# Database Administrators

US SOC code 15-1242. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/15-1242

Also called: DBA, SQL DBA, SQL server DBA, Oracle DBA, PostgreSQL DBA.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **69,990** US database administrators, with median pay of **$104,620** a year. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-database-management/) of **20,000** from 1980, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for database administrators: Cloud managed databases and NoSQL, 2009 to 2018.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects little or no change in employment from 2025 to 2035 (-0.1%). Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-1242&ioType=o).

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35.

## Database Administrators employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1963
- Latest US employment: 69,990 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $104,620 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [8]
- Outlook: -0.1% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [24]

### All 9 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1980 | 20,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Dataversity [1] |
| 1990 | 58,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Robert Half [2] |
| 1995 | n/a | $46,000 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [6] |
| 2000 | 108,000 | $51,990 | BLS OEWS 2000 [3] |
| 2021 | 85,870 | $96,710 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 80,520 | $99,890 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 76,140 | $101,510 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 73,180 | $104,620 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 69,990 | $104,620 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (58)

### Employment series

1. [Dataversity -- A Brief History of Database Management (database specialization emergence 1970s-1980s)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-database-management/), Dataversity
2. [Robert Half -- The Evolving Role of Database Administrators (historical context, DBA role emergence 1980s-1990s)](https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/career-development/the-evolving-role-of-database-administrators), Robert Half
3. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
5. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Wage series

6. [University of Missouri Libraries -- Prices and Wages by Decade 1990-1999 (technology worker salary context)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1990-1999), University of Missouri Libraries
7. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
8. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
9. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

10. [Dataversity -- A Brief History of Database Management (IDS 1963, CODASYL 1971, IMS history)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-database-management/), Dataversity
11. [Wikipedia -- IBM System R (IBM System R project 1974-1979, relational database history)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System_R), Wikipedia
12. [Two Bit History -- "Codd and the Relational Model" (Edgar Codd 1970 paper, IBM System R, SQL origins)](https://twobithistory.org/2017/12/29/codd-relational-model.html), Two Bit History
13. [Oracle Corporation -- History: Software Development Laboratories 1977, Oracle version 2 released 1979](https://www.britannica.com/money/Oracle-Corporation), Encyclopaedia Britannica
14. [Planet Mainframe -- "At 40 years old, is Db2 still relevant?" (DB2 1983 MVS launch, history)](https://planetmainframe.com/2023/09/40th-anniversary-db2/), Planet Mainframe
15. [Robert Half -- The Evolving Role of Database Administrators (web era DBA history, client-server to internet transition)](https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/career-development/the-evolving-role-of-database-administrators), Robert Half
16. [Dice Technology Salary Report -- 20 Years in Review 2025 (1990s tech boom, technology worker wages doubling)](https://www.dice.com/technologists/ebooks/tech-salary-report/20-years-in-review.html), Dice / Tech Salary Report
17. [Cybercultural -- "1995: MySQL Debuts and Web Databases Slowly Emerge" (MySQL history, LAMP stack origins)](https://cybercultural.com/p/1995-mysql-lamp-stack/), Cybercultural
18. [History of Computers -- "History of MySQL: A Game-Changer in Database Management" (MySQL 1995, GPL 2000, adoption arc)](https://historyofcomputers.eu/software/history-of-mysql-a-game-changer-in-database-management/), History of Computers
19. [Flash DBA -- "Evolution of the DBA" (DBA 1.0 through DBA 3.0: cloud DevOps era, cost governance emergence)](https://flashdba.com/2020/09/29/evolution-of-the-dba/), Flash DBA
20. [ScaleGrid -- "The Role of the DBA in NoSQL" (MongoDB DBA responsibilities vs. relational DBA, schema ownership shift)](https://scalegrid.io/blog/the-role-of-the-dba-in-nosql/), ScaleGrid
21. [Oracle -- Autonomous AI Database 26ai (October 2025 LTS): 66% DBA efficiency gain, self-driving, self-securing, self-repairing](https://www.oracle.com/database/ai-native-database-26ai/), Oracle
22. [Computer Weekly -- "Oracle's autonomous database could leave DBAs unemployed" (Mark Hurd quote, autonomous database employment impact)](https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252440766/Oracles-autonomous-database-could-leave-DBAs-unemployed), Computer Weekly
23. [BLS OOH -- Database Administrators and Architects: -1% for DBAs, +4% combined projection 2024-2034](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/database-administrators.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

24. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 15-1242 Database administrators (2025: 75.0 thousand; 2035: 74.9 thousand; -0.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-1242&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Historical notes

