clear why I will forever regret the economic cutbacks resulting in the loss of Tom from my team. I sincerely hope that future circumstances bring an opportunity for us to work together again.
Tyler van Vierzen
There are both technical and non-technical aspects of being a great DBA. Tom has both. Yes, he knows all the DBA "things" ... RMAN, tuning, maintenance, GoldenGate, PLSQL, and the like. But he's also calm, careful, measured, and amazing at working with projects that have gone off the rails. He stands up for process when it's the right thing to do, yet finds a way to work with teams when there's a real crisis. He is one of those people that works steadily, churning through tasks quietly and without fuss. He asks for help when he needs it and handles things when he doesn't. He's an excellent communicator in all mediums. I hesitate to say I mentored Tom because I feel like most times we learned together. We've done a lot of collaborating on performance issues and he was eager to dive in and analyze, and our hand-offs between deep dives were effortless. Usually he found things on his own that were indeed the root cause, and any assistance I provided was just to provide some extra proof to show the development team. Tom is thoughtful and considers all the angles of a technical solution. Many times Tom brought up a, "What if?" situation that changed the course of how we chose to solve problems and probably prevented a crisis. On top of this, he has the experience of working as a Peoplesoft Admin to inform his DBA work. He led the database end of a major Peoplesoft upgrade and it was launched with remarkably few issues and great database performance from day one. I was impressed by how Tom kept reviewing his launch plan and adding things that made it safer, better, and easier to execute, probably long past when many DBAs would have called it good. In addition to being a great DBA, Tom is a great guy to have around the office. All in all, I feel really lucky to work with Tom and would recommend him for any DBA role.
Chuck Wessel
As an Oracle Certified Professional it goes without saying that Tom knows his way around Oracle. Add to that his extensive PL/SQL and Database + SQL tuning experience, and you begin to see how valuable Tom was to my team. Then when you consider his friendly nature and positive can-do attitude it is clear why I will forever regret the economic cutbacks resulting in the loss of Tom from my team. I sincerely hope that future circumstances bring an opportunity for us to work together again.
Tyler van Vierzen
There are both technical and non-technical aspects of being a great DBA. Tom has both. Yes, he knows all the DBA "things" ... RMAN, tuning, maintenance, GoldenGate, PLSQL, and the like. But he's also calm, careful, measured, and amazing at working with projects that have gone off the rails. He stands up for process when it's the right thing to do, yet finds a way to work with teams when there's a real crisis. He is one of those people that works steadily, churning through tasks quietly and without fuss. He asks for help when he needs it and handles things when he doesn't. He's an excellent communicator in all mediums. I hesitate to say I mentored Tom because I feel like most times we learned together. We've done a lot of collaborating on performance issues and he was eager to dive in and analyze, and our hand-offs between deep dives were effortless. Usually he found things on his own that were indeed the root cause, and any assistance I provided was just to provide some extra proof to show the development team. Tom is thoughtful and considers all the angles of a technical solution. Many times Tom brought up a, "What if?" situation that changed the course of how we chose to solve problems and probably prevented a crisis. On top of this, he has the experience of working as a Peoplesoft Admin to inform his DBA work. He led the database end of a major Peoplesoft upgrade and it was launched with remarkably few issues and great database performance from day one. I was impressed by how Tom kept reviewing his launch plan and adding things that made it safer, better, and easier to execute, probably long past when many DBAs would have called it good. In addition to being a great DBA, Tom is a great guy to have around the office. All in all, I feel really lucky to work with Tom and would recommend him for any DBA role.
Chuck Wessel
As an Oracle Certified Professional it goes without saying that Tom knows his way around Oracle. Add to that his extensive PL/SQL and Database + SQL tuning experience, and you begin to see how valuable Tom was to my team. Then when you consider his friendly nature and positive can-do attitude it is clear why I will forever regret the economic cutbacks resulting in the loss of Tom from my team. I sincerely hope that future circumstances bring an opportunity for us to work together again.
