# Database Architects

US SOC code 15-1243. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/15-1243

Also called: Data architect, Sr database architect, Senior database architect, Enterprise data architect, Data warehouse architect.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **67,140** US database architects, with median pay of **$139,500** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/computers-and-electrical-engineering/computers-and-computing/database-administration) of **30,000** from 1980, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for database architects: Data governance and compliance architecture, 2018 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 9.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-1243&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **59.8%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Database Architects employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1968
- Latest US employment: 67,140 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $139,500 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: +9.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [23]

### All 8 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1980 | 30,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Encyclopedia.com [1] |
| 1990 | n/a | $38,000 (estimate) | Est., Dataversity [4] |
| 1995 | 87,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Derived estimate [2] |
| 2021 | 50,440 | $123,430 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 62,470 | $134,870 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 59,920 | $134,700 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 64,770 | $135,980 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 67,140 | $139,500 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (52)

### Employment series

1. [Encyclopedia.com — "Database Administration" (emergence of the DBA occupation, 1960s-1980s)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/computers-and-electrical-engineering/computers-and-computing/database-administration), Encyclopedia.com
2. [Derived estimate: combined database administrator + data warehouse architect workforce, circa 1995](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/a-short-history-of-data-warehousing/), Future History (derived estimate)
3. 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), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [Dataversity — "A Brief History of Data Architecture: Shifting Paradigms" (1980s-1990s profession emergence)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-data-architecture-shifting-paradigms/), Dataversity
5. 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)
6. [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

7. [IBM History — "Information Management System" (IMS origin story: Apollo/Saturn V 1966, commercial 1969)](https://www.ibm.com/history/information-management-system), IBM
8. [Dataversity — "A Brief History of Database Management" (CODASYL 1971, hierarchical era)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-database-management/), Dataversity
9. [IBM History — "The relational database" (Codd's 1970 paper, DB2 1983, $1B revenue by 1989)](https://www.ibm.com/history/relational-database), IBM
10. [HistoryofInformation.com — "Edgar Codd Publishes the Definitive Model for Relational Database Management Systems"](https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=94), History of Information
11. [Oracle Corporation History — "Oracle Version 2, first commercial SQL database, 1979" (Britannica Money)](https://www.britannica.com/money/Oracle-Corporation), Britannica Money
12. [Dataversity — "A Short History of Data Warehousing" (Inmon 1992, Kimball 1996, TDWI founding 1995)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/a-short-history-of-data-warehousing/), Dataversity
13. [Teradata History — Stacksync: "The DBC/1012, Citibank 1984, Wells Fargo 1983 beta" (first commercial data warehouse appliance)](https://www.stacksync.com/blog/named-thirteen-years-before-the-technology-existed-the-origin-story-of-teradata), Stacksync
14. [Dataversity — "A Brief History of Data Architecture: Shifting Paradigms" (NoSQL, Big Data, 2006-2015 era)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-data-architecture-shifting-paradigms/), Dataversity
15. [Wikipedia — "Teradata" (Big Data strategy, Aster Data acquisition 2011, Hortonworks partnership)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teradata), Wikipedia
16. [Stacksync — "The Elastic Data Warehouse: The Origin Story of Snowflake" (Dageville + Cruanes from Oracle, 2012 founding, 2014 launch)](https://www.stacksync.com/blog/the-elastic-data-warehouse-the-origin-story-of-snowflake), Stacksync
17. [Wikipedia — "Snowflake Inc." (2012 founding by former Oracle data architects, October 2014 public launch)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowflake_Inc.), Wikipedia
18. [LeanIX — "GDPR in Enterprise Architecture: The Definitive Guide" (GDPR 2018, privacy by design, data classification, right to erasure, architect compliance role)](https://www.leanix.net/en/wiki/trm/gdpr-in-enterprise-architecture), LeanIX
19. [Atlan — "Data Architect Roles and Responsibilities Guide" (data mesh, modern governance tools, 2020s)](https://atlan.com/data-architect-roles-and-responsibilities/), Atlan
20. [dbt Labs — dbt Copilot (GA March 2025): AI generates semantic models, documentation, tests, and SQL inside dbt Cloud](https://www.getdbt.com/blog/introducing-dbt-copilot), dbt Labs
21. [Databricks — AI/BI Genie GA (June 2025): natural-language analytics over Unity Catalog; 300%+ MAU growth YoY](https://www.databricks.com/blog/aibi-genie-now-generally-available), Databricks
22. [Atlan — 2026 Gartner MQ Leader; Context Agents generated 690K+ column descriptions (April 2026)](https://atlan.com/), Atlan

