September 2, 2016 at 12:19 pm
Carrier path over the years
SQL developer -> Dev. DBA ->Prod DBA ->Design Tools/engineering for SQL automation
in total 15+ years
I live in NA city with 3 Millions+ population
every time when I start looking for new contract I update my resume and start collecting recruiters calls ..
What I see
- the is a lot of offers for SQL Server DBA
- 90% of Companies don't need (can't afford) Senior SQL DBA
- Companies not looking for new technologies, you need to write SQL code, manage performance for 2005-2008R2 (forget about cloud and NoSQL)
- "you have to be also expert in Oracle"
Questions
Who in 3M+ city need (can afford) senior DBA?
September 2, 2016 at 12:53 pm
I was in the market last year. There are positions open that, at least based on job description, could only be filled by a senior level DBA / Datbase Developer, but there appears to be a wide difference of opinion about the salary grade. My guess is that there are a lot of full time IT folks who stay with a company for years, working their way into a senior level position, but they're not getting pay raises that reflect their experience level. They leave for a better paying job, so then the company starts searching for a replacement but only at the same pay scale of the guy who left. They'll eventually (like a year or more later) settle for someone asking for higher (ie: industy standard) pay or someone with significantly less experience (ie: someone fresh out of university and still living at home with the folks).
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
September 3, 2016 at 7:09 am
Quick thought, I find the population being less relevant than the nature of the major businesses, the greater the legislative constraints applicable to the businesses (i.e. SOX, BASEL etc.) the greater the need and acceptance for employing a Senior DBA.
😎
September 6, 2016 at 7:50 am
There are plenty of good high paying DBA opportunities out there. Reading the original post, it seems like you are primarily a DBA who moves between contract assignments. It's possible that companies are relying less on contractors for their database administration needs.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
September 7, 2016 at 4:55 am
I too work in a fairly small city, Glasgow, Scotland < 1M people even if you include a lot of the surrounding areas. Salaries offered are all over the place for a Senior DBA from as little as £35K all the way up to £80K per annum. At the higher end that's not far off what a senior would earn in more affluent cities like Edinburgh and London.
Where I work currently they pay probably above average for DBA's but we have Associate DBA, DBA, Senior DBA and Principal DBA positions with varying levels of experience \ responsibilities \ salary.
Not that I am looking for a change but of all the positions I have been approached about over the years only 2 companies have been wiling to match or better what my current employer offers. One was a very large financial institution and the other a relatively small HR software provider. The company I work for is a global tech company but its still relatively small.
Almost every other company has been offering in the region of 30% to 50% less salary but wanting the same level of skills, experience and qualifications. The same jobs come up time and time again but the salary offered rarely changes. It does make me wonder why companies are reluctant to pay well for DBA's but will happily pay high salaries for project managers, business analysts, developers and the rest. The cost to them of re-recruiting every time a person leaves as they will not remunerate the position to a level that matches that level of expertise must be more than it would cost than paying a better salary to help retain staff.
MCITP SQL 2005, MCSA SQL 2012
September 7, 2016 at 7:00 am
RTaylor2208 (9/7/2016)
It does make me wonder why companies are reluctant to pay well for DBA's but will happily pay high salaries for project managers, business analysts
I wonder this DAILY.
It's a similar thing in London- salaries fluctuate hugely and it's unclear why people advertising at the lower end are bothering, but I suppose somebody's taking them up on those jobs or they'd offer more money (?).
September 7, 2016 at 7:37 am
Some organizations think that a DBA is some dude who sits in a closet full of servers, shuffling tape backups and eating potato chips. That's what they pay for, and that's exactly what they get in return. IT Darwinism is the process by which these bloated slow moving organizations are displaced over time by smarter, faster, better organizations who know how to leverage IT to their competitive advantage.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
September 7, 2016 at 8:34 am
Thanks, Eric. "I've been looking for a term to describe it and "IT Darwinism" is perfect.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
September 7, 2016 at 9:40 am
Recently I applied thought recruiting agency as contractor for several DBA positions
Recruiters agree on asking rate, applications was submitted, few days later recruiters responded that clients looking for intermediate DBA (read "... you asking too much")
Based on posts in topic, situation with salary/rate is more or less is the same
I don't want to blame recruiters or HR, since from my part I simply submit CV ?
