So how does one become a database admin?

Thexzeno

I'm looking everywhere for information but all i see is that most people fall into the role by "accident", I mean i search dice and indeed for jr level DBA jobs but see none. In yet every single DBA job i see requires no less than 5 years experience.

I guess my question is; is there a certification path one takes to DBA or do you become one by fluke?

slotzero

Microsoft has a pretty solid certification path. There are many who just fall into the role as you describe, but especially for larger companies the role is well defined as well as the levels (associate, junior, senior, lead, etc).

Oracle also has a comprehensive certification path that seems to be quite good.

Are you looking at a particular technology? SQL Server vs. Oracle? MySQL?

IBM has a nice training program as well, but DB2 isn't quite as common in the market.