what does a dba do all day long?

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ABIOLA OBILEYE ORACLE CONSULTANT/TRAINER DATASOFT CONSULTING WWW.DATASOFT-CONSULTING.CO.UK What does a database administrator (DBA) do all day? 28/06/2022 p. 1

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Page 1: What does a dba do all day long?

ABIOLA OBILEYEORACLE CONSULTANT/TRAINER

DATASOFT CONSULTING

WWW.DATASOFT-CONSULTING.CO.UK

What does a database administrator (DBA) do all day?

03/05/2023 p. 1

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PURPOSE OF THE SEMINARProvide insight into relational database management

Shed light on the importance of data in any organization

Discuss how critical the role of a DBA is to its success!

Highlight DBA attributes, Career path & Remuneration

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BENEFITS OF THE SEMINARAn understanding of what data is and how it impacts our

lives on a daily basis.

An understanding of the role of a DBA and how critical it is within any organization.

Beneficial to those considering potential DBA career prospects or anyone who has ever wondered about what a DBA actually does.

Overall, it will shed more light on this sector in the IT industry.

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OBJECTIVESAt the end of this seminar, it is hoped that every attendee would have gained an understanding of the following: What is data and how important is it?

What is a database?

Advantages of a RDBMS

High Availability

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

Who is a Database Administrator (DBA)?

Attributes of a good DBA

How DBAs spend their time

Responsibilities of a Database Administrator

Tasks of a Database Administrator

Challenges of managing databases

Career path of a Database Administrator

Business As Usual (BAU) vs. Project deliverables

Contacting vs. Permanent Roles

Database Administrator Salary ranges

A DBA IS…

Conclusion

 

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WHAT IS DATA?! HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?

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WHAT IS DATA?! HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?

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WHAT IS DATA! HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?Data can be described as distinct pieces of information, usually formatted in a special way that constitute building blocks of information. It is any fact, number or text that can be processed by a computer. It can exist in a variety of forms either on pieces of paper, as bits and bytes stored in electronic memory or as facts stored in a person's mind.

The term data is often used to distinguish binary machine-readable information from textual human-readable information. For example, some applications make a distinction between data files - files that contain binary data and text files - files that contain ASCII data.

Data can be Qualitative or Quantitative.Qualitative data is descriptive information - it describes something.Quantitative data is numerical information - numbers.

Data are corporate asset just like personnel, physical & financial resources.

Effective data administration provides support for managerial decision making at all levels in the organization.

Ineffective data administration leads to poor data utilization.

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DATA IS A COMPANY’S CORPORATE CURRENCY!!!If data is so critical in our daily lives - households, schools, hospitals, businesses, small and large organisations amongst others, it is definitely pertinent that we ask questions such as:

How do we ensure that data is easily accessible? How do we ensure that we can extract information from it? How do we ensure its continuous availability? How do we ensure that we protect it? Who should be responsible for our data?

It is safe to conclude that an organisation without a good database to store their data cannot last for too long before becoming chaotic and completely un-manageable.

A database is one of the most critical asset of a business. It needs to be on a reliable, robust and secure platform. If the platform is not reliable, secure and robust then businesses may lose millions of pounds as a result of downtime.

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WHAT IS A DATABASE?

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WHAT IS A DATABASE?You can think of a database as an Electronic Filing System. It is basically a collection of information organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data which can be manipulated in useful ways.

A database is a means of storing information in such a way that information can be retrieved from it. A database is a software-based container structured to collect and store information so it can be added to, updated, retrieved or removed in an automatic fashion

A database provides proper storage for small and large amounts of data. It provides easy and fast access to facilitate the processing of data. Its content should be easily accessible to authorised users in a quick and efficient manner. A database can store and handle vast amounts of data.  

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WHAT IS A DATABASE?A database management system (DBMS) is a set of software that is used to define, store, modify, control the data and extract information. All software is divided into two general categories: data and programs. Programs are collections of instructions for manipulating data. Database programs are software applications designed for users to make databases and create all the programming necessary to fill them or delete them as needed.

