Database Administrator
| Median wage (USD) | 104620 |
|---|---|
| Projected employment growth (%) | 0 |
| AI exposure (%) | 60 |
| Maximum exposure (%) | 90 |
| Source | eloundou |
| What AI changes in this occupation | SQL code generation — DDL, queries, indexes, stored procedures — and schema documentation are delegated to AI Execution-plan analysis, performance monitoring and incident troubleshooting become AI-assisted, but validation against real data remains human Planning security measures, granting user access levels, training users and accountability for data availability remain human |
| Key skills | Relational and cloud database administration · SQL, data modelling and query optimization · backup, recovery and data security · data governance and quality |
| Courses to get ahead | Databases and SQL for Data Science with Python (IBM) · Coursera · 2 weeks · 91 · Queries, tables, views, stored procedures and transactions in SQL: the core gesture of the job, the one AI now generates and you must review before running it in production. Database Structures and Management with MySQL (Meta) · Coursera · 3 weeks · 88 · Structure design, keys, normalization, stored procedures and transactions: the part AI proposes and you validate on a real schema, not on a sample. AWS: Databases (Whizlabs) · Coursera · 7 h · 84 · Managed cloud databases (RDS, Redshift, DynamoDB): the shift BLS explicitly cites as the cause of the occupation's flat growth — understand it to steer what remains. Relational Database Design (University of Colorado Boulder) · Coursera · 4 weeks · 82 Introduction to NoSQL Databases (IBM) · Coursera · 2 weeks · 80 Advanced SQL: Window Functions, Stored Procedures & Triggers (LearnKartS) · Coursera · 3 h · 78 |
| Occupations to pivot toward | Database Architect · 139500 · 9 · 60 Software Developer · 135980 · 10 · 45 Computer and Information Systems Manager · 175140 · 16 · 56 |
| Skills to acquire for the pivot | Eloundou's measured exposure is 60% (human β) and rises to 90% (human ζ): modifying existing databases, installing upgrades, testing applications and programs, writing logical and physical descriptions, developing data models and reviewing manual procedures are largely delegable to AI, but planning security measures, granting access levels, training users, approving installations and setting development standards remain human. The ζ of 90% says almost the whole job is at least partly transformable; the β of 60% says that today AI does about three fifths of it without supervision. Along with the network and computer systems administrator, it is one of the few IT occupations whose BLS profile projects no growth at all. BLS growth is 0% from 2025 to 2035 for database administrators: their 75,000 jobs in 2025 are projected to reach 74,900, a loss of 100, while the combined 'Database Administrators and Architects' group grows 4% (144,500 to 150,900, +6,500), database architects 9% and the computer occupations group 6%, against 3% for all occupations. BLS attributes this stagnation explicitly to the cloud — companies run their databases in the cloud, letting fewer administrators serve more companies — and to some of these workers moving to other roles, such as database architect or software developer. About 7,300 openings a year are still projected for the group, mostly replacing workers who leave. The median salary is $104,620 (May 2025), from the BLS 'Database Administrators' profile (SOC 15-1242); the lowest 10% earn less than $60,230 and the highest 10% more than $163,320. The combined group shows $126,760, database architects $139,500, the computer occupations group $109,470 and all occupations $50,980. It sits just below computer systems analysts ($105,850), above computer support specialists ($62,890), and below information security analysts ($129,180), computer network architects ($134,050) and computer and information systems managers ($175,140). Consistency note: the site's `data-engineer` card uses this administrator as a pivot, with the $104,620 salary and the combined group's growth (+4%), while the projection specific to administrators is 0%. |
| GPT-4 exposure — beta / zeta (%) | 94 · 100 |