System DBAs: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more

System DBAs are responsible for the physical and technical aspects of a database, such as installing upgrades and patches to fix program bugs. They typically have a background in system architecture and ensure that the firms database management systems work properly.

Education Required
Most database administrators have a bachelors degree in an information- or computer-related subject such as computer science. Firms with large databases may prefer applicants who have a masters degree focusing on data or database management, typically either in computer science, information systems, or information technology.
Job Outlook
The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: 11% (Faster than average)
(The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent.)
Advancement
Database administrators can advance to become computer and information systems managers.
Licenses/Certifications
Certification is generally offered directly from software vendors or vendor-neutral certification providers. Certification validates the knowledge and best practices required from DBAs. Companies may require their database administrators to be certified in the products they use.
Median pay: How much do Database Administrators make?
$84,950 Annual Salary
$40.84 per hour

Careers for Database Administrators

  • Application DBAs
  • Application database administrators
  • Automatic data processing planners
  • DBAs
  • DBMS specialists
  • Database administration managers
  • Database coordinators
  • Database management system specialists
  • Database security administrators
  • System database administrators

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