Database systems have become the primary mechanism used by most organization to store and manage their important information. With the progress and advancement of computer systems, database is part and parcel not only for modern organization, even small business related shops are compelled to use this critical system.

In database management systems, data files are the files that store the database information, whereas other files such as data dictionaries, store administrative information known as metadata.

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ADVANTAGES OF A RELATIONAL DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (RDBMS) Consistent information

Firmly established and flexible

Sound theoretical foundation and use over many years has resulted in stable, standardized products available

  Standard data access language through Structured Query Language (SQL)

Easy management of data security and privacy

Reduced application development time

Costs and risks associated with large development efforts and with large databases are well understood

  The fundamental structure, i.e. a table is easily understood and the design and

normalization process is well defined

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HIGH AVAILABILITYMaximum Availability Architecture addresses the complete range of requirements for data protection and availability including disaster recovery, typical for enterprises of all sizes and market.

With the advent of the Internet, many databases that could have been available only during the day are now required to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Web sites have changed from static, pre-defined content to dynamically created content, using a database to create the page layout at the time a page is requested.

If the Web site is available 24x7, so must the underlying database.

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HIGH AVAILABILITY Managing a database in this environment requires an understanding of which types of maintenance operations can be done online (with the database available to users) and which must be scheduled for a maintenance "window" when the database may be shut down. It also requires planning for redundant hardware and/or software components, so that when one fails, others will keep the total system available to its users and the business it serves. Techniques like online backups, clustering, replication, and standby databases are some of the tools that the DBA can use to ensure higher availability.

Very Large Databases (VLDBs): As companies have found more and more uses for database technology, they tend to save more data. Also, the type of data stored in databases has changed, from structured data in neat rows and columns to unstructured data such as documents, images, sound files, and even fingerprints. Both trends have the same result: larger databases.

Managing a VLDB requires special skills of the DBA. The time required to do simple operations like copying a table can be prohibitive unless done correctly. The DBA needs to understand techniques like table partitioning (Oracle), federated databases (SQL Server), or replication (MySQL) to enable a database to scale to large sizes while still being manageable.

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DISASTER RECOVERY & BUSINESS CONTINUITYDisaster recovery is the area of security planning that deals with protecting an organization from the effects of significant negative events. Significant negative events in this context, can include anything that puts an organization’s operations at risk such as:

Crippling malicious cyber attacks

Equipment failures

Accidental human disasters Natural disasters - hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. 

It is the process of returning a database to a state of normality with minimum data loss after the occurrence of a disastrous event.

Business continuity describes the processes and procedures an organization must put in place to ensure that mission-critical business functions can continue during and after a disaster. The emphasis is more on maintaining business operations than IT infrastructure.

Because business continuity and disaster recovery are so closely related, the two terms are sometimes combined as Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR or BC/DR).

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WHO IS A DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR (DBA)?

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WHO IS A DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR (DBA)?

A database administrator is someone who uses software to store and organize data, such as financial information and customer shipping records. They make sure that data is available to users and is secure from unauthorized access.

Database administrators work in many different types of industries, including computer systems design and related services firms, insurance companies, banks, hospitals, etc.

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ATTRIBUTES OF A “GOOD” DBA KNOWLEDGEABLE

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

OBSERVANT

PERSONABLE

FOCUSED

ENTHUSIASTIC

PROACTIVE

CAUTIOUS

PATIENT

FLEXIBLE

COMMITTED

DILIGENT

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BE CALM!

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HOW DO DBAs SPEND THEIR TIME?

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HOW DO DBAs SPEND THEIR TIME?

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HOW DO DBAs SPEND THEIR TIME?

