Database administrator vs data administrator

The differences between database administrators and data administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a database administrator and a data administrator. Additionally, a database administrator has an average salary of $81,960, which is higher than the $80,072 average annual salary of a data administrator.

The top three skills for a database administrator include customer service, linux and microsoft sql server. The most important skills for a data administrator are data management, java, and profiling.

Database administrator vs data administrator overview

	Database Administrator	Data Administrator
Yearly salary	$81,960	$80,072
Hourly rate	$39.40	$38.50
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	56,992	124,537
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	4	4

What does a database administrator do?

Database administrators use specially designed software to keep, organize, restore, and secure data for businesses, employees, and customers from unauthorized people or unwanted users. They search for potential security risks or issues and proactively correct or find appropriate solutions. They are highly trained tech experts who work full-time for establishments that give computer design services or in industries that have huge databases, such as educational academies, institutions, and insurance firms. It is their responsibility to closely monitor the database system to ensure efficiency and functionality. They work jointly with information systems managers to customize database solutions based on corporate needs. They also coordinate the systems that data analysts use for translating numbers into strategic business plans.

What does a data administrator do?

As a data administrator, they support the marketing, sales, finance, and operations departments by providing accurate, complete, and current data to the customer, product, inventory, and vendor. It is the data administrator's responsibility to implement and execute data mining projects and makes reports to provide understanding into sales, marketing, and purchasing opportunities and business trends. The role would also include updating information to the company's database and official company website. Moreover, they also do reports about data analysis, forecasting, and other research activities that lead to decision making.

Database administrator vs data administrator salary

Database administrators and data administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Database Administrator	Data Administrator
Average salary	$81,960	$80,072
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $111,000	Between $53,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Louisiana
Best paying company	The Citadel	Southern California Edison
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between database administrator and data administrator education

There are a few differences between a database administrator and a data administrator in terms of educational background:

	Database Administrator	Data Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Database administrator vs data administrator demographics

Here are the differences between database administrators' and data administrators' demographics:

	Database Administrator	Data Administrator
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 61.4% Female, 38.6%	Male, 41.9% Female, 58.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 17.7% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 17.7% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between database administrator and data administrator duties and responsibilities

Database administrator example responsibilities.

Deploy and manage VMware horizon view on CISCO UCS for VDI deployemet.
Create and manage database security, data encryption, and apply object level security.
Resolve ASM errors, which lead to complete dysfunction of the ASM due to capacity issues.
Fix grid control alerts on the database and monitor the database using grid control including managing of templates.
Create and manage DTS and SSIS jobs to perform extra back up support for company's back up agent and procedure.
Lead multiple infrastructure planning and implementation including instance strategy, technical platform selection, architecture design, backup and recovery strategy.

Data administrator example responsibilities.

Manage the LDAP requests for user provision.
Manage replication & distribution servers, versioning dev & production servers.
Design and lead team efforts to reduce batch windows through application on new features.
Manage access to file shares, DFS shares, IIS servers and terminal services.
Integrate LDAP and setup security at multiple levels to achieve data security and object level security.
Install and set up the VMWare environment, managing the closing/building and allocation of all virtual servers.

Database administrator vs data administrator skills

Common database administrator skills

Customer Service, 5%
Linux, 5%
Microsoft SQL Server, 5%
DBA, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%
Database Administration, 4%

Common data administrator skills

Data Management, 12%
Java, 11%
Profiling, 10%
DB2, 7%
Unix, 7%
Sybase, 6%

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Database Administrator vs Data Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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