Database related career paths
Welcome Readers!!!
In this Article share some knowledge about careers related to database management sector. So here are the careers discuss.
1. Database Administrator
2. Database Designer
3. Big Data Engineer
4. Database Programmer
5. Database Developer
Profession database administrator
A database administrator (DBA) is a specialized computer systems administrator who maintains a successful database environment by directing or performing all related activities to keep the data secure. The top responsibility of a DBA professional is to maintain data integrity. This means the DBA will ensure that data is secure from unauthorized access but is available to users.
A database administrator will often have a working knowledge and experience with a wide range of database management products such as Oracle-based software, SAP and SQL, in addition to having obtained a degree in Computer Science and practical field experience and additional, related IT certifications.
Computer systems design and related services firms, banks, insurance companies, universities and health care are examples of the many different types of industries that a database administrator will find work.
In addition to being responsible for backing up systems in case of power outages or other disasters, a DBA is also frequently involved in tasks related to training employees in database management and use, designing, implementing, and maintaining the database system and establishing policies and procedures related to the organization’s data management policy.
Systems or Applications Specialization
The DBA must work within a team of developers and managers and may become a specialist within the field. DBAs may choose to specialize in systems or applications.
System DBA Overview
System DBAs typically have a background in system architecture and are responsible for the physical and technical aspects of a database. This can include installing upgrades and patches to fix program bugs and ensuring that the database works properly in a firm’s computer system.
Application DBA Overview
Application DBAs use complex programming languages to write or debug programs that work with the database. Usually this database has been designed for a specific application or a set of applications, such as customer service software.
How Do You Become a Database Administrator?
A bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field is what many employers prefer when hiring a database administrator, along with practical related experience. Although in some cases a DBA may be hired with an associate’s degree or a certificate in a computer-related subject plus work experience, a master’s degree is required for higher-level positions.
Employers will often look for candidates with experience in automation, DB2, MS SQL, Oracle Database, Hadoop and/or PostgreSQL. Being certified as a MCDBA or MCSD for .NET is also a certification aspiring DBAs should consider.
Key Job Duties and Responsibilities
Working in the position of DBA requires individuals to work well in a team environment, liaise with key stakeholders and to function effectively with minimal supervision. Many job ads posted online highlight the following key skills, responsibilities and work demands when applying for the position of database administrator (DBA):
§ Database installation, upgrade and patching
§ Install and configure relevant network components
§ Ensure database access, consistency and integrity
§ Resolving issues related to performance bottlenecks
§ Provide reporting on various metrics including availability, usage and performance
§ Performance testing and benchmark activities
§ Work with development staff on architectures, coding standards, and quality assurance policies
§ Create models for new database development or changes to existing ones
§ Respond to and resolve database access and performance issues
§ Monitor database system details
§ Design and implement redundant systems, policies, and procedures for disaster recovery
§ Monitor, optimize and allocate physical data storage for database systems
§ Plan and coordinate data migrations
§ Develop, implement, and maintain change control and testing processes
§ Perform database transaction and security audits
§ Establish end-user database access control levels
§ Implement database encryption and data encryption
§ Plan and ensure compliance with established best practices, related policies and legislation
§ Participate as a member of a team to move the team toward the completion of its goals
Profession Database Designer
Database designers design, test and implement databases applying knowledge of database management systems, guarding the protection and security of the database.
What are the Educational Requirements?
Though not always required, it is becoming increasingly common for employers to seek job candidates with a bachelor’s degree as well as relevant work experience. Students interested in pursuing database design may consider studying in a related field, such as computer science or software engineering, to acquire the necessary computer skills.
Majoring in a related field typically includes coursework in logic, programming languages such as SQL and Python, database queries, information security and database administration.
Key Job Duties and Responsibilities
Depending on the size of the company, many database developers take on some of the duties of database administrators and must maintain data backup, storage and data integrity in addition to their other duties. As a result of their similarity, there is some variance between employers in which term applies to which occupation; however, database design or development generally refers to a higher-level position.
Profession Data Engineer
Before we talk about Big Data Engineer firstly we talk about who is Data scientist and next move to Big Data Engineering role.
Data scientists are a new breed of analytical data expert who have the technical skills to solve complex problems and the curiosity to explore what problems need to be solved.
A data scientist is only as good as the data they have access to. Most companies store their data in variety of formats across databases and text files. This is where data engineers come in they build pipelines that transform that data into formats that data scientists can use. Data engineers are just as important as data scientists, but tend to be less visible because they tend to be further from the end product of the analysis.
A good analogy is a race car builder vs a race car driver. The driver gets the excitement of speeding along a track, and thrill of victory in front of a crowd. But the builder gets the joy of tuning engines, experimenting with different exhaust setups, and creating a powerful, robust, machine. If you’re the type of person that likes building and tweaking systems, data engineering might be right for you. In this post, we’ll explore the day to day of a data engineer, and discuss the skills required for the role.
The data science field is incredibly broad, encompassing everything from cleaning data to deploying predictive models. However, it’s rare for any single data scientist to be working across the spectrum day to day. Data scientists usually focus on a few areas, and are complemented by a team of other scientists and analysts.
Data engineering is also a broad field, but any individual data engineer doesn’t need to know the whole spectrum of skills. In this section, we’ll sketch the broad outlines of data engineering, then walk through more specific descriptions that illustrate specific data engineering roles. A data engineer transforms data into a useful format for analysis.
What are the Required Education qualifications?
Individuals will need a bachelor’s degree to work as a big data engineer. A strong background in solutions development experience and distributed computing principles will be beneficial. Interested individuals can seek membership in an industry organisation like the Digital Analytics Association. The organisation offers members professional development and networking opportunities.