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DBA

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DBA DATABASE PLANNING &

DEVELOPMENT

DATABASE LOGICAL & PHYSICAL DESIGN

DATA INTEGRITY

DATABASE AVAILABILITY

DATABASE MAINTENANCE

PERFORMANCE & TUNING

TROUBLESHOOTING

INSTALLATION, UPGRADE & MIGRATION

DATABASE CONFIGURATION

DATABASE BACKUP, RESTORE & RECOVERY

DATABASE AUDIT & SECURITY

DATABASE STORAGE & CAPACITY PLANNING

STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DBAInstallation, Configuration, Upgrade & Migration Although system administrators are generally responsible for the hardware and operating system on a given server, installation of the database software is typically up to the DBA. This job role requires knowledge of the hardware prerequisites for an efficient database server, and communicating those requirements to the system administrator. The DBA then installs the database software and selects from various options in the product to configure it for the purpose it is being deployed. As new releases and patches are developed, it's the DBA's job to decide which are appropriate and to install them. If the server is a replacement for an existing one, it's the DBA's job to get the data from the old server to the new one.

Backup & Recovery DBAs are responsible for developing, implementing, and periodically testing a backup and recovery plan for the databases they manage. Even in large shops where a separate system administrator performs server backups, the DBA has final responsibility for making sure that the backups are being done as scheduled and that they include all the files needed to make database recovery possible after a failure. When failures do occur, the DBA needs to know how to use the backups to return the database to operational status as quickly as possible, without losing any transactions that were committed.

There are several ways the database can fail, and the DBA must have a strategy to recover from a failure. From a business standpoint, there is a cost to doing backups, and the DBA makes management aware of the cost/risk tradeoffs of various backup methods.

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DBADatabase Audit & Security Because databases centralize the storage of data, they are attractive targets for hackers and even curious employees. The DBA must understand the particular security model that the database product uses and how to use it effectively to control access to the data. The auditing task is particularly important currently, as regulatory laws like Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA have reporting requirements that must be met.

The three basic security tasks are authentication: Setting up user accounts to control logins to the database

Authorization - setting permissions on various parts of the database

Auditing - tracking who did what with the database.

Database Storage and Capacity Planning

The primary purpose of a database is to store and retrieve data, so planning how much disk storage will be required and monitoring available disk space are key DBA responsibilities. Watching growth trends are important so that the DBA can advise management on long-term capacity plans.

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DBAPerformance Monitoring & Tuning The DBA is responsible for monitoring the database server on a regular basis to identify bottlenecks (parts of the system that are slowing down processing) and remedy them. Tuning a database server is done on multiple levels. The capacity of the server hardware and the way the operating system is configured can become limiting factors, as can the database software configuration. The way the database is physically laid out on the disk drives and the types of indexing chosen also have an effect. The way queries against the database are coded can dramatically change how fast results are returned.

A DBA needs to understand which monitoring tools are available at each of these levels and how to use them to tune the system. Proactive tuning is an attitude of designing performance into an application from the start, rather than waiting for problems to occur and fixing them. It requires working closely with developers of applications that run against the database to make sure that best practices are followed so good performance will result.

Troubleshooting

When things do go wrong with the database server, the DBA needs to know how to quickly ascertain the problem and to correct it without losing data or making the situation worse.

Special Environments

In addition to these basic responsibilities, some DBAs need special skills because of how the database is being used.

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DBAData Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL)

In data warehouse environments, a key task is efficiently loading the data warehouse or data mart with large volumes of data extracted from multiple existing production systems. Often these production systems have different formats than the standardized definitions in the data warehouse, so data must be transformed (or "cleansed") before loading. Extracting the data may or may not be the DBA's responsibility in a given company, but making sure what is extracted is useful is, and the DBA is a key part of the team.

The bottom line for IT leaders

Increasing feature sets in popular database products have steadily increased the number of things a DBA has to master. IT leaders who check for skills in the above key areas can make sure the DBA they hire is up to the task.

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GET THINGS UNDER CONTROL!

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TASKS OF A DBA Creates and maintains all databases required for development, testing,

education and production usage.

Performs the capacity planning required to create and maintain the databases. The DBA works closely with system administration staff because computers often have applications or tools on them in addition to the Oracle databases.

Performs ongoing tuning of the database instances.

Installs new versions of the Oracle RDBMS and its tools and any other tools that access the Oracle database.

Plans and implements backup and recovery of the Oracle database.

Controls migrations of programs, database changes, reference data changes and menu changes through the development life cycle.

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TASKS OF A DBA Implements and enforces security for all of the Oracle Databases.

