Obtaining DBA experience

I am an aspiring DBA. I got the BS in computer science and finished with no experience in any specific field. I am interested in specializing in database work, more specifically DBA. Now for the tricky part of obtaining the experience in database field when i have not found any employer to take me under their wing with no experience. I was looking for a kind of fellowship, a mentor.

So i have pondered about starting my own database driven website. Developing the database and administrating it my self gaining experience along the way.

What are your thoughts about this? More especially, as i spend lots of money on this enterprise, and my current job would not financially support this hobby indefinitely... do you think an employer looking for a DBA would deem this self-enterprising person to finally be qualified for employment?

Every little bit helps.... Check out this full description of a DBA.

Database administrator

Check out the Skills - Certs and Duties section.

Getting the certs would help.

EDIT: being able to help people on sites like the one you're one now would be a good thing too.

Usually, a DBA position is the last technical step of a much larger IT career.

Many DBA have started as software developers, in my case I started my IT career as an Assembly programmer. Get an entry-level job in IT, then move closer and closer to the database side as you gain experience.

Answering your question, I do not think a hobby project would replace on-the-trenches, real-life experience.