INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Database Engineer positions are at a 8% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 168,000 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 13,200 to 181,200 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Database Engineer jobs was $98,860 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $54,070, and the highest 10% more than $155,660.
Our conclusion? The Database Engineer job market is wide open for candidates.
Top database engineer sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
What to include in your database engineer resume experience section
Database engineer resume experience section checklist:
- Use at least 3 and no more than 7 bullet points per position;
- Make your experience sound relevant to what you’re applying for;
- Combine responsibilities, results, and critical situations that you’ve handled well;
- Show that you’re willing to take up on challenges;
- Include numbers in any form you like.
Looking for some real experience section examples? We’ve gathered the best Database Engineer resume samples to help you. Check them out before building your own resume!
- Solves database (MySQL) issues by applying troubleshooting techniques and providing tailored cost-effective solutions
- Consults across teams to deep-dive into root cause of an issue which can span across multiple AWS services
- Participates in interviews for hiring new engineers, coached and mentored new hires
- Consistently exceeds monthly performance metrics which tracks quality and quantity of resolved cases
- Developed solution to temporarily work around dashboard issue which prevented engineers from viewing incoming cases - used across other AWS sites until issues were resolved
- Worked on aggregating large data-sets of television viewers in Amazon Redshift; automated the process in Airflow to generate the Audience and Rating for our customers to increase the likelihood of reaching their target audience; reducing processing time by 40%.
- Automated daily file ingestion for ten processes using Python; migrated complex excel spreadsheet logic into PostgreSQL views; eliminating the human effort of generating spreadsheets by 100%.
- Moved a massive codebase into modules in Pentaho for ingesting Emails, Phones, and Addresses to generate a complete profile of the target audience, increasing efficiency with the reusability of resources.
- Maintained Neo4j database to store information about Companies, People, Investors, and Dealers to have a complete view of large hierarchical data at a glance with enhanced speed.
- Process data on Amazon S3 using python scripts to generate Name Address & Name Phone matches used internally for other projects as well as clients with 35X improved performance.
- Created scripts to process large data sets for various Koch companies such as Molex, Invista, and Guardian to capture trends needed to forecast sales and demand; by 15+ Data Scientists.
- Mentored interns on new technologies and processes; prepared presentations and design specifications for four projects.
- Managed the Teradata Database on AWS and the metadata in AWS DynamoDB with AWS step functions and lambdas using Python.
- Scripted schema and database processes with Bash and Python.
- Designed and implemented ETL strategies to populate schemas.
- Awarded 9 patents for profitability solution concept, design and implementation inventions using Relational Database schemas and stored procedures.
- Designed rule-based implementation using Teradata stored procedures to generate n-levels of SQL, and manage SQL execution.
- Protyped MS SQL Server as new repository, including conversion of stored procedures and models.
- Developed Logical and Physical models for Marketing Analytics and architected models (Relational, NoSQL, Columnar) for workload.
- Managed 8 Engineers thru 5 on-schedule releases of TVA over the course of 5 years while maintaining Architect and Database development responsibilities.
- Managed 6 Engineers thru 4 on-schedule releases of Teradata Decision Experts program (conversion of Oracle to Teradata physical models).
- Modeled and implemented Teradata databases to maintain wire harness design data for Electrical Engineers.
- Designed and delivered code using Teradata stored procedures to automatically generate wire harness testing scripts for third-party hardware.
- Secret Security Clearance.
- Designed , conceptualize and implemented server and database architecture for multiple scrum application teams.
- Introduced new audit and archive mechanism to application teams using temporal tables.
- Introduced multiple security features to Bain like Backup encryption , SQL server audit etc.
- Process automation using DevOps (Deployment,Backup/Restoration), Microsoft flow, SQL jobs.
- Used Tableau to provide worksheets and views to Client and internal users.
- Introduced different SQL features to application teams like SQL Unit Test, DB Backup encryption, Temporal tables, Hierarchy ID, File Stream, Query store etc.
- Worked in Scrum development teams to write complex business logic using T-SQL.
- Measure various Performance counters (i.e. Missing Indexes) and proactively tune SQL Server database environment to ensure top performance.
