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The differences between senior database engineers and database specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior database engineer and a database specialist. Additionally, a senior database engineer has an average salary of $123,540, which is higher than the $77,642 average annual salary of a database specialist.
The top three skills for a senior database engineer include AWS, java and ETL. The most important skills for a database specialist are database management, database design, and database administration.
| Senior Database Engineer | Database Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $123,540 | $77,642 |
| Hourly rate | $59.39 | $37.33 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 110,265 | 41,500 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior database engineer specializes in designing and developing databases for a company. Among their responsibilities include identifying and understanding the company's needs, creating and maintaining database projects and programs, writing scripts, troubleshooting errors, fixing bugs, and performing upgrades. They must also provide technical support to employees, addressing and resolving issues promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, as a senior engineer, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior engineers while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
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.
Senior database engineers and database specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Database Engineer | Database Specialist | |
| Average salary | $123,540 | $77,642 |
| Salary range | Between $95,000 And $159,000 | Between $53,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior database engineer and a database specialist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Database Engineer | Database Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior database engineers' and database specialists' demographics:
| Senior Database Engineer | Database Specialist | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.6% Female, 14.4% | Male, 47.6% Female, 52.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 23.4% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |