How To Become A Database Architect: What It Is and Career Path

What is a database architect and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Christy Graves

If you're well-organized, detail-oriented, and a natural leader, then you might want to consider pursuing a career as a database architect. The job of a database architect is to assist businesses in growing and expanding into new markets, as well as developing a vision to achieve strategic objectives. Therefore, your main duty will be to store and organize huge amounts of data by constructing and administering large and expansive electronic databases. The position of a database architect requires expertise as it is highly essential to the success of most modern companies.

To be a good database architect, you must be able to handle big amounts of data and a significant workload while also having excellent time management abilities, as you will frequently need to work on a tight schedule. For data architects, there are no standard educational requirements.

Data architects typically begin their careers as data engineers or data scientists and progress to become data architects after gaining years of experience in the field. Your salary should be about $118,458 per year.

What general advice would you give to a Database Architect?

Christy Graves

Professor/Program Manager, Seminole State College of Florida

I would advise the graduate to learn from everyone they work with within the workplace environment. Even though a degree in architectural engineering technology is valuable, it's impossible to learn everything you need to know to be successful in the industry by taking classes in school and earning a degree. Do not be afraid to ask others for help when you aren't sure about the task you've been assigned to do. In addition, keep up with new technology. Remember, learning should be a lifetime pursuit. It shouldn't end with earning a degree.

ScoreDatabase ArchitectUS Average

Salary

7.3

Avg. Salary $93,654

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.4

Growth Rate 9%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.54%

Asian 24.66%

Black or African American 7.35%

Hispanic or Latino 8.80%

Unknown 5.15%

White 53.51%

Gender

female 17.29%

male 82.71%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

4.4

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.2

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

8.1

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a database architect

Explore database architect education requirements

Most common database architect degrees

Bachelor's

63.9 %

Master's

24.7 %

Associate

5.1 %

Start to develop specific database architect skills

Skills	Percentages
Cloud	8.77%
Infrastructure	7.52%
Java	6.51%
Database Design	5.08%
Database Administration	3.97%

Complete relevant database architect training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New database architects learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a database architect based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real database architect resumes.

Research database architect duties and responsibilities

Develop and manage SSRS projects for financial and informational reporting, along with accompanying store procedures.
Tune many custom SQL queries and PL/SQL code for complicate business processes to achieve sub-second response time.
Work with all technical leads in the organization to understand the existing system and work on the new ETL extract.
Create PHP page for loan officers to add to their contact list for leads which interact with the MySQL database.

Get database architect experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a database architect. The most common roles before becoming a database architect include database administrator, senior database administrator team lead and oracle database administrator.

Prepare your database architect resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your database architect resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a database architect resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Database Architect Resume templates

Build a professional Database Architect resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Database Architect resume.

Apply for database architect jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a database architect job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do database architects rate their job?

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Database Architect reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2023

Pros

Management your art to come thru in building form

Cons

Require tertiary title to advance

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019