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The differences between database specialists 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 specialist and a lead database administrator. Additionally, a lead database administrator has an average salary of $114,426, which is higher than the $77,642 average annual salary of a database specialist.
The top three skills for a database specialist include database management, database design and database administration. The most important skills for a lead database administrator are DBA, PL/SQL, and linux.
| Database Specialist | Lead Database Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $77,642 | $114,426 |
| Hourly rate | $37.33 | $55.01 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 41,500 | 58,263 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A database specialist is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the databases to maintain the confidentiality of data. Database specialists determine business requirements and manage multiple operating systems to build the database's efficient structures and feasibility. They also install security protection software tools and programs to prevent unauthorized access and potential leak of restricted information. A database specialist coordinates with the system engineers to improve existing databases and upgrade the network infrastructure for optimization.
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 specialists and lead database administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Database Specialist | Lead Database Administrator | |
| Average salary | $77,642 | $114,426 |
| Salary range | Between $53,000 And $111,000 | Between $88,000 And $148,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between a database specialist and a lead database administrator in terms of educational background:
| Database Specialist | Lead Database Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between database specialists' and lead database administrators' demographics:
| Database Specialist | Lead Database Administrator | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.6% Female, 52.4% | Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 17.8% White, 59.5% 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% |