Experience
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Community Care Trust
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New Zealand
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Individual and Family Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Behaviour Specialist Intern
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Dec 2021 - Present
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PGG Wrightson Ltd
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New Zealand
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Farming
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700 & Above Employee
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Application Support Analyst
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Oct 2018 - Jan 2020
Provided support for, and performed upgrades of, multiple versions of SQL Server and various applications in a virtual Windows Server environment. Major applications included MYOB PayGlobal and JD Edwards. Experience using Computer Concepts Limited cloud services. Supported the BI team’s data warehouse and ODS databases and reporting.Strengths and Achievements:* Created Operational Data Stores for reporting and credit dashboard using SQL Server Transactional Replication* Participated in separation of Seed and Grain PayGlobal environments and creation of bureau to manage separated payroll environments* Lead SQL Server cleanup and optimisation effort in conjunction with SQL Services Limited
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Capella University
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United States
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Higher Education
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700 & Above Employee
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Database Engineer
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May 2016 - Aug 2018
Provided support for Oracle 12c and 11g RAC as well as Microsoft SQL Server 2016 and 2012 databases for this mid-sized institution of higher education. Effectively communicated with teams at Capella, including Development, Core Engineering, Business Analyst, and Data Management Reporting. Maintained database infrastructure, backups, and deployment of new environments. Provided limited support for MySQL, Neo4j, and PostgreSQL databases. Initially hired as a PeopleSoft Administrator, I spent one year in this role administering Web, Application, and Process Scheduler servers before transitioning to the Database Engineering team.Strengths and Achievements:* Lead quarterly refresh efforts for the Database Engineering team. Worked with various teams to reduce quarterly refresh times from three to two weeks by using consistent point in time between environments and automation. Created and maintained data masking and obfuscation procedures for sensitive data.* Lead periodic Oracle database upgrade and security patching efforts.* Tuned several long-running database processes via the use of indexes and SQL ID/profile matching. Reduced one long-running process for Academic Planning from several hours to six minutes.
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Hamline University
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United States
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Higher Education
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500 - 600 Employee
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Senior Developer and Database Administrator
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May 2009 - Apr 2015
Provided Banner Applications and database support for this small, private institution of higher education. Lead Banner Application upgrades from version 7 to 8 and later to 9, Oracle database upgrades from 10g to 11g, and Microsoft SQL Server upgrades from 2005 to 2008 and 2012. Provided guidance and mentoring to developers. Developed and maintained Oracle PL/SQL, SQR, and Groovy code to support the Banner environment, including student admissions, local and federal taxation, and student online portal. Converted the bulk of the university’s SQR batch programs to Groovy. Maintained database infrastructure, backups, and deployment of new environments.Strengths and Achievements:* Automated quarterly refresh processes using Oracle RMAN and shell scripts, reducing the manual time needed to perform refresh activities from one day to three hours. Created and maintained data masking and obfuscation procedures for sensitive data.* Lead periodic Oracle and Microsoft database upgrade and security patching efforts.* Assisted developers with Oracle database and SQL performance tuning. Reduced online Banner webpage processes that were taking several minutes to perform within milliseconds via efficient use of indexing and Oracle plan tuning.
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IDS
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United States
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Software Development
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1 - 100 Employee
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Database Administrator and Developer
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Jul 2005 - Feb 2009
Provided a full range of database services for this mid-size software development company including Oracle and SQL Server database administration and development as well as data modeling and analysis. Took the lead on Oracle database upgrades from 9i to 10g. Created custom PL/SQL packages, procedures, functions, and views as per the needs of the application. Provided support for Development, Business Analyst, and QA teams.Strengths and Achievements:* Created and performance-tuned upgrade scripts and large data migrations for IDS software packages ProFinia and Rapport. Reduced application database upgrade times by hours.* Took the lead on Oracle database upgrades from 9i to 10g.* Communicated effectively with IDS clients to provide data analysis services and support in order to help them understand what their data meant to them and how to use it effectively.
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Advanced Technologies Integration
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Software Development
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1 - 100 Employee
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Database Contractor
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May 2005 - Jul 2005
Installed, configured, and maintained Oracle Data Guard for this small financial services institution. Provided documentation to facilitate transition of support to full-time resources. Provided support for the institution’s production and development databases.Strengths and Achievements:* Set up new Oracle Data Guard logical and physical standby databases for client.* Implemented automated process for refreshing development databases from production databases using standby databases and data pump.
