DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR
By: Asitha Nuwan
Tags: Job Role, Database Development, Database, Data Journalism, Database Administration

DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR

Computer systems design and related services firms, banks, insurance companies, universities and health care are examples of the many different types of industries that a database administrator will find work. In addition to being responsible for backing up systems in case of power outages or other disasters, a DBA is also frequently involved in tasks related to training employees in database management and use, designing, implementing, and maintaining the database system and establishing policies and procedures related to the organization’s data management policy.

What are the responsibilities?

Database installation, upgrade and patching

Install and configure relevant network components

Ensure database access, consistency and integrity

Resolving issues related to performance bottlenecks

Provide reporting on various metrics including availability, usage and performance

Performance testing and benchmark activities

Work with development staff on architectures, coding standards, and quality assurance policies

Create models for new database development or changes to existing ones

Respond to and resolve database access and performance issues

Monitor database system details

Design and implement redundant systems, policies, and procedures for disaster recovery

Monitor, optimize and allocate physical data storage for database systems

Plan and coordinate data migrations

Develop, implement, and maintain change control and testing processes

Perform database transaction and security audits

Establish end-user database access control levels

Implement database encryption and data encryption

Plan and ensure compliance with established best practices, related policies and legislation

Participate as a member of a team to move the team toward the completion of its goals

Average salary

The national average database administrator salary is $77,428. Senior database administrators average $104,000 per year. Due to the high demand for these professionals in a variety of fields, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated a prediction that database administrator jobs will grow 11 percent between 2014 and 2024. The BLS also reports that computer systems services, management companies, colleges and universities are the top employers for this profession.

DATABASE DESIGNER

For most application development projects, the technology used for persisting data is a relational database. The database designer must have a solid working knowledge of the Data Modeling, Database design, Object-Oriented Analysis and Design techniques, System Architecture, including Database and System performance tuning, as well as hardware and network workload balancing etc. This information is maintained in the Artifact: Data Model. The scope of the tasks performed by the database designer role vary depending on the size and complexity of the application development effort and the type of persistent data storage mechanisms used for the project.

What are the responsibilities?

defining the detailed database design

Identifying the data to be stored in the database

choose appropriate structures to represent and store this data

communicate all prospective database users in order to understand there requirements and come up with design that meet these requirements.

Average salary

Database designers in the United States make an average salary of $77,510 per year or $37.26 per hour. People on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $58,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $102,000.

DATA ENGINEER

Data engineers are vital members of any enterprise data analytics team, responsible for managing, optimizing, overseeing and monitoring data retrieval, storage and distribution throughout the organization. Data engineering is a broad field, but any individual data engineer doesn’t need to know the whole spectrum of skills. In this section, we’ll sketch the broad outlines of data engineering, then walk through more specific descriptions that illustrate specific data engineering roles.

What are the responsibilities?

Develop, construct, test and maintain architectures

Align architecture with business requirements

Data acquisition

Develop data set processes

Use programming language and tools

Identify ways to improve data reliability, efficiency and quality

Conduct research for industry and business questions

Use large data sets to address business issues

Deploy sophisticated analytics programs, machine learning and statistical methods

Prepare data for predictive and prescriptive modeling

Find hidden patterns using data

Use data to discover tasks that can be automated

Deliver updates to stakeholders based on analytics

Average salary

According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a data engineer is $137,776 per year, with a reported salary range of $110,000 to $155,000 depending on skills, experience and location. Senior data engineers earn an average salary of $172,603 per year, with a reported salary range of $152,000 to $194,000.

DATABASE PROGRAMMER

There are various types of database programmers. Many write programs that connect to an existing database, often residing on a remote server, replying to complex queries on the contained data. Some concentrate on writing programs that can add a single report to an existing database, entered by multiple users at multiple sites. Many of the basic technical skills of database programming are more transferable from one database to another. While “big data” systems like Hadoop are emerging for accessing terabytes of content, the most popular databases are relational ones. These include Oracle, SQL Server, IBM DB2, MySQL, Postgre, and Berkeley DB. The key concepts remain the same for all these systems. They all use SQL statements to access data.

What are the responsibilities?

making sure that databases run efficiently and securely

writing software code and debugging programs

testing databases to correct errors and make modifications

utilize models and flowcharts to help plan software

coordinating various database projects, such as transferring information to new systems or implementing new security measures

developing standards and guidelines for using software

average salary

average database programmer makes $77,702 per year? That’s valued at $37.36 per hour! The range surrounding that average can vary between $59,000 and $101,000, meaning database programmers have the opportunity to earn more once they move past entry-level roles

DATABASE DEVELOPER

Most of the companies look for Computer Science graduates or postgraduates for the position of database developer. Therefore, you need to possess a degree in the respective field if you want to make a career as a database developer. Some small companies also recruit people without technical background having sound knowledge of database development. People who are interested in taking up database development as a career but do not have computer science background can undertake certification courses offered by Oracle Corporation and Microsoft. These are the trusted certification courses for database development.

What are the responsibilities?

A database developer develops database right from the scratch

He collects data, analyzes the collected information, designs algorithms, draws flowcharts and then implements code for the logic developed through algorithms and flowcharts

During the code development process of the database a developer has to develop appropriate queries that can help him to retrieve data from the database, look into the security issues of the data and develop structures, procedures and triggers

He also has to design Relational Database models and test the developed code with test data to make sure the code is error free

If any errors are thrown when the code is running then they should be corrected and once again tested

Database developers are also supposed to prepare and maintain report of the entire backend development life cycle

Once the development process is completed and all the frontend modules are ready, database developers need to work with the frontend development team and help in integrating the modules together

If the modules are successfully integrated then the integrated code is again tested by the testers and errors if any are sent to the development team for fixing

If integration of the modules fails then the database development team has to rework on the modules and fix the problem

Average salary

An early career Database Developer with 1–4 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $67,614 based on 378 salaries. A mid-career Database Developer with 5–9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $80,773 based on 225 salaries. An experienced Database Developer with 10–19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $91,879 based on 168 salaries. In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of $100,934.