Performs database re-organisations as required to assist performance and ensure maximum uptime of the database.

Puts standards in place to ensure that all application design and code is produced with proper integrity, security and performance. The DBA will perform reviews on the design and code frequently to ensure the site standards are being adhered to.

Evaluates releases of Oracle and its tools, and third party products to ensure that the site is running the products that are most appropriate. Planning is also performed by the DBA, along with the application developers and System administrators, to ensure that any new product usage or release upgrade takes place with minimal impact.

Provides technical support to application development teams. This is usually in the form of a help desk. The DBA is usually the point of contact for Oracle Corporation.

Enforces and maintains database constraints to ensure integrity of the database.

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TASKS OF A DBA Administers all database objects, including tables, clusters, indexes,

views, sequences, packages and procedures.

Assists with impact analysis of any changes made to the database objects.

Troubleshoots problems and issues regarding the databases, applications and other development tools.

Creates new database users as required.

Manages sharing of resources amongst applications.

The DBA has ultimate responsibility for the physical database design.

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SAMPLE LIST OF TASKS  Task title Frequency Specific time Effort Notes           1 Monitor alerts Hourly   1 minute Enterprise Manager, Solarwinds and custom           2 Check database backups Daily Morning 15 minutes Use Enterprise manager and DB Consoles3 SQLserver failback to primary Daily Morning 5 minutes Required most days. 4 Check overnight processing Daily Morning 20 minutes ETL, legacy, data feeds, etc.           5 Check Linux file system backups Weekly Monday AM 10 minutes  6 Passwords expiring soon Weekly Monday AM 5 minutes  7 Ebusiness Suite tablespace check Weekly Monday AM 10 minutes Both environments           8 Linux password change Quarterly   1 hour  9 EBS apps password change Quarterly   0.5 day             

10 Test backup / restore Onebase Yearly   2 days Elapsed time approximately 2 weeks11 External Audit Yearly   2 days  12 Internal Audit Yearly   2 days  13 Sox Audit Yearly   2 days             

14 eBusiness suite refresh environment Ad-hoc   2 days Approximately twice per year15 Cognos 10.2.2 upgrade Ad-hoc   5 days Spread over duration of project16 Upgrade Onebase SE1 to SE2 Ad-hoc   1 Month Required for licensing reasons.17 Internet access to Apex Ad-hoc   2 weeks ORDS + Tomcat18 Integrate additional EonStors Ad-hoc   2 weeks  19 Vertex project support Ad-hoc      20 Apex DBA support Ad-hoc      21 Cognos administrator DBA support Ad-hoc      22 Resolving misc issues Ad-hoc   20% 23 Enforce Linux password complexity Once   1 day Also expiry and reuse rules.24          

25

Database re-organisation to assist performance and ensure maximum uptime for the database Daily   Varies  

26 Provide Technical Support to all Teams Daily   Varies  27 Capacity Planning Weekly   Varies  28 Refresh environments Ad-hoc   Varies  

29Impact Analysis for any changes to database objects Daily/Ad-hoc   Varies  

30 Download and Install Patches Ad-hoc   Varies  

31Monitoring database's health and taking preventitive and corrective action as required Daily   Varies  

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Oracle Database Backups:

Level 0 backups – Run every Saturday for all the databases but the start times vary.

Level 1 backups – Run every day at 8.00PM except Saturdays for all the databases.

Archive backups – Run every day at 8.00AM for all the databases. Linux Backups:

Linux files are backed up every Saturday roughly between 4.00PM and 6.00PM. The time varies with servers. On completion of the backup, emails are sent out to the Linux administrator. Linux backups are scheduled on Cronjob separately for Oracle owned files and Root owned files.  The database and server backup files are written to the Windows share which is mapped to /winshare filesystem on all the Linux servers. These backup files on the Windows share are copied to tape every Wednesday at 4.00PM by the Sysadmins. We follow a retention period of 7 days for the Oracle production backup files on windows share.

The Oracle RMAN backups older than 5 days are deleted every Wednesday at 6.30PM through EM jobs for all the databases.

