Certificate Program

Program Overview

Certificate, 69 credits

• Students can begin the program any quarter.
• The Database program may be a good fit for you if you like to organize projects, solve problems, make logical plans and test systems.
• Areas of study include customer service, math, database design and administration, and programming.
• Job titles include database designer, administrator, programmer, system administrator, or security administrator.

The Database Administration and Development certificate option in Information Technology is a four-quarter certificate program. Completion of prerequisite courses generally requires an additional quarter. The curriculum, designed with input from Puget Sound industry representatives, includes the skills needed for successful employment. Students in this program share many core classes with students in the Programming, Applications Support and Web Development IT programs. Advanced third and fourth quarter database classes round out the program, giving students a strong, project-based and hands-on learning experience in both proprietary and open source systems. In order to focus on and to build generalized skills, the program is vendor-neutral.

Career Opportunities

Despite the recent economic downturn, the information technology field is still growing faster than any other section of the economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009 states: "Employment is expected to increase much faster than the average as organizations continue to expand their use of technology." The handbook also projects computer scientists and database administrators is expected to grow 37 percent by 2016.

Washington State Occupation Explorer confirms these job growth statistics for our state as well. There is a critical shortage of qualified IT professionals, and excellent opportunities exist with both large and small companies and in the public sector.

Databases form the core of Business Information Systems and are crucial to most companies' operations. In a small setting, one person might play several of the following roles. While in a larger company, several people might be assigned to each job: database administrator, database programmer, database designer, security administrator, systems administrator and systems analyst.

Graduation Application

For Further Information:

Information Technology Programs
Business, Information Technologies& Creative Arts
Seattle Central Community College
1701 Broadway, Room BE3176
Seattle, WA 98122
PHONE: 206. 934.3150
FAX: 206. 934.3131