What is a Database Administrator today?

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What is a Database Administrator today?

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VictorSQL SSC Journeyman Points: 76 More actions · Answer 1

It would appear that a 'Database Administrator' is whatever the organization wants you to be for the role and goals to be accomplished.

In a 10-year period, I had worked for various organizations as a 'Senior Systems Administrator'. However, my role in each of those companies included database administration, and sometimes network administration or applications support. Today, I am noticing that there is a "blending" of roles such that there is no "ideal" database administrator position. One has to be "multi-lingual" when it comes to interfacing with internal customers, whether they are part of the database, systems, application, and business analyst teams.

Eric M Russell SSC Guru Points: 125562 More actions · Answer 2

VictorSQL (12/6/2013)
It would appear that a 'Database Administrator' is whatever the organization wants you to be for the role and goals to be accomplished.
In a 10-year period, I had worked for various organizations as a 'Senior Systems Administrator'. However, my role in each of those companies included database administration, and sometimes network administration or applications support. Today, I am noticing that there is a "blending" of roles such that there is no "ideal" database administrator position. One has to be "multi-lingual" when it comes to interfacing with internal customers, whether they are part of the database, systems, application, and business analyst teams.

The role of system administrator and database administrator are blended, perhaps more so in recent years due to corporate downsizing and staff shuffling. However, going forward I think that the two roles will start to diverge again as databases move to 3rd party hosted cloud environments or even in-house data warehouse appliances like Netezza or SQL Server PDW that are 3rd party supported. The DBA will lose his sysadmin privillages to the physical environment and instead take on more roles at the business intelligence level. But of course there will always be plenty of us who have remote server console open in one window and a SQL query window open in another.

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

Fly Girl SSCommitted Points: 1560 More actions · Answer 3

I've been contracting for the last several years and it really is a challenge to figure out what each contract is actually looking for. I'm really a SQL Server Developer, but almost all reqs ask for a 'DBA'. Recruiters never seem to have a clue what the client wants and I find that the job descriptions, if they exist, are often unclear as well--they usually ask for everything even though the task at hand only need a subset.

It would be lovely to standardize the vocabulary around different task areas. Admin DBA, Developer DBA, etc.

Fantasy is my life!

Miles Neale SSChampion Points: 13147 More actions · Answer 4

Eric M Russell (12/6/2013)
The role of system administrator and database administrator are blended, perhaps more so in recent years due to corporate downsizing and staff shuffling. However, going forward I think that the two roles will start to diverge again ...

I could d not agree more. The cyclical nature of the business, software, hardware, and management and architectural ideas/strategies shift from time to time, we will continue to see this swing like the proverbial pendulum.

Well said Eric

M.

edited to fix the quote

Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!

jianmin.c Grasshopper Points: 24 More actions · Answer 5

I am a database administration, and also, I am the database developer, and then asp.net, C#, Jquery, Java script, CSS, front end developer; and also C#, windows programmer, and then, Microsoft BI, office 2010, 2007 powerpivot user to do rapid prototype, business analysis.

I work on SQL server 2008, SQL server 2005, create a new database, back up, and then, set up agents to report web database server daily disk space, database size, auto growth etc.

One of things brings me most concern is to how to create an IT career for myself, what is my best strategy to learn, grow, and also enjoy the short career I may have.

From other end, I also try to improve data structure, algorithm skills, improve my work performance etc.

I could not believe what I could do as one person; but the task I worked on opened my eye and forced me think smart and work smart.

I want to use an example to end my comment, what kind of work involves for you to send out market team thousands of contact in Microsoft outlook address book an email without being treated as spam?

Outer World SSC Rookie Points: 46 More actions · Answer 6

I worked for the business unit (BU) and not the IT department, so I was not granted SysAdmin rights to the servers even though my position was as a Database Administrator. That was very frustrating and I found out later that this was an ongoing war between the BU and IT.

Reminds me of my current job. My title is database analyst. The database is a SQL Server system and I am employed by the BU and not the IT department. The IT department likes to keep SQL Server within their 'center of excellence'. Consequently I am doing my work using MS Access even though I have more experience with SQL Server.

Ford Fairlane SSCertifiable Points: 7664 More actions · Answer 7

Outer World (12/8/2013)
I worked for the business unit (BU) and not the IT department, so I was not granted SysAdmin rights to the servers even though my position was as a Database Administrator. That was very frustrating and I found out later that this was an ongoing war between the BU and IT.
Reminds me of my current job. My title is database analyst. The database is a SQL Server system and I am employed by the BU and not the IT department. The IT department likes to keep SQL Server within their 'center of excellence'. Consequently I am doing my work using MS Access even though I have more experience with SQL Server.

If you can access your databases through MS Access ( what a crime) why not just use SSMS to do you work ?

Hope this helps...

Ford Fairlane
Rock and Roll Detective

Outer World SSC Rookie Points: 46 More actions · Answer 8

If you can access your databases through MS Access ( what a crime) why not just use SSMS to do you work ?

