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Database architect vs data engineer

The differences between database architects and data engineers 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 architect and a data engineer. Additionally, a data engineer has an average salary of $109,675, which is higher than the $93,654 average annual salary of a database architect.

The top three skills for a database architect include cloud, infrastructure and java. The most important skills for a data engineer are python, java, and cloud.

Database architect vs data engineer overview

Database ArchitectData Engineer
Yearly salary$93,654$109,675
Hourly rate$45.03$52.73
Growth rate9%21%
Number of jobs90,743303,105
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4639
Years of experience44

What does a database architect do?

A database architect is an individual who helps organizations or corporations increase and expand into various marketplaces. Database architects establish a vision in order to meet their strategic goals. The architects manage electronic databases for data storage and organization. They should be familiar with various software, such as application server software. The skills necessary for this job include data modeling, knowledge in programming languages, and data management.

What does a data engineer do?

A data engineer is someone who makes data science possible. This IT job requires the search for data set trends and algorithm development to make raw data more beneficial to the enterprise. Data engineers are responsible for establishing and maintaining an environment that permits other data functions. The necessary skills for the job include in-depth knowledge of multiple programming languages and SQL database design. Among the other skills data engineers should develop include data warehousing and architecture, data mining and modeling, and statistical regression analysis.

Database architect vs data engineer salary

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

Database ArchitectData Engineer
Average salary$93,654$109,675
Salary rangeBetween $69,000 And $126,000Between $80,000 And $149,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandCalifornia
Best paying companyChewyThe Citadel
Best paying industryFinanceTechnology

Differences between database architect and data engineer education

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

Database ArchitectData Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Database architect vs data engineer demographics

Here are the differences between database architects' and data engineers' demographics:

Database ArchitectData Engineer
Average age4639
Gender ratioMale, 82.7% Female, 17.3%Male, 81.5% Female, 18.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 24.7% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 30.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%8%

Differences between database architect and data engineer duties and responsibilities

Database architect example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage SSRS projects for financial and informational reporting, along with accompanying store procedures.
  • Tune many custom SQL queries and PL/SQL code for complicate business processes to achieve sub-second response time.
  • Work with all technical leads in the organization to understand the existing system and work on the new ETL extract.
  • Create PHP page for loan officers to add to their contact list for leads which interact with the MySQL database.
  • Migrate data from RDBMS to Hadoop infrastructure using Sqoop.
  • Create and edit SSIS packages for movement of data to reporting servers and ETL of client files from other systems.
  • Show more

Data engineer example responsibilities.

  • Used SQOOP to import the data from RDBMS to HDFS to achieve the reliability of data.
  • Develop automation scripts in python to automate the test, analyze, plot and report the results.
  • Used Linux shell scripts to automate the build process, and to perform regular jobs like file transfers between different hosts.
  • Increase audit efficiency by developing SAS programs to automate manual testing procedures.
  • Used Teradata database management system to manage the warehousing operations and parallel processing.
  • Configure and manage JobScope ERP system for a make-to-order/make-to-stock design and manufacturing environment.
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Database architect vs data engineer skills

Common database architect skills
  • Cloud, 9%
  • Infrastructure, 8%
  • Java, 7%
  • Database Design, 5%
  • Database Administration, 4%
  • ETL, 4%
Common data engineer skills
  • Python, 12%
  • Java, 9%
  • Cloud, 5%
  • ETL, 5%
  • Scala, 4%
  • Kafka, 4%

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