25. [Dataversity -- A Brief History of Database Management (Charles Bachman, IDS 1963, Turing Award 1973)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-database-management/), Dataversity
26. [Two Bit History -- "Codd and the Relational Model" (Codd 1970 paper, IBM San Jose Research Lab)](https://twobithistory.org/2017/12/29/codd-relational-model.html), Two Bit History
27. [Britannica -- Oracle Corporation history (Software Development Laboratories 1977, Oracle version 2 first commercial SQL database 1979)](https://www.britannica.com/money/Oracle-Corporation), Encyclopaedia Britannica
28. [Planet Mainframe -- "At 40 years old, is Db2 still relevant?" (DB2 1983 announcement, 1985 general availability, $1B revenue 1989)](https://planetmainframe.com/2023/09/40th-anniversary-db2/), Planet Mainframe
29. [Cybercultural -- "1995: MySQL Debuts and Web Databases Slowly Emerge" (MySQL May 23, 1995, LAMP stack, early internet adoption)](https://cybercultural.com/p/1995-mysql-lamp-stack/), Cybercultural
30. [Flash DBA -- "Evolution of the DBA" (DBA 2.0 and 3.0 eras: cloud, NoSQL, cost governance emergence)](https://flashdba.com/2020/09/29/evolution-of-the-dba/), Flash DBA
31. [Computer Weekly -- "Oracle's autonomous database could leave DBAs unemployed" (Mark Hurd statement, 2017-2018)](https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252440766/Oracles-autonomous-database-could-leave-DBAs-unemployed), Computer Weekly

### Predecessors & successors

32. [Dataversity -- A Brief History of Database Management (DBA role emergence from data processing specialists, 1960s-1970s)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-database-management/), Dataversity
33. [Robert Half -- The Evolving Role of Database Administrators (DBA role evolved from systems analyst and IT generalist backgrounds)](https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/career-development/the-evolving-role-of-database-administrators), Robert Half

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Database Administrators (15-1242.00): tasks, skills, wage $104,620, employment ~78,000](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1242.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OOH — Database Administrators and Architects: +4% growth 2024-2034 (combined); DBA alone -1% or lower; 3,800 annual openings](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/database-administrators.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Oracle — Autonomous AI Database 26ai (October 2025 LTS): self-driving, self-securing, self-repairing; 66% DBA efficiency gain](https://www.oracle.com/database/ai-native-database-26ai/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [TechWell — Autonomous Databases: Self-Driving, Self-Securing, and Self-Repairing (March 2025)](https://www.techwell.com/techwell-insights/2025/03/autonomous-databases-self-driving-self-securing-and-self-repairing), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Microsoft Learn — GitHub Copilot in SQL Server Management Studio 22: natural-language T-SQL generation, query explain, fix, optimize commands](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ssms/github-copilot/overview), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AWS — CloudWatch Database Insights (December 2024, replacing Performance Insights June 2026): AI/ML execution plan analysis, tuning recommendations](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/ai-powered-tuning-tools-for-amazon-rds-for-postgresql-and-amazon-aurora-postgresql-databases-pi-reporter/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Datadog — Database Monitoring: AI anomaly detection detects query regressions against historical baselines automatically (DASH 2025)](https://www.datadoghq.com/blog/database-monitoring-query-regressions/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [pganalyze — Indexing Engine: "What If?" analysis across hundreds of index combinations; automatic index recommendations (2025)](https://pganalyze.com/postgres-indexing-engine), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Google Cloud — AlloyDB AI (2025): Gemini Cloud Assist investigations, adaptive vacuuming, AI index advisor, ScaNN auto-tuning](https://cloud.google.com/alloydb/ai), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Rubrik — Gartner MQ Leader 6× consecutive (2025); auto-discovery policy backups, guided DBA restore, ransomware-resistant immutable snapshots](https://www.rubrik.com/solutions/databases), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Liquibase — Liquibase Secure: AI change controls, policy enforcement, audit evidence across 65+ databases](https://www.liquibase.com/liquibase-vs-flyway), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Syncfusion — AI for SQL Performance: How AI is Transforming Query Optimization in 2026](https://www.syncfusion.com/blogs/post/ai-sql-query-optimization-2026), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AI Changing Work — Will AI Replace Database Administrators? 2026 Analysis](https://web.archive.org/web/20260906083348/https://aichanging.work/en/blog/will-ai-replace-database-administrators), accessed 2026-10-07
- [Learnomate — Top Oracle DBA Skills You Need in 2025: AI Vector Search, automation, performance tuning](https://learnomate.org/https-learnomate-org-blogs-oracle-dba-skills-2025/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AWS CloudWatch Database Insights — replaces Performance Insights June 2026; Advanced mode execution plan analysis for Aurora PostgreSQL](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/optimize-and-troubleshoot-database-performance-in-amazon-aurora-postgresql-by-analyzing-execution-plans-using-cloudwatch-database-insights/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [pganalyze — Index Advisor: automatically detects missing indexes, surfaces single and multi-column recommendations with impact scores](https://pganalyze.com/postgres-index-advisor), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AWS — CloudWatch Database Insights Advanced: AI/ML execution plan analysis for Aurora PostgreSQL; replaces Performance Insights June 2026](https://pganalyze.com/blog/aws-performance-insights-deprecation-database-insights-comparison), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Oracle Autonomous Database — automatic indexing tunes the database for workloads without human intervention (Oracle ADB Features)](https://www.oracle.com/autonomous-database/), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.