Roles › Chief Executive Officer › Chief Information Officer › Database Administration

What does a Database Administrator do?

Keeps the transactional databases behind applications fast and safe.

Steady demand Team: Database Administration Reports into: Chief Information Officer

What they actually do

Tune, back up, patch, and secure production databases.
Manage replicas that pipelines read from so they don't slow the app.
Control schema changes.

Hiring demand

Steady demand. Regular postings, but fewer than the busiest roles. Expect a longer search or more specialization.

Ad space

Who they work with

Software engineeringPipeline engineersSecurity

Typical tools

SQL Server / Oracle / PostgreSQLMonitoringBackup tools

Skills to get there

Deep SQL
Performance tuning
Operations

Title ladder

Common titles for this role at each level. Companies vary; see Role titles decoded.

Level	Typical titles
Entry	Junior / Associate Database Administrator · Database Administrator I
Mid	Database Administrator · Database Administrator II
Senior	Senior Database Administrator · Lead Database Administrator
Expert (IC track)	Staff / Principal Database Administrator
Management track	Manager, Database Administration → Director of Database Administration → VP

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See current openings

Searching for: Database Administrator · anywhere in the US · change

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How to get here

Salary (US) as of 2026-11

Median$105K

Typical range$60K–$163K

Sources:

Mapped to BLS 15-1242. PayScale base figures run lower than BLS; cleared/government DBAs and cloud-database specialists sit higher. Glassdoor DBA page not available. Senior IC/manager figure from BLS Database Architects (15-1243) median: $139,500.

Experience to get here

Entry level1-3 years (junior DBA, SQL developer, or sysadmin)

Typical title5+ years on a current posting; 3-7 typical

Bachelor's in CS/IT typical per BLS; employers may prefer a master's for data/database management. Postings weight years administering Oracle or SQL Server and vendor certs.

Typical prior roles

Junior DBASQL Developer / Report DeveloperSystems AdministratorData Analyst with heavy SQL

Must have

Administering Oracle and/or Microsoft SQL Server (PostgreSQL increasingly)
Backup, recovery, patching, upgrades, migrations
Performance tuning and capacity planning
Users, roles, permissions, and access control
Scripting/automation of admin tasks
Monitoring and production troubleshooting

Milestones people hit first

Restored a production database from backup under time pressure
Tuned a query or index change that fixed an application slowdown
Led a major version upgrade or cloud migration (e.g., to Azure SQL / RDS)
Set up replication/replicas so analytics stopped slowing the app

Certifications

Oracle Database Administration Certified Professional (OCP)Oracle University

Requiredin postings: often

Exam fee	not published
Training	Oracle University courses (pricing on request)
Renewal	tied to database version; no fixed cycle
Typical total	pricing on request

Time: 3-6 months per exam with hands-on work
Prerequisites: Exams 1Z0-082 (Administration I) then 1Z0-083 (Administration II)

A current government DBA posting required OCP or an equivalent Oracle/Microsoft cert; still the Oracle-shop standard.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate (DP-300)Microsoft

Preferredin postings: often

Exam fee	not published
Training	Microsoft Learn free path
Renewal	free online assessment every 12 months
Typical total	exam priced by region; pricing on request

Time: 1-3 months
Prerequisites: None formal; SQL Server / Azure SQL experience recommended

The current Microsoft DBA credential (covers SQL Server on-prem and Azure SQL); accepted as the 'Microsoft database certification' postings ask for.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - AssociateAmazon Web Services

Nice to havein postings: sometimes

Exam fee	$150
Training	AWS Skill Builder free tier
Renewal	every 3 years
Typical total	$150-450

Time: 1-3 months
Prerequisites: None formal

Covers RDS/Aurora and storage; useful as DBA work shifts to managed cloud databases.

Training & learning

Microsoft Learn (DP-300 and SQL Server paths) FREE Microsoft · learning path · free (self-paced modules) · 30-50 hoursFree official prep covering HA/DR, security, tuning, and automation on SQL Server and Azure SQL.
Oracle certification catalog and exam pages Oracle University · learning path · varies; exam pricing via 'Buy an exam' · self-pacedLists the current Oracle Database exams (1Z0-082, 1Z0-083) and the AI Database admin track.
AWS Skill Builder FREE Amazon Web Services · learning path · free tier (900+ courses); $29/mo or $449/yr for exam prep · self-pacedFree courses on RDS, Aurora, and backup/DR patterns in the cloud.
Introduction to Linux (LFS101) FREE The Linux Foundation · course · free · ~60 hoursMost Oracle and PostgreSQL servers run on Linux; DBAs need shell fluency.

Sources & notes

Oracle exam fees are not published on Oracle's pages (null). DP-300 is region-priced. Glassdoor DBA salary page not available; PayScale and a posting used instead. BLS projects flat DBA employment (0%) but +9% for database architects, the natural next step.

Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.

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