I get this type of question a lot at the moment. It’s not surprising as I’ve done a few things of late that seem to have got people a bit riled up.
- During my cloud database talks I’ve been saying things like, if you think a DBAs job is just to install, backup and patch the database, the cloud has taken your job.
- I happened to mention the Oracle Cloud Apps DBA role does not exist. I thought I made it clear what I was saying, but a number of readers thought I was saying they shouldn’t go to work next week as they’ve been fired.
- I’ve recently been doing some sessions with a title beginning with “Making the RDBMS relevant again…”, which suggests maybe it isn’t currently relevant.
I’ve been doing Oracle database development and DBA work for nearly 22 years. In that time the job of an Oracle DBA has changed a lot. Despite this, having people who understand what is going on below the surface has remained in demand. If you keep trying to be an old-school DBA you are going to find yourself in a very dark place very quickly. If you keep your ear to the ground and try to move with the times there will always be a role for you. Good people always land on their feet.
The way you move depends on your interests and the demands of your company. Some will move closer to an architecture role related to the infrastructure, which is pretty important when dealing with the cloud services, docker, DevOps, continuous deployment etc. Some will align themselves more closely to development, which is of greater importance in the new world. Others will completely move away from RDBMs into other technologies related to data or elsewhere.
The next question is typically, “When?” I’m not saying we should all run around screaming and pulling out our hair, but we should also not turn a blind eye to the way the world is changing. I can pretty much guarantee there will be comments by people telling me I’m wrong and the DBA role will exist forever, to which I will reply, “Denial is not just a river in Africa!” 🙂
Some companies, especially those that are more development led, will transform rapidly. DevOps, continuous deployment and technologies like Docker have the power to transform a company rapidly, whether on-prem or on the cloud. In all cases, someone needs to help build and maintain the layers that contain databases and app servers, and that could be you, but I don’t see the same volume of work we currently have, because if done properly it should be a build once, deploy many approach. For some companies that are into automation, this is already a reality. Very soon it will be true for much more of us.
Some companies will be slow in moving forward and their staff will wonder what all the fuss is about, until they apply for their next job and realise there isn’t one for them!
Having said all that, I did an “unconference” session at OOW in 2007 called “The Oracle DBA… A dying breed?” and we’re still here now. The important point is you need to take responsibility and shape your own destiny. Don’t sit idly by an watch the world take your job. It’s easier than ever to learn new things and prepare for the future, so do it! 🙂
Cheers
Tim…
You are right.
I don’t use dbca dbua anymore.
It’s all automated.
Exadata is managed by dma. Sql tuning is less needed. Plan evolvement is in place and gets better with every release i guess.
Storage mgmt is bigfile with autoextend.
I wonder what do I do as a dba …..
Regards.
Dik Pater.
Thank you for the post Tim
Absolutely. At best it is on life support.
Typical nugget that many habe heard before but don’t pay enough attention to is “Only definite thing is change”. We as technicians need to deal with it and adapt.
As usual Tim very on-point post and timely.
Thank you
Thank you for sharing the post.
How dba can move to next level of opportunity for them
Thank you Tim
I think that the DBA role will changed and we need have new knowledge to attend the role.
Abinas: As I said in the post, the path with be different for everyone, depending on their interests, the work they do in their company and what they see as their future. There isn’t a standard set of rules to define what comes next.
If you read the other post I linked to, you will see me quoting Tanel Poder, who said,
“Learn Python for scripting, Hadoop for non-transactional data & Google BigQuery to see what the future is like.”
That seems like a good place to start, but you may have other interests.
Cheers
Tim…
Tim, I was looking for a way out from stagnation in Oracle scene during last year and finally got a Big Data offer so made this career switch eventually. Am I happy about it? No. Frustrated, lost, abandoned instead of feeling like a winner. Can’t really understand why should I force myself to continue to move into this area. Oracle is the one of the most amazing products I ever worked with in my life so I would be really happy to return to the Oracle DBA role again in a while
Andrey: I’m sorry you feel that way. Perhaps you will feel differently over time. Change is always difficult to deal with.
Cheers
Tim…
Master !
I really missed your blog a lot! Not visiting your blog occasionally 🙁
You forgot to add that wonderful line you said long back and it’s nevertheless a great reminder, “anything you learn, will never go waste”. That’s more than enough to stay motivated !!! That’s the thing to be fixed in the mind !
It has been over an year I’m in Cloud Environment and everyday issues with Cloud reminds me that line. Playing of course with various tools…burning out my eyes…
Practically speaking: The one who is jealous of you, tries to put you down in every field…even though you are good with stuff, and live with “knowledge-sharing” mentality. *I may be wrong, but that’s what I understand/feel*
The other day you had problem with backup of disks of your website and you said in the blog, “…am not not a Sysadmin, but I’m dangerous enough…”
That confident words are also fixed in my mind…