30-day Database Administrator exam study plan

Updated 17 September 2026 · 2 min read

This plan gives most of a month to the database itself, with regular days for the storage, Linux and security knowledge that administration assumes. It is built around a practice database on your own machine, because almost every concept here is easier to hold once you have watched it happen. An hour a day is enough, provided the practice database is open while you read.

How this guide was made

Written for this site with AI assistance, then checked automatically before publishing. The topic table, sample questions, worked examples and study plan are generated from this site’s question bank: each worked example is recalculated by separate code, and each sample answer says where it came from.

The guide deliberately states no salaries, grades, pass marks or exam dates. Those change, and they could not be checked here, so take them from the advert itself.

This site is independent and is not affiliated with MIFOTRA or any employer.

The 30-day plan

Day	Focus	What to do
Week 1
1	Software development	Study, then answer 20 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
2	Cybersecurity	Study, then answer 20 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
3	Hardware and operating systems	Study, then answer 20 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
4	Linux command line	Study, then answer 20 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
5	Cloud and emerging technology	Study, then answer 20 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
6	Software development	Study, then answer 20 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
7	Review the week	Redo every question you got wrong this week, without looking at the explanations first.
Week 2
8	Cybersecurity	Study, then answer 30 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
9	Hardware and operating systems	Study, then answer 30 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
10	Linux command line	Study, then answer 30 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
11	Cloud and emerging technology	Study, then answer 30 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
12	Software development	Study, then answer 30 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
13	Cybersecurity	Study, then answer 30 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
14	Timed mock 1	50 questions in 60 minutes, in one sitting. Mark it, then list the areas you lost marks in.
Week 3
15	Hardware and operating systems	Study, then answer 40 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
16	Linux command line	Study, then answer 40 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
17	Software development	Study, then answer 40 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
18	Software development	Study, then answer 40 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
19	Software development	Study, then answer 40 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
20	Software development	Study, then answer 40 questions untimed and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
21	Review the week	Redo every question you got wrong this week, without looking at the explanations first.
Final stretch
22	Revise: Software development	40 mixed questions on software development, timed at about a minute each.
23	Revise: Software development	40 mixed questions on software development, timed at about a minute each.
24	Revise: Cybersecurity	40 mixed questions on cybersecurity, timed at about a minute each.
25	Revise: Hardware and operating systems	40 mixed questions on hardware and operating systems, timed at about a minute each.
26	Revise: Linux command line	40 mixed questions on linux command line, timed at about a minute each.
27	Revise: Cloud and emerging technology	40 mixed questions on cloud and emerging technology, timed at about a minute each.
28	Timed mock 2	50 questions in 60 minutes, in one sitting. Mark it, then list the areas you lost marks in.
29	Mock mistakes	Work through every wrong answer from both mocks until you can explain why the right option is right.
30	Light review	Skim your notes and formulas for an hour, then stop. Sleep matters more than one more set tonight.

How the plan is weighted

Software development, which is where this bank keeps its SQL and data material, carries the most learning days. Hardware and storage, Linux and cybersecurity follow, because administrators size disks, work on servers and protect the data. The final week returns to the heaviest areas under time pressure.

Where to spend your study time

The suggested emphasis reflects what this position works with day to day. It is a study guide, not a published exam blueprint.

Area	Suggested emphasis	Questions in the bank	Practise
Software development	36%	378	In the full bank
Cybersecurity	18%	541	Security
Hardware and operating systems	18%	961	Hardware & OS
Linux command line	18%	360	In the full bank
Cloud and emerging technology	9%	188	In the full bank

Build a practice database in week one

Install a database engine, load a dataset with enough rows to be interesting, and keep it for the whole month. Every topic then has somewhere to land: write the joins, add the index and compare plans, open two sessions and cause a lock, take a backup and restore it into a second database. Keep your commands in a file as you go, which becomes your revision notes.

Practise recovery, not just backup

Twice during the month, break your practice database deliberately and recover it: drop a table, then restore to the moment before. Time yourself. Candidates who have actually done this speak about recovery with a confidence that panels notice immediately.

Common questions

Which engine should I install for practice?

The one your target employers use if you know it, otherwise PostgreSQL or MySQL, both of which are free and widely used. The concepts carry across.

I am a developer moving into administration. What should I focus on?

Backup and recovery, security, and the operational side of performance. Developers usually arrive with good SQL and little experience of restores or privileges.