Living in the information age, it's the people who gather and protect the info that truly run the world. As a database administrator, you could find your own pot of information gold at the end of the rainbow.

Database administrators (or DBAs) are analytical, detail-oriented folks who have the integrity to keep sensitive information safe. Database administrators know a lot about you, including the fact that you have the entire Backstreet Boys oeuvre saved on your iTunes account and that you play "I Want It That Way" at least six times a day.

The contents themselves are often small potatoes, though. Security is a database administrator's middle name. With an average salary around $80,000 (source), DBAs are paid well to protect information and share it on a need to know basis—only. And nobody needs to know about your Backstreet Boys obsession.

Some computer jobs start off in the mid-$40,000 range (source). As your career progresses, you could find yourself making $100,000 to $120,000 per year (source). Holy guacamole, right?

 

We carry computers around in our pockets that are more powerful than the ones astronauts used to use. (Source)

It gets better: this field is expected to just grow, grow, grow. From software development and testing to database engineering, the number of jobs in this field is only going to get bigger as humanity goes careening further into the digital age. Just look around you (or in the mirror) and check how many people are using a smartphone, tablet, or laptop right now. Each device is creating valuable data for someone. 

It's up to a database administrator to create the right gathering tools, the best categories, and the secure back-ups to keep that treasure from becoming trash.

Data is used by companies to do everything from finding out what day of the week people are most likely to buy certain products to determining how to make companies more competitive and efficient. St. John's, North Carolina State, Arkansas State, and DePaul University have some of the top college programs in the U.S. for database administration. 

At an average cost of $23,000 per year for public schools and $46,000 per year for private colleges (source), doing your homework on which college to choose can save you some big bucks. Don't even get us started on out-of-state tuition. Just make sure the college you choose is accredited.

 

And make sure to be familiar with systems a little newer than this one. (Source)

There are some two-year database administration programs out there, but to really make any progress in your career you're going to need at least a bachelor's degree. Some database software makers—Oracle, for example—have certification programs for database administration. These certification programs won't take the place of a degree, but they'll sharpen your skills, and that can only help your career—particularly if you get a generalized computer science degree.

Database administration is a growing field with above-average growth rates projected over the next several years. Why? Because almost every business out there is all about that (data)base. 

Keeping better tabs on the bevy of information at a company's disposal increases efficiency across the board, often meaning better prices for the customers. And that's great, because some people might want to save a little money expanding on their collection of Backstreet Boys memorabilia—but, we're not naming any names.

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