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I'm considering the option of studying up to become a DBA. Can anyone in this particular field give me the run down? From my research online, it seems like a pretty stable, secure IT career field. The pay seems pretty decent as well, particularly after you get some experience behind the wheel. The local community college offers a certification program, which I'm considering pursuing. Also, I'm looking into Microsoft's MCTS certification program (exam 70-432). I know where I can find information online about the field, but I actually want some feedback from people who are either working in the field or know somebody working in the field.
Do you think DBA is a worthwhile pursuit? Do you think the certifications would be a good means of getting my foot in the door with a company, even if it means starting out as an apprentice or other lowly position? Which kinds of companies use DBAs? I've never met one personally.
I will also be posting this thread on Dice, but I figured I'd ask all my friends here at C-D first.
I'm not a DBA, but I do work in IT so I can give you some of the plusses and minuses.
On the plus side, the money can be pretty good and unlike a lot of IT jobs like customer support, tech writer, or QA, DBAs tends to relatively secure and more difficult to outsource. Also, depending on where you work, you could enjoy quite a lot of autonomy. Every place I've worked at that had a DBA, he or she seemed to have free rein to whatever they wanted, within reasonable limits of course.
The bad part about being a DBA is the hours might not be good. You can very easily find yourself working odd hours and being called whenever there's a production. Because most companies considered their data pretty important, there's also higher expectations of a DBA. Therefore, you have to be extremely good at what you do. Another drawback to being a DBA, like you pointed out, is that breaking into the field isn't always easy. An IT department at a given company could have a dozen developers but only one DBA. And because of the nature of what you're doing, it's not an entry-level job. I don't know how much help certifications will do, but I do think being an apprentice to someone else is the best way to go. What also matters is what databases you've worked with. Oracle and SQL Server are the big ones, with MySQL slowly catching on. But all you know is MS Access, you won't get far.
It pays well and really good DBAs are highly respected, thru experience they've mastered lots of black magic regarding performance optimization, load balancing, etc. that isn't explained easily in textbooks. It's also interesting in that a lot of software developers are pretty solid in most DBA roles as well, they might not be as refined as a good DBA but they are quite content to start throwing indexes around and building aggregate tables to see what makes it run better.
However it's also an infrastructure role so a lot of what you does happen at weird hours and you'll have a lot of quasi-IT mundane maintenance tasks you might be involved in.
I know I had a boss about 3 years ago who had a Master's Degree in CS. And he really loved the doing DBA because that was all he would talk about when he trained you. His eyes just lit up; when he explained Databases, and what all he could do with them. His title on his window was the Director of I.T./DBA. I didn't know to much about databases then except for setting them up to work with website. And I remember one time I told him, well just taught myself SQL, and it seemed like he got offended. He corrected me real quick, he said, you mean MSSQL Server 2008. So he took his craft very serious. So from that I take it must be good to learn.
I have been in the tech field since '92, but, I think I am about to go back to school for either MicroBiology or BioChemistry because I need a change of life work plan. If I could turn back the hands of time; I would have did like my nephew, who is the same age as me, and when directly to college, after HS, for a PH D in the medical field. But that's just me. But good luck in whatever your choice..
Oracle is the leader in large enterprise databases. Firms will often hire contractors with the slim experience but solid certification / training to assist their full time staff through busy periods / challenging upgrades. Oracle in particular has layered approach to training and certification, so that it is possible to learn all the foundational aspects of being a day to day DBA and stack on more specialized roles.
Few large firms have only one brand of databases, and have a breadth of experience is useful. If you are able to gain experience on Unix/Linux systems as well Windows systems that is extremely prudent. Most DBAs are expected to be able automate / script tasks.
Some DBAs are well steeped in the theoretical aspects of relational databases and get involved in "business intelligence" and/or "decision making systems". Additional skills such as experience custom coding applications or configuring packaged software are useful in allowing DBAs to serve as "data architects" and/or analytics specialists. If there experience includes networking or other hardware expertise they are well suited to be a leader in the infrastructure of firms that run dats centers in-house as well as serving as a liaison for firms that rely on third party computing providers.
As others have mentioned firms know that their data is among their most valuable of business assets. There is great reluctance to outsource functions that are so central to the firm. It is relatively stable, but as with many technologies the "wizard-ification" and automation of much of the routine aspects of DBA work means that ever larger data bases can be run by smaller numbers of more specialized DBAs. Old pros have to be flexible in learning new skills and newbies have to show maturity and calmness when dealing with demanding schedules/ challenges of time & budget.
Detail oriented people with an ability to think on the fly and communicate in a terse but informed way tend to be suited to the powerful but potentially devastating sorts of commands and activities that DBAs are expected to master. A huge part of any DBAs role involves being prepared for and preventing disaster. While the DB vendors make their products in such a way that recovering data can be highly reliable, the mindset that a DBA must have in carrying the weight of a companies entire set of records is very serious. From customer info to employee data to mandated record keeping a DBA can be like a doctor watching the health of a patient that is always in the ICU or like parent with a "baby monitor" that can chirp at any minute. For these reasons most firms have teams that provide non-stop coverage for both operational aspects of the DB as well periodic design / re-engineering.
It's also interesting in that a lot of software developers are pretty solid in most DBA roles as well, they might not be as refined as a good DBA but they are quite content to start throwing indexes around and building aggregate tables to see what makes it run better.
I've worked in organizations where there was always a certain amount of overlap between developers and the DBA. But some of the DBAs I've worked with could get pretty territorial. As a developer, I have no problem deferring to the DBA. At the same time, however, I've made sure to how to create a schema, write stored procedures, and other skills that developers are expected to know. A number of developers I've worked with have actually moved over to the database side either for better job security or just because they found it more interesting. But I prefer being a developer. I rarely have to work late or be on call. The downside is I probably don't make as much. But that whole work/life balance is a nice thing to have.
What also matters is what databases you've worked with. Oracle and SQL Server are the big ones, with MySQL slowly catching on. But all you know is MS Access, you won't get far.
As someone who was an MS Access DBA for well over a decade, I fully agree. Oracle, SQL and MySQL are the big things now.
i have known several. dont plan on leaving this job if you ever get it.
stay put. boring repetitive but its a pay check.
it takes a certain type of person to do this sort of job.
what i would be concerned about now is any advanced degree and the debt associated with it.
VE at at jr college looks much much better. (my favorite pick LVN/RN)
little or no debt. also if they lied to you about job demand, you dont get holding the debt bag.
You may need knowledge of information systems, as well as things such as normalisation.
8th normal form baby! It's only been rumored of, rarely seen in the wild, a theory so out there that it's only mentioned in whispers in dark corners of bars where hunchbacked DBA types hang out.
I've heard it's so normalized they don't even spell any words, it's all foreign keys to a letters table.
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DBA choice..