What are the Required Skills?
Excellent technical abilities are the most essential skill for big data developers. Applicable knowledge and experience can include the following: Big Data technology like Hive; UNIX scripting; SQL; programming languages like JAVA and Python; and designing distributed computing systems utilising Hadoop. Big data engineers should have strong analytical skills in order to evaluate an organisation’s technical needs and design appropriate software solutions. These engineers should also have effective project management abilities in order to successfully oversee all project steps, including application design, writing code, and testing solutions.
Data Engineering Roles
Although data engineers need to have the skills listed above, the day to day of a data engineer will vary depending on the type of company they work for. Broadly, you can classify data engineers into a few categories:
1. Generalist
2. Pipeline-centric
3. Database-centric
Let’s go through each one of these categories.
Generalist
A generalist data engineer typically works on a small team. Without a data engineer, data analysts and scientsts don’t have anything to analyze, making a data engineer a critical first member of a data science team.
When a data engineer is the only data-focused person at a company, they usually end up having to do more end-to-end work. For example, a generalist data engineer may have to do everything from ingesting the data to processing it to doing the final analysis. This requires more data science skill than most data engineers have. However, it also requires less systems architecture knowledge — small teams and companies don’t have a ton of users, so engineering for scale isn’t as important. This is a good role for a data scientist who wants to transition into data engineering.
When our hypothetical Uber competitor, Rebu, is small, a data engineer might be asked to create a dashboard that shows the number of rides taken for each day in the past month, along with a forecast for the next month.
Pipeline-centric
Pipeline-centric data engineers tend to be necessary in mid-sized companies that have complex data science needs. A pipeline-centric data engineer will work with teams of data scientists to transform data into a useful format for analysis. This entails in-depth knowledge of distributed systems and computer science.
As Rebu grows, a pipeline-centric data engineer might be asked to create a tool that enables data scientists to query metadata about rides to use in a predictive algorithm.
Database-centric
A database-centric data engineer is focused on setting up and populating analytics databases. This involves some work with pipelines, but more work with tuning databases for fast analysis and creating table schemas. This involves ETL work to get data into warehouses. This type of data engineer is usually found at larger companies with many data analysts that have their data distributed across databases.
After Rebu takes over the world, a database centric data engineer might design an analytics database, then create scripts to pull information from the main app database into the analytics database.
Profession Database Programmer
Database programmers develop and maintain database programs. Understanding what databases are and how to build them is the primary responsibility of database programmers. They also work with others on the team to clarify field elements and requirements, and then design and implement relational database.
What are the Required Education Qualifications?
Most employers in this field look for college graduates with relevant experience and knowledge of more than one database programming language. The majority of computer programmers now have at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with majors such as information technology (IT), computer science or maths. IT programs typically require courses in computer fundamentals; database technologies; project management and applicable legal issues.
What are the Skills Required?
Database programmers need to be logical and capable of solving complex problems, with well-developed reading skills and a desire to constantly upgrade their knowledge. The Occupational Information Network (ONET) also notes that computer programmers often display a pronounced ability to order or pattern items according to a set of rules.
Profession Database Developers
Database Developers, also called database programmers, are primarily responsible for creating and implementing computer databases. They determine the best database management system for a particular client, as well as test database programs for efficiency and performance and troubleshoot and correct problems.
Educational Requirements for Database Developers
Although it may not be necessary to have a degree to work as a database developer or programmer, many employers typically require at least a bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s in database programming validates the skills and knowledge employers are always seeking. It ensures you have gained proficiency in the use of various programming languages, acquired extensive knowledge in operating systems and application software, and also know database scripting and design.
Once you enroll in a database programming degree program, you explore courses like relational databases. You also probably start programming in various languages (C, C++, C#, or Java). Other courses you might take are server scripting, system concepts, and analysis. You will encounter numerous database programming languages including Structured Query Language or SQL, which is the standard for relational database management systems.
There are numerous versions of SQL available. But most use the same fundamental command structure. Modern management database systems like IBM DB2, MS SQL Server, Oracle, Microsoft Access, and MySQL are all based on SQL. You will also most likely learn about Java and Visual Basic to provide you with the required knowledge to build custom code. Certifications for Database Developers.
You can choose to earn numerous professional certifications as a database developer. Database developer certifications are particularly important for you because they help support your degree and add to your extensive professional experience. Today, Microsoft and Oracle are the two leading players in the database sector. Certifications such as SQL Server Certification, Microsoft Certified IT Professional, MySQL5 Developer, and Oracle Certified Professionals are some of the strong certifications that may impress your future employer.
Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) is a certification that indicates that you have an extensive set of skills to work as a database administrator. To earn an SQL Server Certification, you must pass Microsoft SQL Server 2016 examinations. These certifications merely cover both the premises and Azure. It also covers installing for migrating and new installations. To earn Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5 Developer, you must pass two examinations (both part I and II).
Role of a Database Developer
Your main role as a database developer is to take responsibility for existing and new websites, developing and testing them from their initial planning stages, gathering data, and ensuring the databases function effectively. Although the specific responsibilities may differ from industry to industry, the role of a database developer will often include the following:
§ Modifying and editing a database, depending on the requirements of a business.
§ Developing and designing databases and data models.
§ Maintaining existing databases and creating new ones.
§ Fixing bugs or faults found in programming and managing any security issues.
Almost any business running today relies on databases. This includes account/customer management, inventory and payroll, just to name a few. As businesses struggle to compile data and leverage that data, database developers are greatly needed. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that the field of database administration is projected to grow 11% in the decade between 2014 and 2024. This is considered faster than average for other occupations.
Thank you very much for reading!
Hope to see you again with another article.
— Gayan Malinda —
