Throwback Blog: Myself and Many Others’ Crystal Reports Catch 22

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Myself and Many Others’ Crystal Reports Catch 22 written on Apr 18, 2012. I laughed, chuckled, and shook my head rereading the blog. I can't believe I reviewed Crystal Reports in early 2012. I think back today and I think back to 2012. About 1% of all job openings required Crystal Reports. The reporting software program was a joke in 2001, 2006, 2007, and 2012. I'm learning Power BI. I stopped learning Tableau because Power BI is free and there are financial barriers to learn Tableau. I wonder is Power BI easier to use compared to Tableau today?

I finished reading a Crystal Reports book to review and relearn the reporting software. My first exposure was in 2001. I took a class while I worked at Colliers International. Colliers wanted to use Crystal for their new database. I was not involved in the database development and report design. I forgot everything as years went by. I needed another training class as Crystal was revisited for another database in 2006. I took a class again. I used Crystal for a limited time afterwards.

The Crystal Reports training benefited me when I worked at Cisco in 2007. My department used Crystal for their quarterly reports. I struggled initially because it was the first time I used Crystal daily for the weeks after the fiscal quarters ended. I learned from my mistakes and I experimented with different designs to become a person with working Crystal knowledge. That was the best way to learn Crystal—just do it.

Fast forward to today. I finished reading my Crystal Reports books and created reports to practice. I watched YouTube Crystal tutorial videos. That’s all I can do to keep my knowledge strong in my head. I feel reading another book is a waste of time and redundant. All I can do is wait for a job opportunity to apply my knowledge and experience.

I’m in a catch 22. I see job postings requiring at least three or at least five years of experience. How can I gain experience in Crystal Reports if companies don’t hire me? I know the basics. That should be good enough. Books and training courses teach us how to use Crystal. Books and training courses don’t teach us Crystal work experience. The best way to gain Crystal work experience is working in a company. Again, how can I gain experience in Crystal if companies don’t hire me? The best I can do I continue finding a company that gives me an opportunity.

Side note: I’m looking into learning SAS, a statistical reporting software. I don’t know the cost for training. Database software SAP is unlikely because I know their classes are expensive.