Giraffe Guides
Careers in finance and technology
Careers in finance and technology
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Excerpt:
Database administrators work with computer database systems. They are responsible for creating and
maintaining databases to centrally store and retrieve valuable data. This is considered a critical role in
the modern information economy.
A database is a collection of related records or pieces of information on a computer. The most widely
used databases are ‘relational databases’ which are organized as a collection of tables and intended for
use by a specific group of users.
The overall objective of database administrators is to ensure reliable database operations with high
performance. Database administrators are responsible for managing data, avoiding redundancy and
optimizing network access to databases. They ensure adequate performance, monitor security,
troubleshoot operational problems and manage the backup and recovery of data.
Database administrators also work closely with software developers and programmers. The role of the
administrator is usually within a team and includes designing the database for the efficient storage,
access and retrieval by software applications.
Other administrators are involved in database security. Access to data and functions in a database is
usually restricted. Databases are accessed by users from the internet, from internal corporate sites and
from connected software applications.
A career in database administration can be rewarding in terms of compensation, job satisfaction and
work environment. Since this is a technical area, database professionals must make a consistent effort
to maintain skills and knowledge.
The most widely used databases in the world today are Oracle, IBM DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server. In
addition there are open source database products such as MySQL and PostGres. Databases can be
installed on different types of computers (hardware) and operating systems such as Windows, Unix,
Linux and mainframe z/OS.