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A DBA IS REASSURING

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CHALLENGES OF MANAGING DATABASES

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CHALLENGES OF MANAGING DATABASES

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CAREER PATH OF A DBA

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BUSINESS AS USUAL (BAU) vs. PROJECT DELIVERABLESAs an Oracle DBA, you will come across both Business As Usual (BAU) and Project based roles during the course of your career.

During business as usual operations, the working practises are procedural in order to achieve continuity with the aim to constantly improve the work; whereas projects are about change, so may be in part procedural (such as change control procedure) but fundamentally they involve the creation of new operating practices.

In a project the deliverables are produced once, whereas deliverables are repeatedly produced during business as usual. A project introduces a new product or a change in product whereas business as usual seeks to reproduce the same item. For example, a project would produce a new IT system and roll it out in the business whereas business as usual would be operating that IT system day in day out.

A project produces the product in a finite, set time period whereas in business as usual the products are repeatedly produced for an indefinite amount of time. E.g. a roll out of an IT system would have to be completed by a particular target date whereas operations of that system would be ongoing.

For a project the plans and specifications that are put in place are bespoke and unique. Each project is different in implementation details so requires a bespoke approach to implementation.

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CONTRACTING VS. PERMANENT ROLES Contracting is sometimes seen as the holy grail of IT and FT work, and with earning potential that can be double the wage of permanent staff, it can seem very tempting indeed. But is contracting really that covetable?

It is not a myth that you can earn vastly more as a contractor than you could as a permanent employee, but it’s not a given either. A senior permanent employee can earn nearly as much as an equivalent contractor, but will, in addition to his or her salary, have a range of benefits that aren’t offered to the contractor. These can include pension schemes, private health care, car allowances, professional development funds, to name a few; however, such roles do tend to be very senior, and are few and far between.

In many ways, the greater earning potential that a contractor enjoys is compensation for the lack in job security. More effort needs to be invested to maintain steady workflow, and depending on a range of factors including your skills, reputation, timing and the state of the economy, you may find it difficult to secure your next contract. The contract market tends to be highly counter-cyclical, so in a boom, you may find that the market is actually tougher than in a bust.

On the flip side, what you lack in security and stability, you gain in having more flexibility and freedom. You are also more likely to work on more varied projects and gain more experience with different technologies and working constellations; this can potentially progress your career more quickly.

So if you have the skills and you can stomach the lack of stability and security, then chances are that you will thrive in a contracting role. However, if you are in a good job with prospects, and you enjoy the culture and environment in which you work, staying put might be the best option.

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ADVANTAGES OF BEING A CONTRACTORBetter remuneration: As a contractor you should receive more for your services than permanent staff. It is worth remembering that even if the equivalent contractor rate is much higher than the perm rate, the cost to the company is lower.

Factors that affect how much you are worth include the economic climate and supply and demand for your skills in the market place. Companies often use contractors because they want them to transfer their skills to their permanent staff, since contractors often have a higher level of technological competence.

Tax savings: Use an umbrella company to ‘run’ yourself or go into business with a limited company. Both options will likely save you considerable amounts of tax and make contracting even more profitable. If you agree to a contract of more than 24 months, keep in mind that you won’t be able to claim site-based business expenses.

You are your own manager: As a contractor you choose whether or not to accept work so you can select contracts according to your own preferences.

Job variation leads to skills: Contractors normally take contracts ranging between 3 and 12 months in duration. By working on shorter contracts you will gain experience faster, work on more varied projects and hopefully get some big-name companies on your CV. Changing projects on a regular basis gives you a chance to update and further your skills and to learn from the best. In general, contractors have more advanced skills than their permanent counterparts, which will give your career a boost.

International opportunities: Some fields offer ample opportunity to work abroad on international assignments.

Build your network: Undertaking contract work allows you to build business contacts and if a client likes your work they will be happy to hire you again or recommend you.

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DISADVANTAGES OF BEING A CONTRACTORJob security: Entering a weaker market, termination of your project, or having skills that are out of demand are all threats to your job security. Stay on top of your development and plan for rainy days.

