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The differences between database consultants and lead database 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 consultant and a lead database administrator. Additionally, a lead database administrator has an average salary of $114,426, which is higher than the $99,871 average annual salary of a database consultant.
The top three skills for a database consultant include oracle sql, DB and data warehouse. The most important skills for a lead database administrator are DBA, PL/SQL, and linux.
| Database Consultant | Lead Database Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $99,871 | $114,426 |
| Hourly rate | $48.01 | $55.01 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 35,251 | 58,263 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A database consultant is an information technology professional who specializes in database development and management. Part of their job is to establish and implement databases according to the company's needs, provide technical and analytical support, perform research and analyses, evaluate databases and systems to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and suggest solutions to optimize operations. Moreover, as a database consultant, it is essential to produce progress reports along with recommendations to improve database maintenance and resolve any potential issues or risks.
A lead database administrator or DBA serves as a primary technologist in an organization or company. Lead database administrators are technical experts in terms of database and middleware technology design, tuning, configuration, troubleshooting, and building. They use specialized software for data storage and organization. Their role may also include database migration, troubleshooting, performance monitoring, and data recovery. Among the necessary skills for this job include problem-solving, organizational, interpersonal, and communication.
Database consultants and lead database administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Database Consultant | Lead Database Administrator | |
| Average salary | $99,871 | $114,426 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $143,000 | Between $88,000 And $148,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Slalom | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Utilities | Retail |
There are a few differences between a database consultant and a lead database administrator in terms of educational background:
| Database Consultant | Lead Database Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between database consultants' and lead database administrators' demographics:
| Database Consultant | Lead Database Administrator | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1% | Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 20.0% White, 56.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 27.3% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |