Career
Database architects
Design how data is stored, structured and connected.
$139,500
Median pay
+9.4%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,900
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Develop and document database architectures.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $139,500 a year and 3,900 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Computer and Information SciencesSee the degree →
- Computer ScienceSee the degree →
- Computer EngineeringSee the degree →
- Information Technology ManagementSee the degree →
- Information ScienceSee the degree →
- Management Information SystemsSee the degree →
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Database Administrators$104,620 · -0.1%
- Data Warehousing Specialists
- Software Developers$135,980 · +10.2%
- Computer Systems Analysts$105,850 · +7.9%
- Computer Systems Engineers/Architects
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.