Below is a list of some of the different "types" of DBAs
(or DBA Roles).
In a large company a DBA may specialize in just one area, or start (at entry level)
with one type of job but later progress to other, more challenging jobs.
In a smaller organization the DBA must usually where many hats (i.e., fulfill
all roles at once).
Note that these roles may not correspond exactly to job titles.
The roles are:
- The systems or operational
DBA:
Monitors the DB instances and
servers.
Also deals with adding/removing/altering users, tablespaces,
etc.
(This is the mostly likely role for an entry-level position.)
- The data DBA:
Handles data integrity, backup and recovery and archives, and data
removal.
This type of DBA usually manages a data warehouse or
data mart.
- The application DBA:
Provides end-user solutions and quick answers (reports), optimizes queries,
and provides resoures (canned queries, procedures, packages, etc.) for
application developers.
This DBA does more coding (HTML, PL/SQL, Java, ...) than the other types
of DBA.
- The architectural DBA:
Works with application development teams to develop the database part
of the overall product.