Learning From Our Mistakes: The Stomach-Dropping Incident in My Tech Career

In the fast-paced world of technology, we often encounter situations that test our skills and decision-making abilities. It’s a field filled with rapid learning and unavoidable missteps. Recently, I came across a discussion on Reddit that got me reminiscing about one of my most significant blunders early in my career, which still gives me a “stomach drop” feeling when I think about it.

As an implementation consultant relatively new to SQL, I was tasked with writing a critical statement to delete specific records at the request of a client. My environment at the time, an Integrated Security Environment (ISE), allowed us to test our code by simply highlighting the section we wanted to run. Unfortunately, I highlighted the incorrect section. Instead of executing the safer SELECT operation, I inadvertently ran the DELETE command without the necessary WHERE clause. The result? Millions of records were wiped from the production database during our busiest season.

Fortunately, we were utilizing Oracle 11g at the time and had just acquired the flashback functionality. This feature proved to be a saving grace, allowing us to restore the data before any lasting damage was done. The incident offered a valuable lesson about the importance of testing in a controlled environment and the necessity of vigilance when executing code in production systems.

Today, we adhere strictly to using test environments before moving any statements to production. This incident serves as a constant reminder of the stakes involved in tech work, encouraging us to double-check our processes and decisions. Each mistake, though unsettling at the time, becomes an opportunity for growth and development in our careers.

As I reflect on this experience, I invite you to share your own “stomach drop” moments in your tech career. What lessons have you learned from your mistakes? Let us continue to learn together and support one another in this challenging yet rewarding field.