What Is Database Management? Career and Salary Outcomes

Many businesses and consumers depend on data daily in the Information Age, making database management essential. Database management ensures the right piece of information is available when it’s needed. For example, when a shopper pays for groceries, an unseen database links a credit card number with an account, while another database certifies that the account has sufficient credit available.

Databases are growing exponentially, and organizations and individuals alike rely on data for everyday operations. By 2025, the world will be collecting 463 exabytes (a million trillion bytes) of data each day, according to the World Economic Forum. That’s why the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that demand for database administrators and architects will grow 8% between 2020 and 2030. Learning what database management is can open up a career with the potential for excellent compensation and advancement.

What Is a Database Management System?

A Database Management System (DBMS) is a type of software that organizes, stores, and retrieves data from a database. It executes a range of functions that work together to ensure the data is available, accurate, and accessible.

A database management system consists of three primary elements:

• A physical database containing the data.

• A database engine that helps access the data and alter its contents.

• A database scheme that provides the logical structure of data that resides in the database.

What Does a Database Management System Do?

A database is an organized collection of data, structured so that users can easily find a particular bit of information. In the pre-digital age, comparable examples of a database were a telephone book or a library’s card catalog.

Digital databases are far more versatile than their predecessors because their data can be searched according to any relevant variable, reorganized, and output in a wide variety of formats to serve many functions. To properly utilize that versatility, businesses require database management software for storing and retrieving data and controlling access to information.

The most common kind of software, relational database management, files entries in tables with predefined relationships. Users apply structured query language (SQL) to ask questions and extract needed data.

Making that happen takes a specialized professional: a database manager or administrator.

Database Management Systems Examples

Database management systems are software that organizes data to be input, retrieved and queried. Some popular database management systems and what they’re commonly used for include:

• Oracle Database. Best for large organizations with complicated needs, it offers flexibility and high levels of data security—but requires experienced users and therefore carries a high price tag.

• Microsoft Access. Part of the Microsoft Office applications suite, its user-friendly interface makes it easy for beginners and small organizations to set up databases and generate tables and reports. It’s generally less efficient than Oracle for larger-scale uses.

• MySQL. Primarily used for web development for websites that store large volumes of data, MySQL stores data across a wide range of sites from basic landing pages to Facebook and YouTube. It’s free and open-source, which means users can modify it, but it’s more challenging to learn than Microsoft Access.

The Job of Database Management

According to the BLS, database management's core task is to “create or organize systems to store and secure data.” That simple description covers several complex components of a database manager’s work.

Design and Build Databases

Database management begins with talking to potential end users to learn what they want a database to do and what information they need to store. A manager then builds a model database using programming languages like SQL and Python. Before it’s finalized, the model may need several rounds of testing to ensure it’s user-friendly, works properly, and satisfies all the organization’s requirements.

Maintain Databases

In a sense, no database design is ever final—it evolves as the needs of its users do. The duties of database management include modifying and upgrading structures and testing changes, to make sure they work as intended and don’t accidentally disrupt existing functions. Between upgrades, a manager periodically tests a database to ensure it’s operating efficiently and accurately.

Protect Data

Database management provides systems and routines for optimizing and maintaining data integrity to ensure it is not corrupted or contains inaccuracies like duplicate records.

Data protection also means establishing and implementing cybersecurity procedures. Such measures ensure that only authorized users have access and that hackers can’t steal or alter data, particularly proprietary or personal financial information.

Setting up automatic backups also protects data to be restored in case of system failure or cybercrime.

Support Users

Database management is responsible for providing support when users have problems or questions. Sometimes, user support means being on call to address emergencies outside regular working hours.

Such assistance can take various forms, from tutoring users to designing custom queries. User feedback can also be valuable for identifying new flaws and necessary changes to a system.

The Importance of Data Management

Data has become the lifeblood of today’s businesses, making strategic business decisions, improving marketing campaigns, and optimizing business operations. Without a proper database management system, organizations can face myriad problems and difficulties like inconsistent data sets, data silos, and poor-quality data—all of which can lead to detrimental findings and results.

