Careers in PL/SQL – Introduction
In this era of ever-evolving data, it becomes necessary to use the right set of query languages to process the data in a meaningful way. PL/SQL known as Programming Languages in Structured Query Language is an advanced language which consists the procedural features of SQL. It was developed by Oracle in the early 90s to enhance the capabilities of SQL. This multi-block structured language can work like any other programming languages and provides a rich set of features like iterative statements, conditional statements, arrays, strings, collections, triggers, functions, procedures, etc. SQL, on the other hand, is used to perform operations on records such as inserting, updating, creating, deleting records, modifying and dropping tables, etc. In this article we are going to read careers in PL/SQL you can expect if you choose SQL.
Education Required to build Careers in PL/SQL
There is no prerequisite as such for learning this language. It is generally recommended for people who have a basic background of databases, source codes, some level of basic programming languages, text editor, program execution, etc. Even if you are new to all the above-mentioned technologies you would not find a very hard time while learning this language. It is recommended though, that you have a background before hopping into this course.
Career Path in PL/SQL
Once you choose to opt your careers in PL/SQL, your job as a developer will be to write SQL based queries so that the performance of the database can be improved significantly. You will also be required to analyze the data results and providing solutions, suggestions to end customers and also related to document creation.
You will be expected to have:
1. An in-depth knowledge of Oracle database, its tools, and utilities.
2. A good understanding of programming constructs, procedures, packages, triggers and query writing.
3.A sound knowledge of software development life cycle and should be able to follow standard processes such as code review, creating/executing unit level test cases.
4. Should be able to design and implement ETL solutions and processes.
5. Should be able to create data models, design and implementation.
6. Should be able to performance tune the SQL queries.
With managing, client-side developer queries you can also start managing SQL server based queries. So, your career path can transform into providing cloud solutions and support.
Over a course of time, you can also see yourself getting transformed into a newer set of technology as working over programming languages would not be a challenge.
You can see your careers in PL/SQL getting transformed into solution level and data level architects apart from just DBA (database architect) as you will be well aware of the ground level functioning of a functionality or a piece of code.
If you feel like taking a break from the programming languages and coding you can also consider switching your domain into an analyst role where the outputs produced are worked upon and future business insights can be generated using analytical tools.
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When you work with PL/SQL which is an oracle’s technology you allow yourself to work on every domain that the giant Oracle has to offer.
You may also end up working as a full stack developer as your roles and responsibilities can range from managing the backend to managing the front end of the application.
If you find yourself doing well in UNIX, you can also see your graph getting transitioned into the security domain or as tech operation analyst.
You can also see yourself getting transitioned into many NoSQL databases’ developer role as the increase in big data technologies have demanded the use of NoSQL databases more than traditional RDBMS.
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Job positions
The primary role one can expect by opting PL/SQL is the developer role.
Other positions to consider are:
- Analyst role
- Unix Developer/Administrator
- DBA
- PL/SQL performance optimization developer
- Pro*c developer
- SQL developer
- PL/SQL administrator
- ETL developer
- Informatica Developer
- DB2 professional
Application areas
- Medical field: One of the major application areas where PL/SQL has benefited is in the field of medicines. Let us understand this with the help of an example. Let us say, all the health-related institutions want to extract the data of all the patients who are going through a particular disease and whether they are taking appropriate care and precautions to alleviate the disease or if they could be allowed to consume a particular food. In that case, all that institution needs to do is create a PL/SQL construct and apply the query on the database with the matching parameters and it will obtain the result of all those patients who fall in that category. This would be a very tough task to do with simple SQL statements but with advanced programming languages technique, this could be made possible.
- Banking institutions: Let us say, the bank wants to set an automatic trigger for all the customers who have maintained less than a fixed sum of money in their savings bank account with the message, “Your account has an amount which is less than the standard minimum limit. Please credit to avoid minimum balance failure penalties”. This can be made possible with the help of triggers in PL/SQL which is not the case with SQL as SQL does not provide complex processing capabilities like the way PL/SQL do.
Likewise, there are thousands of use cases where PL/SQL can be used efficiently especially in cases where IF/THEN/ELSE type of a scenario occurs. You can also do complex MATH operation which is not possible to do in simple DDL and DML level SQL statements.
Salary
PL/SQL developers’ salary is very much dependent on the geographic location but according to most companies in the United States, it averages to $90,927/year, ranging from $85,000 in Boston, MA to $110000 in New York, NY.
In a nutshell, if you have made your way through PL/SQL and invested your time in getting expertise in PL/SQL then you have made the right choice. You can always look to diversify your portfolio and enhance your skill set to survive and compete to be in a better place. Careers in PL/SQL gets opportunities are endless if you are best in what you do. It is always recommended though, to update your skills and look out for a more challenging and dynamic role. Stay tuned to our blog for more articles.
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