DBA Responsibilities

DBA Responsibilities:

* Installation, configuration and upgrading of Oracle server software and related products
* Evaluate Oracle features and Oracle related products
* Establish and maintain sound backup and recovery policies and procedures
* Take care of the Database design and implementation
* Implement and maintain database security (create and maintain users and roles, assign priveledges)
* Do database tuning and performance monitoring
* Do application tuning and performance monitoring
* Setup and maintain documentation and standards
* Plan growth and changes (capasity planning)
* Work as part of a team and provide 7x24 support when required
* Do general technical trouble shooting and give consultation to development teams
* Interface with Oracle Corporation for technical support.

This is a pretty accurate description of Oracle DBA duties. The programming comes into play with the backup and recovery scripts. As for tuning, this is a huge thing in itself, and may contain programming responsibilities. Overall, a good knowledge of SQL is required. For a great discussion on this, see "Oracle8: A Beginners Guide" by Oracle Press.