Database Administration Jobs in Nigeria

What is Database Administration?

Database administration is the act of supervising and maintaining database management system software. It is the whole set of activities performed by a database administrator to ensure that a database is always available as needed.

The primary role of database administration is to ensure maximum uptime for the database so that it is always available when needed. This will typically involve proactive periodic monitoring and troubleshooting. This in turn entails some technical skills on the part of the DBA. In addition to in-depth knowledge of the database in question, the DBA will also need knowledge and perhaps training in the platform (database engine and operating system) on which the database runs. 

Responsibilities of a database administrator

• Database Security: This is about ensuring that only authorized users have access to the database and fortifying it against any external, unauthorized access.

• Database Tuning: Tweaking any of several parameters to optimize performance, such as server memory allocation, file fragmentation and disk usage.

• Backup and Recovery: It is a DBA’s role to ensure that the database has adequate backup and recovery procedures in place to recover from any accidental or deliberate loss of data.

• Producing Reports from Queries: DBAs are frequently called upon to generate reports by writing queries, which are then run against the database. 

Database administrator job roles 

1. System DBA: In this role, the focus is on technical, rather than business, issues. The system DBA is knowledgeable in the arcane technical details of how the database is installed, configured and modified. Some of the tasks include installing new versions and applying fixes, setting and tuning system parameters, tuning the operating system, network and transaction processors to work with the DBMS, and ensuring appropriate storage and memory are available for the DBMS.

2. Database Architect: The primary responsibility is the design and implementation of new databases. The database architect designs new databases and structures for new and existing applications and is rarely involved in the maintenance and tuning of established databases and applications. Typical tasks include modelling logical data, translating logical data models into a physical database design, analyzing data access requirements to ensure optimal database design and efficient SQL access, and creating backup and recovery strategies for new databases.

3. Database analyst: Sometimes junior DBAs are referred to as database analysts. The database analyst's role may be similar to that of the database architect. The database analyst designation may just be another name for a database administrator.

4. Application DBA: The focus is on database design and the ongoing database support and administration for a specific application or subset of applications. The application DBA is more likely an expert in writing and debugging complex SQL and will understand the best ways to incorporate database requests into application programs. Furthermore, application DBAs typically are responsible for managing and refreshing test data for application development teams.

5. Performance analyst: As the most common task-oriented DBA, the performance analyst focuses entirely on monitoring and improving the performance of applications that access databases. A performance analyst is an expert in SQL coding for performance and knowledgeable in designing and building high-performance databases. Performance analysts should have a deep understanding of the DBMS, collaborate with other DBAs to implement appropriate changes when required and communicate with application developers in their language to facilitate appropriate program changes for performance.

6. Data warehouse administrator: This fully capable DBA has the knowledge and skills to monitor and support the data warehouse environment. Data warehouse administrators understand the differences between a database that supports online transaction processing (OLTP) and a data warehouse. He is usually experienced in business intelligence (BI) and query tools, specialized database design for data warehousing, ETL skills, and knowledge of data warehousing technologies, such as online analytical processing (OLAP) and star schema.

7. Cloud DBA: As companies increasingly migrate workloads to the cloud, the cloud DBA has become more popular and performs many of the same tasks as a general-purpose DBA, but for cloud database implementations such as on AWS and Microsoft Azure. The cloud DBA understands the services the cloud provider offers, including backup and security, to implement databases in the cloud. Cloud DBAs need to be aware of latency, fault tolerance and especially cost management because adding data or workloads to a cloud implementation can significantly increase costs.

Skills of a database administrator

• Cloud computing.

• Computer programming languages (C#, HTML, Java, PHP, Python, R, SQL).

• Database backup and recovery.

• Database management frameworks and systems (IBM Db2, Oracle Database, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server).

• Database design and modelling.

• Database schema creation and maintenance.

• Data security.

• Operating system software (Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, UNIX).

How to become a database administrator 

1. Begin with a bachelor’s degree: Database administrator candidates are often expected to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, management information systems or a similar field.

2. Complete certificates and courses: You can also obtain certifications and complete courses in data administration. This will help you come off as more credible and skilled in the field.

3. Learn the necessary hard skills: Give time to learn the necessary hard skills you need to learn as a DBA. you can self-practise these skills as resources on them are online. 

4. Choose a career path and stay on it: As a DBS, choose the career path you want to take and the job roles you would prefer. This would also help you to streamline your job applications. 

5. Build a network: Find communities of DBAs and build a network with them. Your career will never grow in isolation. 

Difference between data administrator and database administrator

A data administrator is a person who is responsible for processing data into a convenient data model, while a database administrator is a person who creates updates and maintains the database. 

The major differences between both include: 

1. Data admin converts data into a convenient data model while database admin inputs data into the database.

2. Data admin analyzes the database for relevant data while database admin optimizes and maintains the database

3. Data admin monitors data flow across the organization database admin ensures database security.

4. Data admin handles issues concerning the data while database admin handles issues with the database.

5. Data admin is less of a technical role and more of a business role, while database admin is a wide role as it has multiple responsibilities

6. The main tasks for a DA include data planning, definition, architecture and management etc while the main tasks for a DBA include database design, construction, security, backup and recovery, performance tuning etc.