jobfacts

Database administrators and web content technicians

SOC 2020 3133

Database administrators and web content technicians administer, maintain and provide user support for databases and websites and assist in the design and development of databases; and monitors social media sites for posts and comments on behalf of companies.

Also calledWeb content editorContent designerDigital editorOnline content producerDatabase administratorContent executiveand 44 more titles
Typical full-time pay£38,0002025 Provisional
People in the job49,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month1,100→ 0%on last year · 173rd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time database administrators and web content technicians earn between £30,400 and £48,100 a year.

What full-time database administrators and web content technicians earn, 2025
£38,000 typical£25,600lowest 10%£30,40025%£51,400top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£30,400–£48,100)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£25,600
Lowest 20% earn less than£28,100
25%£30,400
Median£38,000
75%£48,100
Top 20% earn more than£51,400
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £38,000
Wales!£48,900
London!£41,000
North West!£39,000
South West!£36,000
East of England!£34,000
East Midlands!£32,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£31,500
North EastNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £38,000
Wales£48,900 (small sample)
London£41,000 (small sample)
North West£39,000 (small sample)
South West£36,000 (small sample)
East of England£34,000 (small sample)
East Midlands£32,400 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£31,500 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £33,500
  • 2024 £34,700
  • 2025 Provisional£38,000
↑ 14% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,100 jobs for database administrators and web content technicians are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,156
Jul 20261,235
Jun 20261,062
May 20261,102
Apr 2026996
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,016
Jan 20261,129
Dec 2025598
Nov 20251,564
Oct 20251,300
Sept 20251,223
Aug 20251,280
Jul 20251,277
Jun 20251,410
May 20251,409
Apr 2025955
Mar 20251,207
Feb 20251,202
Jan 2025983
Dec 2024656
Nov 2024973
Oct 20241,103
Sept 20241,130
Aug 20241,058
Jul 20241,172
Jun 20241,100
May 20241,237
Apr 20241,185
Mar 20241,101
Feb 20241,179
Jan 20241,440
Dec 2023981
Nov 20231,090
Oct 20231,176
Sept 20231,052
Aug 20231,435
Jul 20231,475
Jun 20232,069
May 20231,958
Apr 20231,507
Mar 20231,883
Feb 20232,084
Jan 20232,397
Dec 20222,245
Nov 20222,434
Oct 20222,611
Sept 20222,728
Aug 20222,584
Jul 20222,923
Jun 20222,610
May 20222,984
Apr 20222,443
Mar 20223,286
Feb 20222,917
Jan 20223,075
Dec 20212,348
Nov 20212,618
Oct 20212,812
Sept 20212,937
Aug 20212,206
Jul 20212,438
Jun 20212,198
May 20212,083
Apr 20211,756
Mar 20212,378
Feb 20211,490
Jan 20211,436
Dec 20201,163
Nov 20201,216
Oct 20201,413
Sept 20201,309
Aug 20201,148
Jul 20201,031
Jun 20201,080
May 20201,040
Apr 20201,172
Mar 20202,040
Feb 20202,200
Jan 20202,208
Dec 20191,420
Nov 20192,088
Oct 20191,986
Sept 20191,967
Aug 20192,227
Jul 20192,787
Jun 20192,730
May 20192,529
Apr 20191,750
Mar 20192,280
Feb 20192,010
Jan 20192,181
Dec 20181,381
Nov 20181,885
Oct 20181,805
Sept 20181,898
Aug 20181,883
Jul 20182,111
Jun 20182,054
May 20182,095
Apr 20182,193
Mar 20182,667
Feb 20182,492
Jan 20182,303
Dec 20171,596
Nov 20172,027
Oct 20172,150
Sept 20172,119
Aug 20172,001
Jul 20171,858
Jun 20172,209
May 20172,268
Apr 20172,130
Mar 20172,438
Feb 20172,012
Jan 20172,320
Is there a shortage of database administrators and web content technicians?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hours worked.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
13%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for information technology technicians, which includes database administrators and web content technicians. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London1,069
Manchester142
Birmingham98
Leeds86
Bristol, City of62
Glasgow City53
Newcastle upon Tyne44
City of Edinburgh43
Liverpool42
Nottingham41
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where database administrators and web content technicians are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 12 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from United States, India, Brunei, ranking it 209th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of database administrators and web content technicians
12%!
31%!
25%!
24%!
8.4%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2412% (small sample)
25–3431% (small sample)
35–4425% (small sample)
45–5424% (small sample)
55–648.4% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent69%
Higher education below degree!5.3%
A levels or equivalent!20%
GCSEs or equivalent!6.2%
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent69%
Higher education below degree5.3% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent20% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent6.2% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: general public administration activities (6.5%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (6.2%), computer consultancy activities (4.3%), tertiary education (4.3%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
69%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
1
from level 3
Apprenticeships take
2½ years
typically
T Levels
1
college courses for 16 to 19 year olds