### Forecasts and exposure studies

23. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 15-1243 Database architects (2025: 69.5 thousand; 2035: 76.0 thousand; +9.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-1243&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
24. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 15-1243.00, human-rated β 0.598)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

25. [HistoryofInformation.com — "Edgar Codd Publishes the Definitive Model for Relational Database Management Systems" (June 1970)](https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=94), History of Information
26. [Dataversity — "A Brief History of Data Architecture: Shifting Paradigms" (Peter Chen ER modeling 1976)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/brief-history-data-architecture-shifting-paradigms/), Dataversity
27. [DAMA International — Data Management Association founding 1980 and DMBOK (Data Management Body of Knowledge)](https://www.dama.org/cpages/home), DAMA International
28. [Dataversity — "A Short History of Data Warehousing" (Inmon 1992 definition, Kimball 1996 dimensional approach)](https://www.dataversity.net/articles/a-short-history-of-data-warehousing/), Dataversity
29. [BLS — 2018 Standard Occupational Classification: 15-1243 Database Architects (separated from 15-1242 Database Administrators)](https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

30. [Encyclopedia.com — "Database Administration" (origin of the DBA role from IMS Apollo team, Dan Gilbert first title)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/computers-and-electrical-engineering/computers-and-computing/database-administration), Encyclopedia.com
31. [BLS OOH — Database Administrators and Architects: career progression from DBA to Architect](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/database-administrators.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
32. [O\*NET 15-1243.00 — pivot pathways from Database Architects to adjacent analytical roles](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1243.00), O\*NET / BLS
33. [Robert Half 2026 Technology Salary Report — data platform architects transitioning to IT management leadership roles](https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/job-details/data-architect), Robert Half

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Database Architects (15-1243.00): tasks, skills, median wage $135,980, employment ~66,900, projected growth 7% ("much faster than average") 2024-2034](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1243.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OOH — Database Administrators and Architects: combined +4% growth 2024-2034, ~7,800 annual openings; architect-specific growth projected much faster than average](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/database-administrators.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Snowflake — Cortex Analyst: text-to-SQL over architect-authored Semantic Views (YAML); Cortex Agents (April 2026) generate SQL directly from semantic views, improving accuracy and latency](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/snowflake-cortex/cortex-analyst), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Databricks — AI/BI Genie GA (June 2025): natural-language analytics over Unity Catalog governed tables; Genie Code (March 2026) adds autonomous Python/SQL coding agent; 300%+ MAU growth YoY](https://www.databricks.com/blog/aibi-genie-now-generally-available), accessed 2026-05-24
- [dbt Labs — dbt Copilot (GA March 2025): AI generates semantic models, documentation, tests, and SQL inside dbt Cloud from natural language; Developer Agent for model building and refactoring](https://www.getdbt.com/blog/introducing-dbt-copilot), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Microsoft Fabric — Copilot for Data Warehouse: AI generates T-SQL, accelerates warehouse creation; now available on all paid F-SKUs (2026), removing previous F64 minimum requirement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/data-warehouse/copilot), accessed 2026-05-24
- [SqlDBM — SqlDBM Copilot (2025): AI-assisted ERD generation, relationship suggestions, schema naming best practices, cloud-native database modeling for Snowflake, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL](https://sqldbm.com/copilot/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Atlan — 2026 Gartner MQ Leader for Data & Analytics Governance; #1 in lineage and impact analysis; Context Agents generated 690K+ column descriptions (April 2026); MCP Server for AI agent lineage querying](https://atlan.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Informatica — CLAIRE GPT: Spring 2026 GA on Google Cloud; agentic data management with Data Quality Agent (rules from natural language), Metadata Enrichment Agent; headless data services announced May 2026](https://www.informatica.com/blogs/introducing-claire-gpt-the-future-of-data-management.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Google Cloud — Gemini in BigQuery (2025-2026): text-to-SQL GA, AI.GENERATE and AI.GENERATE\_TABLE GA, schema-aware transformation recommendations, AI.EMBED and AI.SIMILARITY for vector workloads](https://docs.cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/generative-ai-overview), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Robert Half 2026 Technology Salary Report — data-focused roles supporting AI initiatives +4.1% YoY salary growth; among hardest positions for hiring managers to fill; 88% of tech leaders say cloud skills required to fuel AI adoption](https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/job-details/data-architect), 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

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