NBA? DBA!

Ladies and gentlemen, this week I'm going to tell you a bit about a profession that has been gaining influence and might in the last 2 decades: the database administrator. I'm going to elaborate a bit about the following points:

1. What is included under this title "Database Administrator"?
2. What benefits can this profession give its occupants?
3. What are the drawbacks of this profession?
4. How can you become a database administrator?



What is included under this title "Database Administrator"?


Database - is a virtual set of tables.  As simple as that.  Imagine a set of thousands of tables packed together and placed on a computer: this is a database.  Why is this so important?  because any website you visit stores its data on a database.  For example: when you log in to Facebook, all the data on your personal account are originally stored on a database, and when you log in, the data gets imported from the database into your personal account so you can view it.

A database administrator is the professional responsible to develop and maintain databases: create new databases, securing them from viruses and other threats, help staff use them adequately or even performing data retrieval for other people in the organization.


What benefits can this profession gives its occupants?

1.  Relatively high occupational security -  because this position gives a  wide knowledge of the organization's inner data (including confidential data) which makes the organization think again and again before sacking such an employee.  In addition, this isn't a research & development job (i.e it doesn't involve directly in product development) thus the employer always needs the employee for maintenance of the information assets.

2. Not a small screw in the machine - everybody knows the database administrator.  Everybody needs the database administrator.   This is because everybody needs data thus everybody needs the DBA.  Kapish?


What are the drawbacks of this profession?


1. Most people don't dream often of a day in front of a computer.  Such a job is commonly perceived as geeky and boring.  Women seldom get attracted to such a career because they're inclined to interpersonal jobs like healthcare or teaching positions.  Thus, most people aren't inclined to computer oriented careers.

2. There aren't relatively many positions of database administrators.  They get hired to deal with large database and most businesses don't need large databases.  In contrast, for every little aspect in a software there's a need of a programmer  or for every small issue in a local network, there's a need of a system administrator.


How can you become a database administrator?


As in every computing profession, there are 2 main tracks to follow: the academic and the non-academic.

1. Academic - study 3-4 years of computing related degree (mainly Computer Science or Information Systems)  and then start as a apprentice in the databases field.  Advantage: getting great learning skills which would be beneficial in the day to day demanding routine.  Disadvantage: long  and hard studies and sometimes also expensive.


2. Non academic -  study a certification course (like: SQL Server Database Administrator or Oracle DBA) and then start as a newbie in the industry.  Advantage: short studies (not more than a year).  Disadvantage: weak learning skills and non existent  theoretical background.