- DBA activities like Transactional Replication, Backup, Restore, Login, Access, SQL installation for scrum development teams.
PRO TIP
In writing your Database Engineer resume, you will no doubt want to list your previous duties - as you should. But steer clear of just listing your duties, instead of your achievements. Make your resume stand out by communicating what you have done, and not merely what the job needed you to do.
Action verbs for your database engineer resume
Recommended Reads:
Top database engineer skills for your resume
Database engineer resume skills section checklist:
- Match your hard skills to the job description;
- Add keywords to pass applicant tracking systems;
- Don’t list soft skills such as ’teamwork’ – rather, mention how they’ve helped you gain success in some other sections of your Database Engineer resume;
- List only skills you actually have, keep lying out of the picture.
Top skills for your database engineer resume
Python
SQL
R
Machine Learning
Java
Tableau
Communication
Curiosity
Business mindset
Adaptability
Critical and analysitcal thinking
Problem solving
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
Recommended reads:
Database engineer resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your database engineer resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Database Engineer resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Craft a strong database engineer resume summary
database engineer resume summary checklist:
- Your total years of experience
- The industry you’re coming from
- One or two most remarkable accomplishments that have helped you - turn into a great professional
- Short sentences that add value – avoid filler words and phrases
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a brief but informative introduction to your experience section. In this section you should go into more depth about what you have done, and how you did it.
Recommended reads:
Highlight your education, certifications, and courses
What to include in your education and courses sections:
- Your highest education degree – this includes institution, course, and duration
- Certifications and courses that have helped you gain additional expertise
- Awards you’ve received as part of your education
- Entry-level positions only: relevant classes and projects
Top Certifications for Your Database Engineer Resume
Database Engineer/DBA - (MySQL, MongoDB, SQLite)
Practical Database Administration and Engineering Step by Step
Database Engineer/DBA - (PostgreSQL, IBM-DB2, MariaDB,NoSQL)
Practical Database Engineering | Administration
SQL Server | Oracle Engineer - (TOAD, SSMS,Data Migration)
Microsoft SQL Server & Oracle Database Administration | Engineering | Database Migration
Fundamentals of Database Engineering
Learn ACID, Indexing, Partitioning, Sharding, Concurrency control, Replication, DB Engines, Best Practices and More!
The Fast Track Introduction to MySQL on RDS
Get up to Speed with MySQL Administration On RDS
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PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Database Engineer. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
Drafting a Job-winning Database Engineer Resume
When drafting your resume, you can choose between three well-known formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Which format you decide to go for depends on two things: your personal preference and how experienced you are.
The reverse-chronological format is ideal for both really experienced people and those who joined the workforce just a couple of years ago. It’s also great if your experience combines different industries and jobs. Here, your most recent position comes at the top of your resume.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is ideal for recent graduates or people who have no work experience whatsoever. It’s built around your skills, interests, and expertise. Ultimately, its goal is to show recruiters your biggest strengths and practical skills.
Combination resumes (also known as hybrid resumes) are great for all types of candidates – be they graduates, experienced professionals, or brave career changers. They usually follow a double-column format – one side focuses on your experience, while the other emphasizes your education, skills, interests, and accomplishments.
Here’s our resume format and style checklist:
- Choose a traditional resume font sized 12p;
- Go for standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Match the length of your Database Engineer resume with your experience – choose a one-page template if you have less than 10 years of experience, and be careful with two-page templates;
- Send your resume in PDF – in this way, you’ll avoid formatting issues and potential editing from third parties.
And in case you want to go the extra mile, check out our guide for crafting a resume that stands out.
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PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Database Engineer resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Other sections worth including in your database engineer resume
Including other sections in your resume depends on the company, the position, and, ultimately, the industry. Here are some sections that will help you spice things up:
A database engineer resume that stands out
Recruiters look at tens of resumes every day. That’s why helping them remember yours is crucial for landing an interview.
A creative resume can help you show off both your personality and your expertise at the same time.
Creative sections about passions, favorite books, quotes, and even your daily routine are a great way to make your resume feel like a breath of fresh air.
What’s more, it will also point recruiters to the fact that you’re attentive to detail and can think outside the box of Word-generated black and white resumes.
What makes a great database engineer resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