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Wells Fargo
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United States
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Financial Services
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700 & Above Employee
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Applications DBA
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Aug 2002 - May 2005
Provided Oracle 9i/8i and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database, development, and PeopleSoft applications support for this large financial services institution. Performed and supported SQL performance tuning, database installations and upgrades, and Oracle Master Replication. Provided PeopleSoft server administration including application server, web server, and process scheduler. Provided some Sybase database administration and development.Strengths and Achievements:* Lead Oracle database upgrades from 8i to 9i.* Performance tuned PeopleSoft processes, reducing online runtimes from minutes to milliseconds using effective indexing and SQL hinting.* Administered and developed secure file transfer environment using NDM.
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Data Analyst
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May 2001 - Aug 2002
Performed data analysis, modeling and ETL tasks for this mid-size financial services institution. As part of a team, developed and maintained database objects and PL/SQL code in an Oracle 8i environment.* Created and maintained data models for the organisation’s internal software applications using ERwin.* Tuned developer’s SQL and that of my team’s PL/SQL code.* Data processing using scripts, SQL Loader, Informatica and Mercator. Performed data analysis, modeling and ETL tasks for this mid-size financial services institution. As part of a team, developed and maintained database objects and PL/SQL code in an Oracle 8i environment.* Created and maintained data models for the organisation’s internal software applications using ERwin.* Tuned developer’s SQL and that of my team’s PL/SQL code.* Data processing using scripts, SQL Loader, Informatica and Mercator.
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Consultant
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Jan 2000 - Apr 2001
Performed the role of General Consultant for this small IT consulting company with an emphasis on data modeling, systems analysis and programming.Strengths and Achievements:* Created and maintained data models using ERwin for client applications.* Analysed customer requirements and provided system recommendations.* Database development and administration for MS SQL Server 2000 and Oracle 8i. Performed the role of General Consultant for this small IT consulting company with an emphasis on data modeling, systems analysis and programming.Strengths and Achievements:* Created and maintained data models using ERwin for client applications.* Analysed customer requirements and provided system recommendations.* Database development and administration for MS SQL Server 2000 and Oracle 8i.
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Accenture
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Ireland
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Business Consulting and Services
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700 & Above Employee
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Consultant
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Jun 1997 - Jan 2000
Worked as a PeopleSoft Consultant for this large consulting organisation. Performed the roles of Developer, QA analyst, Systems Analyst, and Data Analyst.Strengths and Achievements:* PeopleSoft development including SQR and PeopleCode.* PeopleSoft architecture and design.* Experience with PeopleSoft AR, AM, AP, PO, GL and HR modules. Worked as a PeopleSoft Consultant for this large consulting organisation. Performed the roles of Developer, QA analyst, Systems Analyst, and Data Analyst.Strengths and Achievements:* PeopleSoft development including SQR and PeopleCode.* PeopleSoft architecture and design.* Experience with PeopleSoft AR, AM, AP, PO, GL and HR modules.
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IBM
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United States
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IT Services and IT Consulting
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700 & Above Employee
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Internship
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Aug 1995 - Jun 1997
As an intern, I performed the role of QA tester and AS/400 programmer for IBM in conjunction with the university. Later in the internship I interviewed for, and attained the role of, project coordinator for the internship project.Strengths and Achievements:* Managed internship project, including personnel issues and hiring.* Visual Basic and C programming and testing on AS/400 and the Web.* QA testing for IBM test cases. As an intern, I performed the role of QA tester and AS/400 programmer for IBM in conjunction with the university. Later in the internship I interviewed for, and attained the role of, project coordinator for the internship project.Strengths and Achievements:* Managed internship project, including personnel issues and hiring.* Visual Basic and C programming and testing on AS/400 and the Web.* QA testing for IBM test cases.
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Education
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Minnesota State University, Mankato
BS, Computer Information Systems / Accounting (summa cum laude)
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