Career: Database Administrators

When you created a My Organizer account on this website, you answered questions about yourself and came up with a password. But where does all that information go? How is it stored and then promptly retrieved each time you log in?

Just ask our database administrators. Thanks to their efforts, your data and the data of thousands of other users remains secure and accessible.

Database administrators organize, track, and store information for businesses and other organizations. They also design and coordinate database security systems.

Did You Know?

• The United Network for Organ Sharing uses a database to match donated hearts, lungs, and other body organs to the people who need them.

Are You Ready To...?

• Learn database programming languages
• Interview users to learn more about their database needs
• Test databases
• Make sure data is secure
• Coordinate your efforts with a team of computer specialists and managers
• Continue to update your knowledge of the best tools for organizing and storing data

It Helps to Be...

Curious about new technology and adaptable. Employers look for people who can learn new systems quickly and start putting them to use right away.

Make High School Count

• Take as much advanced math as your school offers.
• Make the most of your science classes. They train you to think logically.
• Sign up for computer science classes. If your high school doesn’t offer any, look into summer classes for precollege students at local two- or four-year colleges.
• Consider summer computer science camp programs like MIT’s Women’s Technology Program.
• Sign up for a business class to get a sense of how databases can help organizations.
• Keep up with the latest news in computer technology.

Did You Know?

• Database administrators must know a programming language for managing databases called SQL.

Outlook

Government economists project that between 2004 and 2014, jobs for database administrators will grow at a much faster rate than other occupations. In fact, it’s one of the fastest growing fields the government studied.

The rapid growth of e-commerce -- doing business on the Internet -- continues to fuel demand for database administrators. Candidates with advanced degrees in computer science or engineering, and those with an MBA in information systems will be in high demand.

The news isn’t all good, however. Offshoring should limit job growth in the United States. Offshoring is the practice of hiring people in foreign countries who work for lower salaries than Americans.

Compensation

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the average yearly salary of database administrators was $67,460 in 2006. Here are average salaries in the industries that hire the most database administrators:

• Computer systems design and related services: $74,570
• Management of companies and enterprises: $68,520
• Colleges and universities: $58,720
• Insurance carriers: $70,770
• Local government: $62,500