SQL Server Database Administrator
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A SQL Server Database Administrator administers SQL Server data systems and structures. Uses software applications and structured query language (SQL) procedures 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 128 SQL Server Database Administrator job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 3534 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Database Administrator industry, which includes the SQL Server Database Administrator career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new SQL Server 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 $101,736.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $104,741.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for SQL Server Database Administrator postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $87,250.
Education and Experience
Posted SQL Server 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 | 51.19% |
| Master's Degree | 9.05% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.65% |
| Other | 3.06% |
Posted SQL Server 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 | 8.73% |
| 3 to 5 years | 47.65% |
| 6 to 8 years | 24.34% |
| 9+ years | 19.28% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills SQL Server 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) (49.29%)
- Management (37.41%)
- Communication (36.47%)
- Problem Solving (24.45%)
- Information Technology (18.28%)
- Operations (18.14%)
- Leadership (14.09%)
- Planning (13.72%)
- Writing (7.72%)
- Mentorship (7.58%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Automation (22.71%)
- Backup Devices (26.99%)
- Microsoft Azure (30.42%)
- Computer Science (26.57%)
- Disaster Recovery (25.83%)
- Database Security (21.75%)
- Database Administration (81.03%)
- Performance Tuning (36.12%)
- Microsoft SQL Servers (47.69%)
- SQL (Programming Language) (96.09%)
- SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) (28.64%)
- Windows PowerShell (20.56%)
- SQL Server Reporting Services (21.97%)
- Transact-SQL (19.93%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Database Upgrades (3.32%)
- Database Software (3.4%)
- Database Management (11.79%)
- Database Systems (18.63%)
- Data Maintenance (7.6%)
- IT Capacity Management (13.35%)
- Technical Support (8.08%)
- Agile Methodology (10.46%)
- Data Management (9.67%)
- Relational Databases (7.74%)
- Microsoft Access (15.99%)
- Amazon Web Services (18.8%)
- Auditing (14.97%)
- Application Development (9.3%)
- Data Integrity (11.14%)
- Database Servers (9.36%)
- Change Management (7%)
- Data Warehousing (11.31%)
- Data Modeling (12.22%)
- Encryption (7.85%)
- Cryptography (4.03%)
- DevOps (9.04%)
- Extract Transform Load (ETL) (17.89%)
- Information Systems (6.52%)
- Database Storage Structures (6.78%)
- Linux (8.68%)
- Windows Servers (12.19%)
- Database Management Systems (14.49%)
- IBM DB2 (5.33%)
- Database Design (15.54%)
- Operating Systems (8.62%)
- MySQL (11.82%)
- Database Tuning (14.37%)
- Python (Programming Language) (10.55%)
- Scalability (10.77%)
- PostgreSQL (13.67%)
- Root Cause Analysis (3.91%)
- SQL Server Analysis Services (8.53%)
- Project Management (10.89%)
- Query Optimization (12.33%)
- MongoDB (7.2%)
- Scripting (22%)
- Power BI (12.5%)
- Stored Procedure (18.91%)
- Relational Database Management Systems (5.1%)
- Statistics (4.91%)
- On Prem (7.09%)
- Indexing (8.48%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Database Mirroring (3.4%)
- Log Shipping (8.42%)
- Failover Clustering (4.05%)
- Query Tuning (5.16%)
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.
- Microsoft SQL Servers (48.54%)
- Windows PowerShell (20.92%)
- SQL (Programming Language) (97.81%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with SQL Server Database Administrator skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- SQL Database Administrator
- Lead SQL Server Database Administrator
- Database Administrator
- Microsoft SQL Server Database Administrator
- PostgreSQL Database Administrator
- SQL Administrator
- Mulesoft Engineer
- Process Improvement Manager
- SQL Data Analyst
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.
- Database Administrator
- Database Architect
- Database Analyst / Developer
- Oracle Database Administrator
- SQL Developer
- ETL Developer
- Data Warehouse Developer
- Business Intelligence Developer / Architect
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most SQL Server Database Administrator jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Contact Government Services (86)
- Insight Global (69)
- Humana (67)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (64)
- GovCIO (57)
- Accenture (53)
- Cai (52)
- Eliassen Group (51)
- Molina Healthcare (47)
- Xerox (46)
North Carolina
- Vaco (5)
- A3 Solutions (4)
- Larsen & Toubro (3)
- TD Bank (3)
- Genesis10 (3)
- Siemens (3)
- Accenture (3)
- ASGN (3)
- Crescens (2)
- MSYS (2)
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.