Reddit mentions of Database Administration: The Complete Guide to DBA Practices and Procedures (2nd Edition)

Sr. DBA here. There are actually a few categories of DBA.

The primary ones seem to be Operational DBA and Development/Application DBA. There are of course hybrids, and everyone's role varies depending on the need of their department.

Operational DBA's usually handle the System side of things: Security, backups, replication, etc.

Development DBA's usually handle the code base itself, with some interaction with Security, Backups, replication, Code Repository, and development/tuning. This is the category I fall in (and the one I assume you're interested in as you seem like you want to code).

I'd suggest checking out BrentOzar's site, which has cool blogs and the Office Hours Podcast (which is awesome).

My favorite DBA book so far: Database Administration: The Complete Guide to DBA Practices and Procedures (2nd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321822943/

Microsoft Docs : This page is an excellent resource as well. You can download SQL server developer (AKA Express) and have your personal server on your machine. You can use Brent Ozar's guide to install it, then download the Stack Overflow database from his site. to get some data.

I'd say both at once. For someone just getting started exploring the DBA role, I'd recommend Craig Mullins book, Database Administration. It's a platform agnostic overview of the role, responsibilities and knowledge needed. It's a great beginners book because it really does outline the stuff you'll need to study without getting into the specifics of platform or version.

https://www.amazon.com/Database-Administration-Complete-Practices-Procedures/dp/0321822943/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482318494&sr=8-2&keywords=craig+mullins

Start by doing research. No offense, but it sounds like you don't even know what a DBA does. First, take your question, copy and paste it into a search engine. You'll find better-written articles and blogs than any drive-by responses you'll get in a forum.

And read this since you have no other place to start.

Database Administration: The Complete Guide to DBA Practices and Procedures

DBA is the kind of job where you're probably gonna have a hard time without a college degree. Many companies post a bachelors in computer science as a minimum requirement, rightfully so. A company isn't going to pay you 90k+ dollars and full access to one of their most valuable assets if you can't buckle down for an education and proper experience.