Database Admin

[aqeel]

I am an I.T graduate and recently did a short course in SQL. I want to go into database admin but i have no experience in this area what so ever. How can i gain work experience to persue this career ?

[benzene]

You could go via an Application Support role. Look for roles like "Application Support Analyst". Whereas a DBA job probably requires a fair bit of experience, you should be able to get straight into app support with less experience, as long as you sell yourself on relevant technologies you used at University. You would probably do things like setting up data that an application needs to run, or investigating problems that stem from the database. The work may be a little mind-numbing at times, but you'd learn a great deal about how DBs are set up in a commercial environment. Make sure you let the company know that your career goal is to be a DBA, and they'll probably be happy to give you the opportunities to get more involved in that side of things. Always look for ways to improve the DB design in your company by browsing DBA forums and educating yourself, and document any of this kind of work you do, so you can put it down as experience for later on. Make sure you actively seek out the kind of experience you want to be able to market yourself with later on! Good luck !