Before rejecting next low rate contract I would collect all info about position and ask recruiter
Submit to client my list of "Pro" and "Con" for paying extra $ and hiring Senior DBA
Any other proactive steps/suggestions that help (me and other DBA) convince clients, greatly appreciated.
(It's like going to store to buy new fridge, you have budget but you don't know exactly why fridge A , better for YOU that fridge B, if salesman is smart ,he/she will explain the difference, you most likely will get more expensive model that has futures you need) 🙂
September 7, 2016 at 10:10 am
ebooklub (9/7/2016)
Recently I applied thought recruiting agency as contractor for several DBA positionsRecruiters agree on asking rate, applications was submitted, few days later recruiters responded that clients looking for intermediate DBA (read "... you asking too much")
Based on posts in topic, situation with salary/rate is more or less is the same
I don't want to blame recruiters or HR, since from my part I simply submit CV ?
Before rejecting next low rate contract I would collect all info about position and ask recruiter
Submit to client my list of "Pro" and "Con" for paying extra $ and hiring Senior DBA
Any other proactive steps/suggestions that help (me and other DBA) convince clients, greatly appreciated.
(It's like going to store to buy new fridge, you have budget but you don't know exactly why fridge A , better for YOU that fridge B, if salesman is smart ,he/she will explain the difference, you most likely will get more expensive model that has futures you need) 🙂
Let's assume you're selling a house (you're the seller), or let's assume you don't even have your house on the market. A realestate agent contacts you and says a client (the buyer) is really interested in your home, but yada.. yada.. bottom line is that your asking price is too high. Now, if you didn't hire this agent, then chances are they're working for the buyer, and they've been hired to find X, Y, Z at the lowest price point. Somebody is paying the agent's salary.
It's the same thing with IT recruiters who contact wen you post your resume to a job site, or maybe they just contact you unsolicited, they're working for their client, the employer. Once you understand this, then the process makes a lot more sense. Just talk to them politely, sell your skills and experience, and if the salary range isn't right for you then let them know. Weeks or months later you'll get a call for the same job, maybe from a different agent, at a higher rate. That's just the way it works. The important thing to remember is that plenty of employers are looking for senior level database administrators, and they are willing to pay. You just have to be patient and know where to look.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
September 7, 2016 at 10:37 am
ebooklub (9/7/2016)
Recently I applied thought recruiting agency as contractor for several DBA positionsRecruiters agree on asking rate, applications was submitted, few days later recruiters responded that clients looking for intermediate DBA (read "... you asking too much")
Based on posts in topic, situation with salary/rate is more or less is the same
I don't want to blame recruiters or HR, since from my part I simply submit CV ?
Before rejecting next low rate contract I would collect all info about position and ask recruiter
Submit to client my list of "Pro" and "Con" for paying extra $ and hiring Senior DBA
Any other proactive steps/suggestions that help (me and other DBA) convince clients, greatly appreciated.
(It's like going to store to buy new fridge, you have budget but you don't know exactly why fridge A , better for YOU that fridge B, if salesman is smart ,he/she will explain the difference, you most likely will get more expensive model that has futures you need) 🙂
So... enquiring minds want to know... what rate are you trying to get and what do the job descriptions look like?
Shifting gears a bit, what are people going to find if they ask "yabingooglewho" about you?
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
September 8, 2016 at 5:02 am
Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. I'm also wondering what you consider a DBA as well.
In my area, which is much smaller than a large city, I know some senior DBA's who are well into 6 figures as high as $120K per year. But, I know on the much lower end, some entry level to mid level DBA positions are listed for $50K to $60K to just do general DBA work. I consider myself mid-level. Most positions I've been offered are at least $100K or more.
However, most of these so-called DBA positions are not what I consider DBA's. Most are heavy on the development end dealing with a number of technologies and skillsets. Focuses on ETL development, SQL development, Business Intelligence, and even some .NET knowledge or other open source technologies for non-SQL Server roles like PostgreSQL, MySQL or NoSQL. Most of the traditional DBA positions are outsourced.
Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply