IT College - Databases - What Program To Take?

Hi,

I am starting college in the fall and signed up for a science degree program to start with. The program covers .Net Framework, (X)HTML, XML, CSS, Java, PHP, MySQL, MS SQL, ASP.Net, E-commerence, etc... (there is also a C++ course offered when there is enough demand) It covers everything from beginner to enterprise development, project planning and a few other areas.

It has several 12 week courses in the program that are deticated only to MS SQL/MySQL. I don't remember the names off hand but Design, Development, Implementation, Enterprise Programming, etc..

It is an Science Degree for computer programming. Mostly, it covers web programming. I am more interested in Windows programming myself, but I know that the world is heading tword web programming, and since I have very limited expierence in web programming I figured I could use the help learning it, pluss because this is mostly .Net Framework it should be very easy to apply what I learn in this program to Windows programming.

In the end I don't know that I would want to be a programmer 100% of the time. I love programming and have done it as a hobby since I was 13 years old, and generally it comes very easy to me.

My question is that I'm kind of leaning tword a database profession. Designing databases, setting up the tables, indexes, programming the stored procedures, etc. I'm not sure if that would fall under a Database Administrators duties, or some type of Database Engineer. This program covers databases but I'm not sure if it covers enough to get me in a job of that type. I will talk to my professor once my classes start. What types of classes are generally required for someone wanting to get a job working with databases, and is that generally a entry-level job? Or would I need to start off as a programmer and work my way up to that position? I'm sure it depends on what company I end up working for. I'm just trying to get an idea of what direction to go in. I've looked at several colleges and I cannot find any of them that have programs just about databases, so I'm assuming that you normally take a program like I am taking, then maybe get an entry level database job some place. What kind of duties are generally required of a person in a database field?

They also have a Networking program that holds the same science degree it deals with Windows, Linux, Unix, and some other stuff. The students learn inside a data center and help run the data center, setup new networks, setup switches, routers, internet servers.. I'm not sure all of what it covers. It has one course on databases and it covers some database programming but it is nothing compared to what the other program covers.

I want to go for a database field, but I wasnt sure if the programming program, or the network program would better suit what I'm looking for. I'm thinking the programming couse, because it even has a "Database Management" certification (as well as 4 or 5 other programming certifications and a science degree) that you get upon completion.

I always thought that database jobs were more related to networking like a Network Administrator, but I guess I might be wrong in that thinking because it seems the Networking couses doesn't go into a ton of detail about databases, beyond the basics of installing SQL server and running some T-SQL commands.

Simplify your choice:

Do you want spending time tinkering on the machine’s intricacies? Go for courses related to networking.

Do you want spending time solving real world problems? Go for database related courses.

You're right when you say that the company you work for can have everything to do with what database-related chores are available for you to work on. Some small companies (or just small projects within a large company) will give you full control over database development and administration depending upon your level of expertise and experience. In other cases you may just be responsible for the administration of an existing database.

I pursued a B.S. in Comp. Sci. when I went to school, and for some reason taking anything related to databases was considered an elective. I regret not taking a good database course while I was in school.

My only piece of advice is to pursue every bit of database-related curriculum and lore available to you. It sounds like your interests lie in the engineering side of databases more so than administration, but the lines between the two vary from job to job. Regardless, knowing the gooey details of databases will only make you a better DBA if you eventually decide to go for a pure administration role.