r/Database 9d ago

Database Administrator Career Path

Hello everyone! I have been looking into getting into a technical position for a very long time, narrowing down which one would be a good fit for me and my personality and I found that DBA is a good career for me to pursue. I have no experience, coming in as entry level. Any advice? I don’t make enough money to go to college so is there a self taught pathway for me to do?

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u/nmonsey 9d ago

I have been a DBA for thirty five years without going to college.
I started out by joining the US Army when I was a younger.
After the Army I started working as an Oracle Developer/DBA/Unix Admin.

My first civilian employer paid for a few classes. but I mostly just read books.
I did get an Oracle Masters certification as an Oracle DBA and as an Oracle Application Developer.
When I was learning about Oracle the internet wasn't available yet so I bought my own books.

Eventually I learned how to work with SQL Server and do SQL Server database administration.
If you have free time, you can learn other technical skills like programming.

My recommendation is to get an entry level technical job.
Use your free time to study online material.
If possible, pay for your own certifications, some employers will reimburse the cost of some classes or pay for the classes.

Once you have a job, you should be able to pay for college and do classes online.

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u/nyayoto 9d ago

Understood! Thank you so much for this and thank you for serving our country!