Convince Your Boss – DBA
“Dear [Insert Manager’s Name],
I’d like to attend PASS Summit West 2026 in Seattle, November 9-11 and I want to make the case for why it’s worth the investment.
As the DBA, I’m the person responsible when the database goes down at 2am, when queries start running slow for no obvious reason, and when the dev team needs answers about performance that nobody else can give. Most of what I know, I’ve figured out on the job. PASS Summit is where I can get three days of concentrated, expert-level SQL Server and data platform training that I can’t get anywhere else.
Here’s what I’m specifically looking to address:
- Performance tuning skills that reduce the time I spend firefighting
- Best practices around high availability and disaster recovery so we’re not making those decisions under pressure
- Sessions on cloud database strategies that’ll inform how we approach any future migrations
- One of the biggest perks? Free one-on-one time with some of the industry’s top experts at the Community Experts Clinic. That kind of consultation typically runs $250-$400 an hour outside of PASS Summit West. I could walk away on Thursday with our toughest problem already solved
This isn’t just professional development for me. It translates directly into fewer incidents, faster resolution times, and better decisions for the team.
It’s also worth considering what not attending costs. Every hour I spend troubleshooting a performance issue I don’t fully understand, or making a call on infrastructure without the full picture, has a real price. The skills gap I’d close at PASS Summit West is one that otherwise gets filled slowly, expensively, and usually in the middle of an incident.
91% of 2025 PASS Summit West attendees rated the event 4 or 5 stars, and 99% came away with insights they could apply immediately in their day-to-day work.
Approximate costs:
Airfare: [insert $ here]
Transportation: [insert $ here]
Hotel (2 nights at ~$250): $500 [adjust as needed]
Dinner (3 days at $50): $150 [adjust as needed]
Conference Ticket: $1990 – $2325
I’ll put together a post-conference summary of key takeaways and share it with the team so the learning doesn’t stay with just me.
Thank you for considering this.
[Your Name]”