The ability to collect and analyze large amounts of data is a growing problem within the scientific community. The growing gap between data and user calls for innovative tools that address the challenges faced by big data volume, velocity, and verity. While there has been great progress in the world of database technologies in the past few years, there are still many fundamental considerations that must be made by scientists. For example, which of the seemingly infinite technologies are the best to use for my problem? Answers to such questions require careful understanding of the technology field in addition to the types of problems that are being solved. This chapter aims to address many of the pressing questions faced by individuals interesting in using sotrage or database technologies to solve their big data problems.