Lous Davidson wrote:

I've encountered DBAs who seemed ill equipped to administer a home grocery list and checkbook.

What surprises me is the number of DBAs these days who have very slender SQL skills. Once upon a time, long, long ago (when DB2 ruled the Earth), most DBAs possessed SQL knowledge which put that of nearly every developer in the shade. DBAs knew not just DDL forwards and backwards, but DML as well.

I'm not sure why that's changed, but changed it has.