Database Training Courses

While some IT professionals love to get their hands on processors and hard drives, another breed of technician loves to visualize how information gets stored and delivered to end users. By combining this intellectual curiosity with a strict attention to detail, information technology workers can launch careers as database administrators, also known as DBAs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), over 100,000 DBAs help companies of all sizes manage their most important information, and it pays. Most DBAs, according to the BLS earn over $74,000 per year.

Data Warehouse

Feedback in business used to be as simple as talking to customers when they came into the shop. These days, the enterprise world has to talk to the database. Data warehouse courses can help IT workers become expert interpreters of the language of data and establish them as indispensible resources.

Database Administration

Take the first steps toward a rewarding DBA career by getting started with database administration training today.

Database Design

Database design training encompasses logical design principles for data modeling. Courses can help those tasked with building database systems as well as established IT pros seeking a change of pace or wishing to enrich their skill sets.

Database Development

Database development training gives IT pros the skills they need to keep a huge amount of information under control. Database development courses encompass the finer points of hardware, software, query tools and client-server systems.

Database Management

Database administration has become indispensable for enterprises seeking to stay in control of today's avalanche of information, and database management training can give IT professionals the skills they need to help.

DB2

IBM's database platform still counts numerous fans among enterprise technology leaders, making DB2 training a fast track to a DBA career for aspiring IT professionals.

SQL

The modern world runs on databases, and SQL training can help career-minded IT professionals learn the language by which that data is searched, indexed and accessed. Find out about SQL training options here.

Database Courses: Most Popular Training Specialties

DBAs can help guide their own careers by completing database administration training in a succession of increasingly complex specialties. The most common database administration courses include:

SQL. Versions of this database programming language (see below) power many of the largest corporate computing systems in the world.
Data Warehouse Training. Companies rarely delete anything these days. In addition to developing systems for growing long-term storage solutions, data warehousing specialists look for ways to uncover patterns and efficiencies among a company's collected records.
Database Management. As databases grow in complexity, they require ongoing maintenance. Database management courses help IT professionals learn to recover from data glitches while optimizing systems for stability.
Database Technology. Advances in processing and storage solutions impact the speed and accuracy of large database files. DBAs with technology training understand how to effectively balance user demands across systems.
Database Design and Development. Designers work with end users to visualize ideal solutions for their needs. Developers turn those designs into code. Database training that merges both design and development can help professionals do both, making them more valuable in the process.
Data Modeling. A newer science of database administration, data modeling training helps technicians discover better ways for information to move among users and through complex storage systems.

Although DBAs already earn significantly higher salaries than most Americans, seasoned professionals can qualify for even larger compensation packages by shifting their focus to database architecture and platform design.

Top Database Certifications: Oracle DBA, MCDBA & DB2

Enterprise-level database deployments rely for the most part on systems manufactured by the three key players in the space: Oracle, Microsoft or IBM. The IT professionals managing these databases hold the following vendor-specific certifications:

Oracle DBA Certification. Oracle offers one of the most extensive and widely trusted IT certification programs in the world, partnering with database administration training centers to ensure compliance with the latest technology and security standards.
MCDBA Certification. Microsoft has the trust of corporate IT directors who prefer to standardize on a single vendor for their operating systems and their databases. Redmond staffers help manage the Microsoft Certified Database Administrator exam process.
DB2 Certification. IBM dominated database design for decades, and its powerful second-generation programming language remains popular among IT directors in very large organizations.

Comprehensive database administration training programs help students prepare for these companies' rigorous certification exams.

Database Administration & SQL Database Certifications

"Structured Query Language" started off as an IBM project known as SEQUEL in the 1970s. Under its shortened moniker, SQL has become one of the most popular relational databases among Web developers. Over the past few decades, various companies and coding standards groups put their own spin on the shared SQL language. As a result, database administrators must understand different versions of SQL if they intend to port data from one installation to another. Some of the most common SQL database administration certifications include:

MySQL. The most popular version of SQL in use today, MySQL launched in the 1990s as the polished product of a Swedish company that extended the scope of the original language. As a pillar of the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) Web development platform, this open-source database lies beneath most of today's popular websites.
Microsoft SQL Server. To satisfy the demands of corporate and government users, Microsoft supports its own fork of SQL with additional hooks into Windows and Office services.
Oracle SQL. Oracle's own version of the programming language complements its popular enterprise platform, especially as a way for companies to migrate information between systems.

In 2009, Oracle's purchase of Sun Microsystems shocked longtime MySQL advocates who feared the platform would end up shelved in favor of the company's proprietary systems. Though those fears proved to be unfounded, even ardent MySQL fans have cast their eyes on a horizon that includes a new generation of database technology designed to leverage the power of today's fast processors and solid-state storage devices.

Therefore, DBAs must look to "future-proof" their careers by investing in ongoing database administrator training. Many employers cover the cost of routine certifications under their professional development programs. However, IT professionals can make themselves even more valuable to their employers by earning certifications for the combinations of systems in use at their facilities.