Database related career paths

Nirmal Kapilarathne
6 min readOct 18, 2020

In this article, we will discuss main duties, essential and preferred skills required and educational qualification and salary about following database related roles.

  • DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR
  • DATABASE DESIGNER
  • DATA ENGINEER
  • DATABASE PROGRAMMER
  • DATABASE DEVELOPER

1. Database Administrator

What is a Database Administrator?

A database administrator is someone who uses software to store and organize data, such as financial information and customer shipping records. They make sure that data is available to users and is secure from unauthorized access. Database administrators work in many different types of industries, including computer systems design and related services firms, insurance companies, banks, and hospitals.

What does a Database Administrator do?

Database administrators, often called DBAs, make sure that data analysts can easily use the database to find the information they need and that the system performs as it should. DBAs sometimes work with an organization’s management team to understand the company’s data needs and to plan the goals of the database.

How to be a database administrator

To become a database administrator, follow these six steps:

  • Earn a bachelor’s degree
  • Get work experience
  • Learn key computer languages
  • Master computer programs and platforms
  • Pursue software vendor certification

Salary

Average salary of a database administrator is $79,000/yr. But as a salary range, we can say $59,000 — $107,000/yr.

2. Database Designer

What is the role of database designer?

The database designer is responsible for defining the detailed database design, including tables, indexes, views, constraints, triggers, stored procedures, and other database-specific constructs needed to store, retrieve, and delete persistent objects.

What does a Database Designer do…?

There are certain skills that many database designers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, creativity and communication skills.

How to Become a Database Designer…

If you’re interested in becoming a database designer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We’ve determined that 48.6% of database designers have a bachelor’s degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 33.9% of database designers have master’s degrees. Even though most database designers have a college degree, it’s possible to become one with only a high school degree.

Salary

Average salary of a database designer is $58000/yr. But as a salary range, we can say $84000- $99000/yr.

3. Data Engineering

What is a Data Engineer?

Harnessing data can enable a lot of things, from personalizing marketing campaigns to powering self-driving cars. Data scientists are responsible for analyzing data and using it for various purposes. However, they need good quality data to accomplish complex tasks, such as forecasting trends for business. That’s where data engineers come in. Data engineering is the science of collecting and validating information (data) such that data scientists can use it.

What Are the Responsibilities?

Data engineers set up and maintain the data infrastructures that support business information systems and applications. They might work with something small, like a relational database for a mom-and-pop business — or something big, like a petabyte-scale data lake for a Fortune 500 company.

As part of their responsibilities, data engineers design, build and install the data systems. These systems fuel machine learning and AI analytics. They also develop information processes for a whole host of data tasks. These include data acquisition, data transformation, and data modeling, among others.

What Skills Should a Data Engineer Have?

Data engineers need to acquire a variety of skills related to programming languages, databases, and operating systems. As a data engineer, it is important to keep in mind that you’ll never feel like you know everything, but you will know “enough.” More importantly, you’ll know how to find information and acquire new skills when needed.

How to Become a Data Engineer….

Here are five steps to keep in mind if you are planning on becoming a data engineer:

  • Earn a bachelor’s degree and begin working on projects.
  • Fine tune your analysis, computer engineering and big data skills
  • Get your first entry-level job.
  • Consider pursuing additional professional engineering or big data certifications.
  • Pursue higher education degrees in computer science, engineering, applied mathematics, physics, or in a related field.

Salary

Salary can vary from $72,000 to $158,000/yr. As an average salary, we can say up to $103,000/yr.

4. Database Programmer

What is a database programmer?

Database programmers develop and maintain database programs. Understanding what databases are and how to build them is the primary responsibility of database programmers. They also work with others on the team to clarify field elements and requirements, and then design and implement relational database.

What is a database developer job description?

Database Developers, also called database programmers, are primarily responsible for creating and implementing computer databases. They determine the best database management system for a particular client, as well as test database programs for efficiency and performance and troubleshoot and correct problems.

How to Become a Database Programmer…

If you’re interested in becoming a database programmer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We’ve determined that 52.8% of database programmers have a bachelor’s degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 27.1% of database programmers have master’s degrees. Even though most database programmers have a college degree, it’s possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Salary

Database programmers earn between $38,000 and $126,000/yr. Average $84,551 a year.

5. Database Developer

Who is a database developer?

Database developers ensure that database management systems (DBMS) can handle massive quantities of data. Also called database programmers, developers usually work as part of a software development team. Designing and developing new databases. Troubleshooting database issues.

What does a SQL database developer do?

SQL Developers are responsible for developing SQL databases and writing applications to interface with SQL databases. Development often consists of designing tables, storing procedures, views and functions.

What do you need to become a database developer?

To become a database developer, you can follow these steps.

  • Get a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, OR get a database certification.
  • Create a portfolio of your work.
  • Optional: Volunteer your database development skills.
  • Create your resume.
  • Update or create a LinkedIn profile.
  • Apply for Database Developer roles.

Salary

Database developers usually earn average of $73,506 a year. And it can be vary from $57,000 to $96,000/yr.

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