Your Database Administrator Career Guide

More and more companies are using data management systems to inform business decisions, produce products, and target specific audiences every day. Advances in business intelligence (BI) technology have dramatically improved the collection and analysis of data. The way companies interpret and store data is critical, which is where the role of a database administrator comes in.

Starting a career as a database administrator requires a combination of educational credentials, workplace and technical skills, hands-on experience, and continued professional development. It's a popular career choice with a higher-than-average salary, a promising career outlook, and opportunities for advancement. Read on to explore a database administrator career, including what your day-to-day responsibilities would look like in this career and the skills you’ll need to be successful.

What is a database administrator?

Database administrators are responsible for setting up the database structure and applications according to the company's needs. These needs typically include data storage, database documentation, database security, and system administration. This ensures the organisation and accessibility of data for companies' strategic gain and the protection of sensitive data. Quick access to critical information is vital for customer service, compliance, and business development.

What does a database administrator do?

The role of a database administrator varies according to the industry you work in and the type of data you're managing, but typically, you'll have the following duties:

• Identifying user needs and the appropriate database tools, such as database management software

• Considering the need for storage space, network requirements, and memory when designing database architecture

• Planning for database development, database installation, and continued database maintenance

• Updating database systems, associated servers and applications

• Creating user profiles and managing access and permissions for database servers

• Completing regular functionality tests to measure database performance

• Creating database backups and recovery systems to ensure organisational data is secure

• Monitoring technical support of databases and documenting complex issues

• Using the database to produce queries for business intelligence reports

Database administrator job description

Database administration calls on a combination of workplace and technical skills to build and manage databases and work with staff who need access. These include both technical and workplace skills. Take a closer look at what a database administrator needs to know to better understand the job description.

Technical skills

The technical skills you’ll need as a database administrator may include: 

• Knowledge of computer operating systems

• Microsoft Access

• Oracle

• HTML

• SQL

• Linux

• Java

• Unix

• Sybase

Workplace skills

As a database administrator, you may also benefit from workplace skills such as:

• Attention to detail

• Ability to prioritise

• Logical thinking

• Detail-oriented

• Problem-solving ability 

• Highly organised

• Excellent communication skills

• Analytical approach 

Database administrator roles

Many database administrators work in-house, looking after internal databases for a specific company. However, specialties also exist within database administration, breaking the role down into areas focused on by different people. These generally fall into three categories:

1. Database design and creation

The first specialty involves creating and designing databases to suit the user's needs. This includes using SQL, coding and tuning. These people usually work for a technology or software development company as part of a team that can create larger systems of which the database is a part. Relevant job titles include database specialist and database analyst.

2. Database monitoring and system administration

The second specialty is performance database administration, which concerns optimising the performance of databases and making tweaks to improve performance. The role is proactive because it focuses on improving performance to avoid problems. Relevant job titles include database administrator, systems administrator, and management information systems (MIS) administrator.

3. Database applications and environment

The last specialty is application database administration, which concentrates on integrating applications into databases. This backend work requires the use of a query language such as SQL. Application database administrators also write and debug programs and maintain applications. Relevant job titles include database programmer, database software developer, and database engineer.

What is it like working in database administration?

Database administration spans industries, so work in this field comes with many choices. You may work in computer design, insurance, retail, healthcare, hospitality, telecommunications, and many other industries. Although you will work mainly during office hours, you may need to remain on call in case of emergencies. Despite this, most database administrators follow a 40-hour work week, which offers work-life balance. 

Database administrator salary 

According to Glassdoor, the average database administrator's annual salary in India is ₹7,30,539 per year [1].

The database administrator career path

Requirements for these roles vary depending on industry, company, and location, but a bachelor’s degree is commonly the minimum education you will need to become a database administrator. You can study topics like physics, maths, and computer science for your 10+2 exams and earn a bachelor’s degree in a field like computer science or information technology. Many companies ask for training or certification in the database software used in their organisation.

Gaining IT experience

Database administrators must demonstrate specific technical skills and hold a degree and certifications. These skills can be from a previous position, such as an internship or entry-level job like data entry or another IT role. You'll need experience to start your career before you can work up to managing sensitive data.

Earning database administrator certifications

The value placed on database administrator certifications is high. More than a degree and experience are required as companies want to know that you have relevant database management skills and can use the appropriate database languages. Certification in the right software, management system, or language can set you apart, even if it isn’t a requirement.

Employers sometimes provide on-the-job training and expect database administrators to engage in professional development. The following list contains some certificate programmes and online training you may want to pursue:

• Oracle Certified Professional (OCP)

• IBM Data Science Fundamentals with Python and SQL Specialization

• Oracle Autonomous Database Administration

• Computer Service Technician (CST)

• IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate

• Microsoft Certified Database Administrator

• Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate

• IBM Certified Database Associate - DB2 9 Fundamentals

Take the next step in your data administration career with Coursera

A career as a database administrator might appeal to you if you have experience working with databases or computer science. You can begin in this field by gaining a bachelor’s degree and developing relevant skills. Starting with some courses and certifications is a great first step. To launch your database management career, you can develop a foundation in database management with IBM's Data Science Professional Certificate or Database Management Essentials offered by the University of Colorado on Coursera.