---
title: "Database Architect"
description: "Design strategies for enterprise databases, data warehouse systems, and multidimensional networks. Set standards for database operations, programming…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/database-architect"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Database Architect

**Category:** Computer and Mathematical · **SOC code:** 15-1243 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 15-1243.00

Design strategies for enterprise databases, data warehouse systems, and multidimensional networks. Set standards for database operations, programming, query processes, and security. Model, design, and construct large relational databases or data warehouses. Create and optimize data models for warehouse infrastructure and workflow. Integrate new systems with existing warehouse structure and refine system performance and functionality.

Also advertised as: Data Architect; Data Engineer; Data Officer; Database Analyst; Database Architect; Database Consultant; Database Developer; Database Programmer.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $139,500 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $67.07/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $86,240 to $204,000, with the middle half between $109,370 and $169,290
- **Total US employment:** 67,140
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +9.4% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,900 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 10/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 67,140 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $86,240 |
| 25th | $109,370 |
| 50th (median) | $139,500 |
| 75th | $169,290 |
| 90th | $204,000 |
| Mean (average) | $144,440 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CA | $170,160 | $153,685 | 6,210 |
| MA | $161,650 | $152,850 | 2,690 |
| VA | $160,360 | $158,609 | 5,260 |
| AZ | $156,100 | $155,050 | 1,200 |
| CO | $154,560 | $149,983 | 1,950 |
| TX | $151,370 | $155,960 | 8,270 |
| DC | $150,010 | $136,496 | 790 |
| DE | $147,800 | $148,084 | Not published by BLS |
| CT | $144,460 | $139,427 | 1,140 |
| IL | $142,500 | $142,560 | 1,590 |
| NY | $141,350 | $130,975 | 3,850 |
| RI | $140,320 | $137,192 | 160 |
| NV | $140,200 | $140,229 | 420 |
| NH | $139,990 | $134,393 | 120 |
| GA | $139,500 | $144,870 | 2,590 |

32 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 47 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/database-architect/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/database-architect.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 69,500 in the 2025–2035 base year to 76,000 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 6,500 jobs, or +9.4%. Much faster than average: 9.4% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,900 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** Less than 5 years.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 76.2% |
| Master's Degree | 14.3% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 4.8% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 4.8% |

## What the work involves

- Develop and document database architectures.
- Collaborate with system architects, software architects, design analysts, and others to understand business or industry requirements.
- Develop database architectural strategies at the modeling, design and implementation stages to address business or industry requirements.
- Design databases to support business applications, ensuring system scalability, security, performance, and reliability.
- Develop data models for applications, metadata tables, views or related database structures.
- Design database applications, such as interfaces, data transfer mechanisms, global temporary tables, data partitions, and function-based indexes to enable efficient access of the generic database structure.
- Develop methods for integrating different products so they work properly together, such as customizing commercial databases to fit specific needs.
- Create and enforce database development standards.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Programming — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Computers and Electronics — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Inductive Reasoning — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| C — Conventional | 6.12 |
| I — Investigative | 5.63 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.68 |
| R — Realistic | 2.63 |
| A — Artistic | 2.16 |
| S — Social | 1.91 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 82.3 |
| INTJ | 78.7 |
| ESTJ | 66.4 |
| ISTP | 65.8 |
| ISFJ | 64.1 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ, INTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Database Administrator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/database-administrator) — median $104,620
- [Data Warehousing Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/data-warehousing-specialist) — median $139,500
- [Software Developer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/software-developer) — median $135,980
- [Computer Systems Analyst](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-systems-analyst) — median $105,850
- [Computer Systems Engineers/Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-systems-engineers-architect) — median $116,580
- [Blockchain Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/blockchain-engineer) — median $116,580
- [Data Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/data-scientist) — median $120,230
- [QA Analyst](https://nuecareer.com/careers/qa-analyst) — median $104,300
- [Network and Computer Systems Administrator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/network-and-computer-systems-administrator) — median $99,130
- [Computer Network Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-network-architect) — median $134,050

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/database-architect