Database Administrator
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Database Administrator uses software to store and organize data, such as an organization's records or financial information. Ensures that users can easily access the information they need, and that data are protected from unauthorized access.
Job Outlook
There were 301 Database Administrator job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 11393 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Database Administrator industry, which includes the Database Administrator career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Database Administrator jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $102,886.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $97,604.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Database Administrator postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $92,225.
Education and Experience
Posted Database Administrator jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 60.63% |
| Master's Degree | 9.22% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.25% |
| Other | 4.88% |
Posted Database Administrator jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 10.15% |
| 3 to 5 years | 46.02% |
| 6 to 8 years | 22.38% |
| 9+ years | 21.45% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Database Administrator positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (48.08%)
- Communication (36.43%)
- Management (33.98%)
- Problem Solving (30.16%)
- Operations (27.29%)
- Information Technology (24.28%)
- Planning (16.11%)
- Detail Oriented (13.32%)
- Leadership (13.31%)
- Analytical Skills (9.3%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Database Administration (93.25%)
- SQL (Programming Language) (55.3%)
- Computer Science (36.02%)
- Performance Tuning (36.56%)
- Disaster Recovery (30.81%)
- Microsoft SQL Servers (25.08%)
- Database Design (23.58%)
- Database Systems (26.77%)
- Automation (28.8%)
- Scripting (26.41%)
- Amazon Web Services (22.61%)
- Backup Devices (25.03%)
- PostgreSQL (24.63%)
- Database Security (23.09%)
- Database Tuning (18.53%)
- Database Servers (5.21%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Linux (19.4%)
- Database Management (21.98%)
- Microsoft Azure (22.32%)
- Database Management Systems (19.42%)
- MySQL (17.56%)
- Data Modeling (18.24%)
- Python (Programming Language) (18.52%)
- Microsoft Access (15.16%)
- Auditing (21.02%)
- Operating Systems (9.47%)
- Stored Procedure (13.45%)
- Data Integrity (19.45%)
- IT Capacity Management (15.48%)
- Extract Transform Load (ETL) (13.76%)
- Relational Databases (12.07%)
- Relational Database Management Systems (10.29%)
- Windows PowerShell (13.69%)
- Data Warehousing (11.25%)
- IBM DB2 (11.5%)
- Oracle Databases (12.13%)
- Unix (11.27%)
- Project Management (11.73%)
- Technical Support (10.17%)
- Agile Methodology (10.15%)
- Scalability (13.38%)
- Information Systems (9.09%)
- Data Analysis (10.81%)
- Application Development (9.31%)
- Data Management (9.32%)
- Business Requirements (6.56%)
- SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) (7.64%)
- MongoDB (8.69%)
- Data Maintenance (8.96%)
- Shell Script (9.28%)
- Transact-SQL (6.93%)
- PL/SQL (8.56%)
- NoSQL (10.92%)
- Operational Databases (6.85%)
- SQL Server Reporting Services (5.24%)
- Ansible (10.23%)
- Query Optimization (11.05%)
- Change Management (8.03%)
- DevOps (10.15%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Database Upgrades (4.64%)
- Oracle Database Administration (DBA) (4.4%)
- Recovery Manager (RMAN) (4.84%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Database Upgrades (5.7%)
- Database Management (26.98%)
- Oracle Database Administration (DBA) (5.4%)
- Backup Devices (30.73%)
- Cloud Database (4.52%)
- Computer Science (44.22%)
- Database Design (28.94%)
- Database Security (28.35%)
- Database Tuning (22.75%)
- Oracle Exadata (4.49%)
- Performance Tuning (44.88%)
- Oracle GoldenGate (2.72%)
- Recovery Manager (RMAN) (5.94%)
- Oracle Enterprise Manager (4.04%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Database Administrator skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Lead Database Administrator
- Db2 Database Administrator
- Application Database Administrator
- PostgreSQL Database Administrator
- Data Administrator
- Database Administrator/Developer
- Mainframe Administrator
- GIS Database Administrator
- Postgres Database Administrator
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- SQL Server Database Administrator
- Database Architect
- Database Analyst / Developer
- Oracle Database Administrator
- SQL Developer
- Middleware Administrator
- ETL Developer
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Database Administrator jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- GovCIO (593)
- Ensono (352)
- Robert Half (197)
- Lumen Technologies (182)
- Uline (168)
- Accenture (146)
- Deloitte (132)
- Cayuse Holdings (96)
- Insight Global (75)
- CACI International (75)
North Carolina
- Ensono (13)
- GovCIO (12)
- Genesis10 (8)
- Robert Half (8)
- Randstad (7)
- BCforward (7)
- University of North Carolina (6)
- TEKsystems (6)
- State of North Carolina (6)
- Pyramid Consulting (6)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.