Administration: As a contractor you will always have more administration work in your spare time than you would if you were a permanent employee. You must read up on how umbrella companies work, and may also need to hire an accountant to ensure you are compliant and tax-efficient.

Applying for contracts: Imagine job-hunting every six months; this would drive most people crazy, and it’s worth keeping this side of contracting in mind.

Short-notice holidays: Essentially, these don’t exist. You need to plan your holidays for when you have gaps between jobs.

Holiday and sick pay: Again, these are a thing of the past, so ensure you make provisions for any eventualities.

Skills training: One way of looking at this is that you may get free training and skills development on the job, but if you do need to go on a course, you will have to pay for it from your own funds.

The reality is whether to freelance or not is seldom an easy question to answer, as permanent and contract work can have just as many advantages as disadvantages. Ultimately it boils down to your priorities and lifestyle.

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DBA SALARY RANGELast Updated: Sunday, 15 May 2016 18:10

Database administrator salaries are among the highest base wages in IT, and experienced DBAs and database managers can earn well into the six-figure range. Here is a dynamic look at the database administrator salary landscape, featuring key figures, trends and analyses of the leading salary surveys and national employment data.

Job Title 2013 Salary 2014 Salary 2015 Salary 2-Year Change

Database Admin $83,000 - $119,500 $87,500 - $126,000 $91,000 - $134,750 + 11.5%

http://www.itcareerfinder.com/brain-food/it-salaries/database-administrator-salary-range.html

http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_dba_salary_trends.htm

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DBA SALARY RANGEThis 2005 DBA Salary survey shows Oracle Architects with the highest pay ($90k/year) followed by Oracle DBA at an average of $65k year.  It also shows Oracle salaries being highest in California.  Also in 2005 this survey shows an average DBA salary averaging $86,000 per year and Oracle OCP average DBA salaries over $75,000 per year.

As of 2015, the starting salary for a DBA depends largely on the quality of their education, your major, and your commitment to a profession in database administration, as noted in this 2015 DBA salary survey. 

On average, a DBA salary will be approximately age x 2.  If you are 22 years old, expect a starting DBA salary to be about $44,000.  As your experience increases, so does your DBA salary, such that you could expect about $100,000 per year when you are 50 years old (age x 2) with 28 years experience.Quality and DBA salary

 Today, inflation and increased demand have increased the DBA pay scale.

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A DBA IS: A PERSON OF INFLUENCE

A PERSON OF AUTHORITY

A PERSON OF POWER

A PERSON OF VALUE

A PERSON OF TRUST

A HIGH INCOME EARNER

A LEADER

A LEADER

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CONCLUSIONCorporate organisations depend on several utilities - centrally managed services distributed across networks - the most common being electricity, water, and telephone services. Increasingly, organisations also depend on LAN and database services. Some organisations, such as airlines, with their reservation systems, or Amazon.com, with its Internet-based order system, are extremely sensitive to the availability of an underlying database service.

Established utilities such as telephone and power companies have evolved over time to maintain a relatively high degree of reliability and predictability - or at least, high by the standards of the database industry. They've done this by defining exactly what they need to deliver and then carefully monitoring actual delivery on a real-time basis, storing these measurements for review and management. Service outages are analysed with an eye to preventing their recurrence, and problems are anticipated and prevented more often than reacted to. Even natural disasters are planned for, and the response is swift, co-ordinated, and well-rehearsed.

Any database that is key to an organisation's operations - such as Amazon.com's order database - is functionally the same as any of these other utilities; work cannot proceed if the service is interrupted. The Internet is driving much higher database-uptime standards, because even a small mom-and-pop site that wants to sell on the internet must be up all the time, otherwise, it will lose orders.

As Glenn Slate, operations manager for eMerchandise.com, puts it: "Better no visitors than visitors who have a bad experience, because they will go away, stay away, and warn their friends away. Response time, uptime, and reliability are crucial, especially for us, because we target an international audience. Many people in this industry don't realise we're on a frontier. Every shopper today will influence 20 friends who are getting online tomorrow.

A company’s corporate currency is it’s data therefore it must be protected at all costs to keep the business in operation.

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A DBA IS INFLUENTIAL AND RESPECTED

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