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2008 Oracle DBA salary survey

IOUG has released their 2008 salary survey, and Oracle DBA salaries are up for 2008 despite the economic downturn.

in 2009, the market has become more competitive, and the typical DBA has a masters degree from a good university and loads of real-world experience managing mission-critical multi-billion dollar databases.

The days of the semi-literate Oracle babysitter are gone, and the DBA profession appears to be regaining status as a choice for young executives. Based on my knowledge of DBA salaries as a hiring agent for major American corporations, I use this rough rule-of-thumb for estimating DBA salaries in 2009:

2009 average Oracle DBA Salary = (age times 2.5)
On average, an Oracle DBA salary in the USA will be approximately age x 2.5. If you are 24 years, old fresh out of graduate school, expect a starting DBA salary to be about $60,000-$80,000, depending on the cost of living in your area.
As your experience increases, so does your DBA salary, such that you could expect about $100,000 per year when you are about 40 years old (age x 2.5).
Of course, there are many DBA's who earn far more then $100,000 per year, the Oracle DBA superstars who often command hundreds of dollars per hour. Conversely, in foreign countries where functional literacy and computer science skill is not required, a DBA could earn as little as $10,000 per year.

Average Oracle DBA salaries exceed $100,000

While the typical DBA earns well over $100,000 today (about right for a high responsibility management position) there is variance in DBA salaries:

Large companies pay more - 34% of DBAs reported base incomes exceeding $100,000 among organizations with more than 10,000 employees.
Experience counts - 40% of DBAs with more than a decade of experience reported salaries exceeding $100,000.
Complexity matters - 44% of DBAs managing large and complex database environments reported earning more than $100,000.
West is best - 44% of DBAs working in the western region (including the Mountain and Pacific states) had annual salaries of more than $100,000.