Database Administrator job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

15

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 4 of 5

considerable preparation

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$104,620

BLS May 2025

1. Modify existing databases and database management systems or direct programmers and analysts to make changes. importance 4.0 of 5
2. Plan, coordinate, and implement security measures to safeguard information in computer files against accidental or unauthorized damage, modification or disclosure. importance 3.9 of 5
3. Plan and install upgrades of database management system software to enhance database performance. importance 3.9 of 5
4. Specify users and user access levels for each segment of database. importance 3.8 of 5
5. Test changes to database applications or systems. importance 3.8 of 5
6. Test programs or databases, correct errors, and make necessary modifications. importance 3.7 of 5
7. Train users and answer questions. importance 3.6 of 5
8. Provide technical support to junior staff or clients. importance 3.5 of 5
9. Approve, schedule, plan, and supervise the installation and testing of new products and improvements to computer systems, such as the installation of new databases. importance 3.5 of 5
10. Develop standards and guidelines for the use and acquisition of software and to protect vulnerable information. importance 3.4 of 5
11. Write and code logical and physical database descriptions and specify identifiers of database to management system, or direct others in coding descriptions. importance 3.1 of 5
12. Develop data models describing data elements and how they are used, following procedures and using pen, template, or computer software. importance 3.1 of 5
13. Select and enter codes to monitor database performance and to create production databases. importance 3.1 of 5
14. Identify, evaluate and recommend hardware or software technologies to achieve desired database performance. importance 3.0 of 5
15. Review procedures in database management system manuals to make changes to database. importance 3.0 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Getting Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events and Analyzing Data or Information.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Identify and evaluate industry trends in database systems to serve as a source of information and advice for upper management.
• Review workflow charts developed by programmer analyst to understand tasks computer will perform, such as updating records.
• Revise company definition of data as defined in data dictionary.

Knowledge areas: Computers and Electronics, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Mathematics and Telecommunications.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Apache Airflow, Apache Hadoop, Atlassian JIRA, Git, GitHub, IBM Terraform. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 4 of 5 (considerable preparation). A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a database administrator.

Most database administrators surveyed by O*NET (89%) name a bachelor's degree as the education the job requires.

Job title: Database Administrator
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Database Administrator to administer, test, and implement computer databases, applying knowledge of database management systems.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Modify existing databases and database management systems or direct programmers and analysts to make changes.
- Plan, coordinate, and implement security measures to safeguard information in computer files against accidental or unauthorized damage, modification or disclosure.
- Plan and install upgrades of database management system software to enhance database performance.
- Specify users and user access levels for each segment of database.
- Test changes to database applications or systems.
- Test programs or databases, correct errors, and make necessary modifications.
- Train users and answer questions.
- Provide technical support to junior staff or clients.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in complex problem solving, critical thinking and judgment and decision making
- Working knowledge of Computers and Electronics and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Apache Airflow or Apache Hadoop]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $104,620 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $50.30. BLS estimates about 69,990 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of database administrators to decline 0.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,300 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full database administrator salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real database administrator posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Modify existing databases and database management systems or direct…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only database administrator work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (complex problem solving and critical thinking); database administrator interview questions turns them into practice questions.