Yep for sure. SSMS Express is free. It’s more about what has been acceptable to the organisation I am working in.

Jim P. SSCrazy Eights Points: 8725 More actions · Answer 9

Outer World (12/8/2013)
If you can access your databases through MS Access ( what a crime) why not just use SSMS to do you work ?
Yep for sure. SSMS Express is free. It’s more about what has been acceptable to the organisation I am working in.

I can write a SQL query to do DML manipulations. You probably can as well. Can Joe in Accounting? How about Deb in Sales?

The advertisement in the 50's and 60's was that computers were meant to make life easier. Now we get to the oughts and you want Joe to learn stuff, compared to using Access to allow him to click a button? You, me and everyone in the DBA, programmer or similar IT roles should be making things easier for the end user. We should not add complication to anything for the end user.

If you do, please try to find a job as a government bureaucrat that has people fill out a required form because they don't have a family that needs insurance.

----------------
Jim P.

A little bit of this and a little byte of that can cause bloatware.

Graeme100 SSCrazy Eights Points: 8054 More actions · Answer 10

Interesting article.

Personally, I am a firm believer of becoming an expert. Someone who knows their job well. As a far as a DBA is concerned I think the newer versions are making the life of a DBA easier. This is great for the experienced DBA but for the newbie, this makes learning far harder as one is less likely to come across the little things that make up the 'learning' experience.

I think it is possible to to know less with the newer iterations of SQL and still be called a DBA. This allows a 'DBA' the time and perhaps necessity to learn other skills and become more of a jack of all trades.

Pros and Cons all round here but unless you have the mind-set and inclination I don't feel the role of DBA is as pure as it once was.

runaldo SSCommitted Points: 1682 More actions · Answer 11

I am a "production DBA" so my primary focus is to get the infrastructure in place, capacity planning, server functionality etc. As a senior dba I have 4-5 prioritised tasks:

1) SQL Skills

2) Procedural skills (ITIL stuff)

3) New version functionality (playing around with CTP's)

4) New hardware/virtual server delivery (wrestling with server and san guys).

5) Performance tune/fix errors in applications

Specially point 5 is "tricks of trade".

Miles Neale SSChampion Points: 13147 More actions · Answer 12

jianmin.c (12/6/2013)
I am a database administration, and also, I am the database developer, and then asp.net, C#, Jquery, Java script, CSS, front end developer; and also C#, windows programmer, and then, Microsoft BI, office 2010, 2007 powerpivot user to do rapid prototype, business analysis.
I work on SQL server 2008, SQL server 2005, create a new database, back up, and then, set up agents to report web database server daily disk space, database size, auto growth etc.
One of things brings me most concern is to how to create an IT career for myself, what is my best strategy to learn, grow, and also enjoy the short career I may have.
From other end, I also try to improve data structure, algorithm skills, improve my work performance etc.
I could not believe what I could do as one person; but the task I worked on opened my eye and forced me think smart and work smart.
I want to use an example to end my comment, what kind of work involves for you to send out market team thousands of contact in Microsoft outlook address book an email without being treated as spam?

Spam is in the eye of the beholder and not something that your application can control. However, there are some things you might do in "signing up" new members to the mailing list.

First ask those who signup to put the sender you use on their approved sender list. This will allow your email to pass into the inbox w/o turning it into spam.

Second the user or sender name you use might be a tip to some spam engines. Email from senders with names like NoReply@mySite.org can be caught or suspected by some spam engines. Lastly you might read a little on how spam engines determine what is or is not spam and avoid those practices.

But for those engines that look at a piece of mail and see that it has gone to 25k sites and that username is not on the approved list, it will more often then not get sent to the spam folder.

Good luck.

M.

Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 13

Flipz (12/6/2013)
There is a lot of confusion about what a SQL DBA should be doing as this is often confused with SQL Developer work which I believe is a different role. This confusion is really happening at the top level in organisations where team structures and job roles are decided.

I agree that DBA and Developer are different realms within SQL Server. Even within that, one could come down a bit more and get more specialized.

I'm not certain that the role of DBA is more difficult now than it was 10-15 years ago. Sure the technologies are different, and maybe we need to know a bit more about a few more technologies. But if you have been working with it for a while, then some of those things are a lot easier. Maybe it is more difficult for those fresh into the field when comparing now to 15 years ago. I think many of us probably thought it was plenty difficult 15 yrs ago as we cut our teeth on the product.

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events

streece56 Grasshopper Points: 13 More actions · Answer 14

In the two government entities that I have worked, the Database Administrator is a "Jack-of-all-trades" in the database world. Most Database Administrators within our organization work with a number of different databases. We are responsible for database backups, restores, specialized data processing, etc. I enjoy having a position with diversity, so the answer is yes - the Database Administrator is no longer just responsible for database backups, and restores.