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Ask HN: What does database (internals) development look like?
I'm considering trying to move towards working as a developer for a database product. I'd like to get some info on what the day-to-day tasks are like for a developer of something like MongoDB, FoundationDB, CockroachDB, NoSQL alternatives... any type of data store really.
Some things in particular I'm trying to figure out: * As with all dev work, a large portion of work is bug hunting, but what kind of bugs do DBs usually have to deal with?
* Do developers spend a lot of time on optimization or is this mostly just a concern that's figured out during initial development?
* What educational prereqs are there? Do employers (strongly) prefer a Masters or even PhD?
* How is the job market for this kind of work? Obviously demand is going to be much lower that your standard webdev job, but how is the demand/supply imbalance?
* What employers hire these developers? Is it basically just FAANG and specialty companies a la Cockroach Labs?
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond!