Do I need to be good in MATH to be a Database Administrator?
Math isnt a big part of Database Admins. Most of the Admins job is to keep existing database systems operational and to help non computer people get information out of the database or put information into the database. You will learn operating systems like unix so that you can manage files on the hard drive, make backups, install/remove programs - nothing you dont probably already do with your MS Windows OS or Mac OS - not really any math there. The majority of the Oracle stuff you will need to know as admin will be a lot of commands for copying databases, making backups of databases, setting up passwords for users, removing access for users. Dont get freaked out by SQL, you will need to know some, but as admin your not expected to master all the SQL programming skills that go with designing a database system from the ground up - that would be the job of Database Designer/Software Developer.
Is it harder to learn database administration than software development?
I don’t think so.Both require a lot of learning.I think coders can be more focused. If you’re a C# or Python programmer and you’re really good at it then you can get a job solely with that skill.If you’re a SQL developer then all you have to worry about is slinging SQL code.If you’re a DBA the breadth of your knowledge is much wider.For example, most relational database systems are IO bound but I’ve interviewed hundreds of SQL Sever DBAs and can tell you only handful could tell you what that means let alone how to troubleshoot and fix it.Harder may not be the right wording but it’s certainly requires a much more varied skill set.Here’s a quick course on some things SQL Server DBA do every day.It’s FREE for the first 50.The Day to Day Real World SQL Server DBA - Udemy
Who earns more an experienced database administrator or an experienced software developer?
A2A…I like most of the existing answers in this thread. I don’t know that I agree with Joe Emison that the DBA role is ‘going away’. Cloud-based databases are likely to change the role of many DBAs, but I don’t think it will kill the position any time soon.That said, Ryu’s answer is closest to what I planned to (and still will) post. Software developers will see a broader range (low to high) of salaries than will DBAs. Most companies that have a slot for a DBA have a database with information important enough that they aren’t going to risk it by hiring a newbie. This means that save for a few ‘Junior DBA’ slots, most Administrators will have several years of experience working with databases (possibly *as* a databases developer). By contrast, developers can be hired right out of school and placed in low-level positions where they do little more than support code written by more senior developers. A bad developer can damage a database. A bad DBA can destroy it beyond all chance of recovery.However, on the other end of the experience scale, there do exist ‘rock star’ programmers that have the ability to (or history of) creating code that can be the difference between a business model that succeeds rather than fails. No matter how skilled or senior a given DBA is — it’s difficult to imagine one that could not be replaced by a similarly experienced DBA.In terms of what you are asking, though — the answer is really a toss up. If you decide right now to be a developer, in five years you will be making a salary of X. If instead you choose right now to be a DBA, in five years you will be making Y. It is a toss-up whether X = Y * 1.1 or X = Y * 0.9.
Database Management vs Programming?
Don't always base your career choice on "higher paying". Sometimes it is better to take a slight pay cut to do something that you like, as opposed to something that you think is boring. That said, Database Administrators (at least where I work) get paid more money than Programmers do. Database Admins have a lot more responsibility as far as data, backups, restores, security, servers, etc... whereas the programmers are more specialized in a certain language. So with the higher pay, comes a lot more responsibility. We try to stay away from Access. It is very limited and very dangerous as far as stability, but it is a good program to start learning about relational databases, referential integrity, etc... If you have a chance to take a class with MS Sql server, definately jump in that one too. Good luck in school!
What programming skills do you need to become a database administrator?
DBAs are tasked with the design and development of the database. He is the one who knows all about the database that is to be designed, its performance, monitoring, maintenance, the internal representation and the working of the database etc. So, there is no specific programming skill/language/technology expected from a DBA but he should be well equipped with the knowledge of the database, underlying storage and the operating system.
I have average programming skills. Can I get into databases administration?
Everybody stresses on one thing coding in SQL, but a Database Administrator does more than that. I agree that knowledge in SQL is an integral part of it but a DBA has to do a lot more than that like backup, maintenance , performance optimization ,capacity planning, disaster recovery(DR) , high availability (HA), bench marking, security and the list goes on And for your question the answer is Yes! ,anyone can get into DBA if he/she has the skills. Having programming skills is good for writing stored procedures, script etc but to know more about administration you need to add some more skills into your belt like the things I mentioned above. I suggest you to read these books to understand what database administrators do and to know what's happening under the hood DBA JumpStart Ebook - John Sansom (FREE)DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA: Thomas LaRock: 9781430227878: Amazon.com: BooksHow to become and Exceptional DBA (FREE)HTH
What are the roles and responsibilities of Database Programmer?
Normally the Database Administrator (DBA) is responsible for issues like installation, sizing and general performance tuning. A database architect is usually the one who designs the database. Even the application design is generally designed by another position. A database programmer is usually a lower level job responsible only for coding and unit testing database programs. In the case of Oracle, the language would be PL-SQL which could be implemented either as scripting or stored procedures. There might also be some database design work and the programmer would need to do some tuning to make sure that his or her own programs run at acceptable speeds. That said, the exact duties of the programmer vary from company to company. And once words like "Senior" or "Lead" get tacked onto the front it usually means more design and/or team leadership duties are added as well.
What is better dba or programmer?
DBA or programmer, the question which did change my life.2014, the final year in my bachelor's of engineering. As a final year student, we would have to research and submit a project for which we have to decide a main topic, it could be anything that relates to your branch. So as my branch was Computer Networking and Communications Technology, I had to choose a topic.Computers is a vast field with many sub divisions. I didn't wanted to go into programming mainly because of the misconceptions created by surrounding people. So before taking up the topic, I researched and finally found something which related to my preference in every aspect and it was Database Administration.I chose to learn Oracle Database 10g which saw its launch around 2012 and pretty much serving many MNCs.Completed the project and gained interest in DBA and also learnt the career prospect of being a DBA. Finally graduated in Oct'14.Next phase, finding a start! Tough thing but I was focused and desperately finding a great opportunity as a DBA. But somebody great said, tough things comes tough way. Finding a job as a DBA and that too as a fresher is quite a task. To start in MNC, one would need almost 2–3 years experience as a dba. Leave aside the experience, the yearly job openings for DBA is very less compared to other division's job openings.So hard luck, plan A didn't work out good! Lets start plan B.Went ahead with programming and took a job as a php developer. Got bored and just to say the truth, php is not very interesting for one to start with fairly because of densely populated php developers.So time to change, still plan B but with a twist. I was very facinated with Angular, because it is very new to the Indian shores and very less number of Angular developers. Took a job as an AngularJS developer and gosh! Now, i just love coding. I can just say that, dba is a laid back job and programming is like playing on the front foot. Everyday is like a new day, you learn new things each day.