Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Data analyst to database administrator

A data analyst already meets 28% of what the database administrator role asks for. The move turns on 20 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From data analyst
28 % overlap
Distant match
To database administrator
19 You already bring
20 Still to learn
67 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

79/ 100

1 How much of what a database administrator is expected to do is already part of a data analyst’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the database administrator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A database administrator role treats 8 of its required skills as things a data analyst already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • create data models
  • data models
  • data quality assessment
  • data storage
  • information structure
  • query languages

What stands in the way is 20 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A database administrator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a data analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held online analytical processing information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held create data models information skills
  • already held data engineering information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held data models information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held data quality assessment business, administration and law
  • already held manage cloud data and storage information skills

All 19 carried skills, including the 8 the database administrator role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 48 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 working with computers 10 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn administer ICT system required
  • still to learn balance database resources required
  • still to learn define database physical structure required
  • still to learn maintain database performance required
  • still to learn maintain database security required
  • still to learn operate relational database management system required
  • still to learn perform backups required
  • still to learn use an application-specific interface required
  • still to learn use scripting programming required
  • still to learn perform ICT troubleshooting required
  • optional, not held implement ICT security policies optional
  • optional, not held implement a firewall optional
  • optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
  • optional, not held use automatic programming optional
  • optional, not held provide ICT support optional
  • optional, not held remove computer virus or malware from a computer optional
  • optional, not held use back-up and recovery tools optional
02 information and communication technologies (icts) 5 required, 13 supplementary
  • still to learn database development tools required
  • still to learn database management systems required
  • still to learn distributed computing required
  • still to learn domain name service required
  • still to learn system backup best practice required
  • optional, not held DB2 optional
  • optional, not held Filemaker (database management systems) optional
  • optional, not held IBM Informix optional
  • optional, not held MarkLogic optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Access optional
  • optional, not held MySQL optional
  • optional, not held ObjectStore optional
  • optional, not held OpenEdge Database optional
  • optional, not held Oracle Relational Database optional
  • optional, not held PostgreSQL optional
  • optional, not held SQL Server optional
  • optional, not held Teradata Database optional
  • optional, not held TripleStore optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn design database backup specifications required
  • still to learn design database scheme required
  • optional, not held design database in the cloud optional
  • optional, not held support ICT system users optional
  • optional, not held provide technical training optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
04 information skills 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn interpret technical texts required
  • still to learn manage database required
  • optional, not held execute ICT audits optional
  • optional, not held estimate duration of work optional
05 assisting and caring 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn apply company policies required
  • optional, not held protect personal data and privacy optional
06 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a database administrator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 19 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held create data models skill
  • already held data models knowledge
  • already held data quality assessment knowledge
  • already held data storage knowledge
  • already held information structure knowledge
  • already held query languages knowledge
  • already held resource description framework query language knowledge
  • already held use databases skill
  • already held LDAP knowledge
  • already held LINQ knowledge
  • already held MDX knowledge
  • already held N1QL knowledge
  • already held SPARQL knowledge
  • already held XQuery knowledge
  • already held business intelligence knowledge
  • already held data engineering knowledge
  • already held manage cloud data and storage skill
  • already held online analytical processing knowledge
  • already held use spreadsheets software skill
28 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held DB2 optional
  • optional, not held Filemaker (database management systems) optional
  • optional, not held IBM Informix optional
  • optional, not held MarkLogic optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Access optional
  • optional, not held MySQL optional
  • optional, not held ObjectStore optional
  • optional, not held OpenEdge Database optional
  • optional, not held Oracle Relational Database optional
  • optional, not held PostgreSQL optional
  • optional, not held SQL Server optional
  • optional, not held Teradata Database optional
  • optional, not held TripleStore optional
  • optional, not held design database in the cloud optional
  • optional, not held execute ICT audits optional
  • optional, not held implement ICT security policies optional
  • optional, not held implement a firewall optional
  • optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
  • optional, not held support ICT system users optional
  • optional, not held use automatic programming optional
  • optional, not held estimate duration of work optional
  • optional, not held protect personal data and privacy optional
  • optional, not held provide ICT support optional
  • optional, not held provide technical training optional
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
  • optional, not held remove computer virus or malware from a computer optional
  • optional, not held use back-up and recovery tools optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
48 held skills the database administrator role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role Hadoop knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse big data skill
  • not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role business analytics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cloud technologies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collect ICT data skill
  • not needed by the target role data ethics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data mining knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data science knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data visualisation software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role database knowledge
  • not needed by the target role define data quality criteria skill
  • not needed by the target role deliver visual presentation of data skill
  • not needed by the target role digital data processing skill
  • not needed by the target role documentation types knowledge
  • not needed by the target role establish data processes skill
  • not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
  • not needed by the target role game theory knowledge
  • not needed by the target role gather data for forensic purposes skill
  • not needed by the target role handle data samples skill
  • not needed by the target role healthcare analytics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role image recognition knowledge
  • not needed by the target role implement data quality processes skill
  • not needed by the target role information architecture knowledge
  • not needed by the target role information categorisation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
  • not needed by the target role information extraction knowledge
  • not needed by the target role integrate ICT data skill
  • not needed by the target role interpret current data skill
  • not needed by the target role make data-driven decisions skill
  • not needed by the target role manage data skill
  • not needed by the target role manage data collection systems skill
  • not needed by the target role manage quantitative data skill
  • not needed by the target role marketing analytics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role multidisciplinary research knowledge
  • not needed by the target role normalise data skill
  • not needed by the target role perform data cleansing skill
  • not needed by the target role perform data mining skill
  • not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
  • not needed by the target role research design knowledge

8 further entries not listed here

19 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn database development tools required
  • still to learn database management systems required
  • still to learn distributed computing required
  • still to learn domain name service required
  • still to learn system backup best practice required
  • optional, not held DB2 optional
  • optional, not held Filemaker (database management systems) optional
  • optional, not held IBM Informix optional
  • optional, not held MarkLogic optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Access optional
  • optional, not held MySQL optional
  • optional, not held ObjectStore optional
  • optional, not held OpenEdge Database optional
  • optional, not held Oracle Relational Database optional
  • optional, not held PostgreSQL optional
  • optional, not held SQL Server optional
  • optional, not held Teradata Database optional
  • optional, not held TripleStore optional
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
Index

Other moves recorded from data analyst

Full index of moves from data analyst

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a data analyst become a database administrator?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A data analyst already covers 28% of what a database administrator is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 8 of which the database administrator role treats as required.

What skills does a data analyst need to become a database administrator?

20 required skills are missing, plus 28 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is administer ICT system.

How hard is the move from data analyst to database administrator?

Its learning distance is 79 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.