Database Administrator

Job Description

Data administrators are needed in many industries such as health care, banking, and government. Organizations employ databases to store data, and database administrators support the use of databases. A database administrator ensures databases are running efficiently and securely to effectively store and manage data. Click on any section that interests you about the database administrator role to learn more.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for a database administrator is $96,550 which translated to an hourly wage of $46.42. The salary earned is influenced by industry. For example, the average salary for a database administrator working for a College, Professional School, or University is $82,890. However, the salary of a database administrator working in the Monetary Authorities - Central Bank is $138,800.

The skills a database administrator must posses encompases design, soft skills, and specific technical skills. The technical skills may vary by job because there are several types of databases. Some of those databases are proprietary while others are open source. Therefore, in this section, some of the technologies will be listed; however, you should keep in mind that some jobs may require you to know a specific database technology.

  • Database Modeling and Design: data in a database are stored in data structures that are defined by the software. Database administrators may be required to know how to organize objects that will store data within these structures.
  • Knowledge of Relational Database Management Systems such as SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL
  • Knowledge of NoSQL Database Systems such as MongoDB.
  • Knowledge Oject Relational Database Systems such as PostgreSQL.
  • Strong understanding of SQL (Structured Query Language).
  • Knowledge of database backup and recovery.
  • Knowledge of performance management and tuning.
  • You may be required to know a solution such as Azure Data Factory or SQL Server Integration Services. There may be instances in which data from external sources may need to be imported into the database. As a result, Knowledge of these solutions may be required.
  • Strong communication skills

The following are examples of responsibilities database administrators may need to assume:

  • Securing the system
  • Creating new databases or tables to store data
  • Ensuring the system is updated
  • Ensure a backup and recovery process is in place and testing that it works
  • Monitoring the system's performance, and optimizing performance where necessary
  • Migrating databases to new systems when the need arises
  • Troubleshooting any technical issues that may arise
  • Planning and managing system resources i.e., storage space, disk space
  • Managing user access

  • There are various types of database management systems. The Introduction to Database course provides information regarding these databases. Navigate to Course
  • One skill a database administrator should possess is how to design deatabase. The following course provides training on how to perform this task using a relational database. Navigate to Course
  • Structured Query Language (SQL) is a popular language used to interact with a database such as issuing commands, retrieving data, and manipulating data. There are various flavors of the SQL language, and there are variations in the syntax. However, you can learn one variation and easily pickup the differences along the way as the need arises. The following course provides training on how to use SQL. Navigate to Course
  • Database administrators may be required to know how to manage specific database systems from a specific vendors. One of those vendors is Oracle. The following course demonstrates how to administer an Oracle system. If you have a specific company in mind, you may want to see what database systems they use and learn how to use that system. Navigate to Course