Here are some of the most essential functions of data management that are vital to day-to-day life:

• Process automation

• Ensuring adequate performance of queries

• Keeping up with consumer demands

• Organizing and tracking customers, inventory, and employees

• Facilitating compliance with data protection laws such as GDPR, CCPA, etc.

The Types of Database Management Systems

Here’s a brief overview of five of the most commonly used DBMSs

• Relational Database Management System. This system stores data in tables arranged into rows and columns, each representing a different entity. Keys (e.g., primary, foreign) establish relationships between entities.

• Object-Oriented Database Management System. An OODBMS combines database capabilities and object-oriented programming principles. This system stores data as objects, like those found in programming languages such as Java or C++. Each object has data and data operation methods, facilitating more complex data structures and relationships.

• Hierarchical Database Management System. The HDBMS arranges data into a tree-like structure. Each record has one “parent” but potentially many “children,” thus creating a parent-child hierarchy. This configuration allows for efficient data retrieval and is particularly beneficial for applications containing predictable access patterns and a clear hierarchy, such as organizational charts and file systems.

• Network Database Management System. This system extends the hierarchical model by permitting increasingly complex relationships between records. This model arranges records in a graph structure, so each record has multiple parent and child records, which form a network of interconnected nodes.

• Distributed Database Management System. A DDBMS manages distributed databases across multiple locations, whether on the same network or over a geographically scattered network. The DDBMS synchronizes distributed data and ensures it is accessible as a single database.

Salaries and Demand for Database Management

U.S. News & World Report ranks database administrator careers as the eighth-best technology job and the 28th-best STEM occupation. Specifically, database management is rated ‘above average’ for upward mobility regarding possibilities for promotions and raises.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) supports that assessment, reporting that the median annual salary in the field was $117,450 in 2023. Employment is expected to grow 9% from 2023 to 2033, faster than the averages of other occupations.

In recent years, a major trend in the growth of database management jobs has focused on cloud computing. Rather than operating their databases, many small- and medium-sized companies find it more cost-effective to hire a third-party provider such as Amazon Web Services. Ecommerce research from the firm MarketsandMarkets forecasts cloud database services will grow 16% a year, reaching $25 billion by 2025.

Database Management: What’s Required to Get Started?

The majority of database administrators hold a bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, or a related field such as engineering, according to the BLS.

However, it’s possible to break into the field through other routes. The BLS reports that 18% of database managers have no college degree.

One alternative path into database management is enrolling in an academic program like a bootcamp. In as few as ten weeks, a data analytics bootcamp can provide the hands-on experience qualify you for an entry-level job in the field. Bootcamps can also help build a professional network and offer assistance with landing a job. Some bootcamps offer flexible scheduling options and the choice to study online or in person.

Certifications can also help launch a career in database management. Major database software firms like Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM offer certifications in their programs, as do database service providers like Amazon Web Services.

Learn More About Training Programs for Database Management

Data management can be a rewarding occupation for a detail-oriented person with strong skills in analysis and problem-solving. An intensive program, like the online Data Analytics Bootcamp at Fullstack Academy, can educate you in the fundamentals of data management without leaving home or giving up your existing job.

The program enables you to learn languages such as SQL and Python, and prepares you for certification as a Tableau Desktop Specialist.

Explore how Fullstack Academy can help lead first-time job seekers or career changers into a position in data management.

Recommended Readings

3 Common Barriers to a Successful Career Change–and How to Work Through Them

Data Scientist vs. Data Analyst: What’s the Difference?

What Does a Data Analyst Do? Job Types, Training, and Salary

Sources:

BMC, “DBMS: Database Management Systems Explained”

Datamation, “10 Top Database Certifications”

MarketsandMarkets, “Cloud Database and DBaaS Market”

MCG, “What Is The Importance of a Database Management System?”

Medium, “Database Management System(DBMS) | Examples And Their Pros and Cons”

TechRepublic, “5 Programming Languages Database Administrators Should Learn”

TechTarget, database as a service (DBaaS)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Database Administrators and Architects

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Educational Attainment for Workers 25 Years and Older by Detailed Occupation

U.S. News & World Report, Database Administrator

World Economic Forum, “How Much Data Is Generated Each Day?”