Routes in

Web content editor

You can get into this job through:

University

Web content editor roles are open to graduates of most subjects as long as you have an excellent standard of written English and good IT skills.

You might have an advantage if you study:

  • digital media
  • English
  • journalism
  • marketing
  • digital communications
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

College

You could take a college course to get some of the skills you'll need as a web content editor.

Courses include:

  • English
  • creative digital media
  • digital marketing
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Content Creator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Publishing Professional Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship

These usually take up to 2 years to complete.

If you're aiming to become a web content manager, you could apply to do a Digital Product Owner Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship which takes 2 years.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Work your way up

You might be able to train on the job in a digital editorial assistant role. You could move on to become a web content editor, then web content manager as you get more experience.

You'll usually need experience in:

  • writing to brand and style guidelines, including use of plain English
  • content management systems (CMS)
  • search engine optimisation (SEO)

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

When applying for jobs, you might find it useful to have examples of your work, like online articles or blogs. This could be from an internship or voluntary work, such as writing content for a charity website.

Employers might also want you to have an understanding of their target audience and experience in the subject that the website covers.

Further information

You can get more advice on working with online content from:

  • techskills
  • Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for web content editor. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Database administrator

You could get into this job through:

University

You could study for a higher national diploma, degree or postgraduate qualification before joining a company training scheme.

Useful subjects include:

  • computer science
  • business information systems
  • software engineering
  • information technology management
  • mathematics

You may have an advantage when you look for work if you do a degree that includes a work placement.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a higher national diploma
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

Apprenticeship

You could get into this job by applying to do an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Data Engineer Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship
  • Digital and Technology Solutions Professional Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship

If you already have a degree or relevant experience, you may be able to do a Digital and Technology Solutions Specialist Level 7 Degree Apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
More about this route
Foundation apprenticeship

You may be able to start in a junior or assistant role by doing a Software and Data Level 2, or Hardware, Network and Infrastructure Level 2, Foundation Apprenticeship.

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • are in care or have been in care
  • are in prison or have been in prison

Apply directly

You may be able to apply directly for a place on a graduate training scheme. You can usually apply if you have a degree related to computing or technology, though employers may accept other subjects.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Experience in IT support, programming or web development will help.

Further information

The Chartered Institute for IT and techskills have more details about careers and training in computing.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for database administrator. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job
Level 3About 2½ years

Railway engineering design technician

You gain
Pearson Level 3 BTEC National Diploma in Engineering; Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Civil Engineering for Technicians (Institution of…
Leads to
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Design, surveying and planning for constructionT Level3

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • assists in database design and creation and amends existing databases
  • tests databases and writes user guides for their operation
  • administers, monitors and supports databases and website content
  • extracts data and assists others in the use of the database
  • writes and publishes content and monitors and maintains functionality of websites
  • trains colleagues in the use of the databases and websites
  • proof reads social media content and checks content of videos before publication on websites

Skills

  • apply ICT system usage policies
  • apply tools for content development
  • implement front-end website design
  • maintain ICT server
  • maintain responsive design
  • study website behaviour patterns
  • troubleshoot website
  • use ICT ticketing system
  • use markup languages
  • use scripting programming
  • use software libraries
  • conduct search engine optimisation
  • enhance website visibility

Knowledge

  • authoring software
  • graphics editor software
  • proxy servers
  • quality assurance methodologies
  • style sheet languages
  • web programming
  • ABAP
  • Adobe Illustrator

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Working with ideas and solving problems

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for science, engineering and technology associate professionals, a group of 11 jobs that includes database administrators and web content technicians.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 4.9%about 34,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 2035228,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

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