How to Get Started in a Database Administrator Career
A database administrator (DBA) is a professional who is responsible for designing, installing, testing, debugging, upgrading, maintaining and securing an organization's databases. Database administrators must also ensure that employees can access any required information quickly and efficiently. Other database administration duties typically include preventing unauthorized access to databases, communicating with support personnel and performing backups and recovery as needed. Rapidly changing technology means aspiring database administrators need an increasing level of skill and education. Here's how to get started in a database administrator career.
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Instructions
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Earn a college degree. Although some organizations hire individuals with two-year, computer-related degrees, most employers prefer to hire database administrators who hold a bachelor's degree in management information systems (MIS), computer science or information science. You can greatly increase your chances of employment if you hold a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Information Systems. These degree programs are offered at colleges, universities and technical institutes.
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Familiarize yourself with commonly used database programs. Take courses focusing on databases, read books that pertain to running databases and join on-line groups that talk about trends in the database field. Make sure you are familiar with Oracle---it has become the industry standard in the database field.
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Obtain certification. Many employers prefer to hire individuals who are certified in a specific type of database administration. Some often-requested certificates are the Oracle OCP, the Oracle OCA and Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA). You will need to study and pass an exam before being awarded a certificate. Database administrator certification is available through various organizations that sell database software and through some computer specialist associations.
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Find a database administration job. Apply to work in the IT department of organizations that interest you and use the databases in which you are certified. Perform any database administrative duties as they occur.
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Continue learning. Once you have become a database administrator, you will need to keep up with this constantly changing industry. Read up on new database technology and practice using new database design tools and servers.
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Tips & Warnings
Database administrators should possess excellent written and oral communication skills since they will have to work closely with development teams and computer programmers. Database administrators must have the ability to multitask and focus on details.
Resources
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