The Job Market for Storage Management

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During a period of major growth in enterprise data, companies are recruiting and hiring personnel who can manage data storage systems through critical hardware and software expertise. 

Storage management encompasses a range of data storage technologies — including cloud storage, software-defined storage (SDS), and storage area networks (SANs). Familiarity with storage software is particularly important for engineers, administrators, and technicians in storage management. 

See below to learn all about jobs in the storage management market and how to prepare for one:

The Storage Management Job Market

Job Market Growth 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an 8% growth between 2020 and 2030 in the job market for database administrators and architects, who play a key role managing storage. Its projected median salary is $98,860 per year, as of 2020. 

Expert Market Research also predicts a 26% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the global data storage market between 2021 and 2027. Fortune Business Insights predicts the global cloud storage market will grow from $76.43 billion to $390.33 billion between 2021 and 2028.

Also read: Storage Software Engineer Job Market

Education for Storage Management Careers

Engineers, administrators, and technicians in storage management roles typically have at least a bachelor’s degree in one of the following fields or a similar area of study:

A college degree isn’t required for all storage management roles or by all companies, though. Some will accept a storage certification without requiring a bachelor’s degree. Relevant storage certifications include: 

  • Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Data Center 
  • Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Data Center
  • VMware Certified Professional, Data Center Virtualization 
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Professional
  • IBM Certified Specialist, IBM Cloud Object Storage V3.14
  • NetApp Certified Data Administrator (NCDA), ONTAP

While most storage certifications don’t require formal IT education, some are difficult to pass without prior technology experience. 

Also read: Top 10 Data Storage Certifications

Storage Management Jobs

The following job titles are a snapshot of the current job openings tied to storage management, which are also representative of enterprise needs:

  • Database administrator
  • Storage administrator
  • Storage engineer
  • Data engineer
  • Cloud storage engineer
  • Infrastructure engineer
  • IT specialist
  • Hardware systems engineer, storage 
  • Senior software engineer, storage 

Some of the major employers in the storage management market include top storage companies, such as NetApp, IBM, and Pure Storage.

Also read: Data Storage Job Market Trends

Job Types

These are some examples of the roles related to storage management and their responsibilities:

Position Focus
Data engineer Develop and deploy data management and business intelligence (BI) systems
Build data solutions using storage technologies 
Database administrator  Data modeling and database design
Data securityDatabase management 
Enterprise storage and data protection manager  Provision and manage large-scale data storage 
Manage major enterprise data solutions, like Dell EMC PowerMax storage array
IT specialist (data management) Deploy and maintain applications 
Oversee the application of information security policies
Storage engineer  Support enterprise data storage environments
Keep storage hardware and software current by updating and upgrading systems 
Collaborate with IT to meet storage, backup, and recovery requirements
Manager of data storage resiliency Lead data storage and backup infrastructure
Lead storage engineering for large-scale storage systems

What is the Salary of a Storage Management Professional?

The following table samples median salaries, estimated by Glassdoor, for positions related to data storage management: 

Position Median Salary
Database administrator $83,700
Data engineer $112,500
Storage engineer $104,700
Cloud storage engineer $106,600
Infrastructure engineer $101,100
Cloud infrastructure engineer $112,700
Senior storage engineer $132,700

(Source: Glassdoor)

Conclusions

The storage management job market represents the broad needs in the tech industry for qualified professionals to develop and improve data storage systems: There are a wide variety of job types and open positions. 

The high growth rate of the global storage market reveals the rapid growth of data, and it also indicates demand for talent, specifically in storage systems and data center infrastructure. 

Enterprises are looking for storage management personnel to work with highly scalable storage hardware, storage software, and data security. Years of experience, a relevant degree, or skills with storage technologies pay off in storage management, based on salaries in the field. 

Read next: Top 5 In-Demand Enterprise Storage Jobs

Jenna Phipps
Jenna Phipps
Jenna Phipps is a staff writer for Enterprise Storage Forum and eSecurity Planet, where she covers data storage, cybersecurity and the top software and hardware solutions in the storage industry. She’s also written about containerization and data management. Previously, she wrote for Webopedia. Jenna has a bachelor's degree in writing and lives in middle Tennessee.

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