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Application administrator vs network administrator

The differences between application administrators and network administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an application administrator and a network administrator. Additionally, an application administrator has an average salary of $100,258, which is higher than the $71,357 average annual salary of a network administrator.

The top three skills for an application administrator include troubleshoot, linux and technical support. The most important skills for a network administrator are switches, windows server, and troubleshoot.

Application administrator vs network administrator overview

Application AdministratorNetwork Administrator
Yearly salary$100,258$71,357
Hourly rate$48.20$34.31
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs78,004106,886
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4343
Years of experience22

What does an application administrator do?

Applications administrators are information technology (IT) professionals who manage specific applications or software in a company. They are in charge of installing, updating, and maintaining their assigned application. They also troubleshoot concerns and respond to inquiries from application users. They are expected to be experts on matters related to the application. Applications administrators collect information from users and program prompts. They primarily collect data on program usage and common user concerns. This data will help application administrators identify trends in software usage and recommend solutions for software improvement.

What does a network administrator do?

A network administrator is responsible for managing an organization's computer systems, ensuring its smooth operations and highest efficiency. Network administrators' duties include inspecting network malfunctions, troubleshooting unresponsive programs, improving system processes, analyzing client's specifications, upgrading existing applications, coordinating with the technology department, and creating a report of network issues resolutions. A network administrator should display a strong command of programming languages. Extensive knowledge in the technology industry and analytical and problem-solving skills to manage network problems immediately is also necessary.

Application administrator vs network administrator salary

Application administrators and network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Application AdministratorNetwork Administrator
Average salary$100,258$71,357
Salary rangeBetween $73,000 And $137,000Between $56,000 And $90,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyCloudflareGoogle
Best paying industryRetailFinance

Differences between application administrator and network administrator education

There are a few differences between an application administrator and a network administrator in terms of educational background:

Application AdministratorNetwork Administrator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeStanford UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Application administrator vs network administrator demographics

Here are the differences between application administrators' and network administrators' demographics:

Application AdministratorNetwork Administrator
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 68.0% Female, 32.0%Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 12.8% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between application administrator and network administrator duties and responsibilities

Application administrator example responsibilities.

  • Manage IIS folders and services.
  • Implement new back up systems for test and production, write UNIX shell scripts to automate and validate daily backups.
  • Manage databases and servers, tune queries, set up jobs, assist software engineers by integrating T-SQL with proprietary applications.
  • Manage various consultants providing Salesforce development services.
  • Manage and troubleshoot applications/database systems in order to validate work orders.
  • Create, manage, update layout/content/database for corporate website using Photoshop and Dreamweaver.
  • Show more

Network administrator example responsibilities.

  • Lead and manage desktop standards project.
  • Manage backups using EMC Networker and Avamar.
  • Manage Solarwinds to monitor servers and networks for all locations.
  • Manage all provisioning and technical issues for new customer IP blocks.
  • Deploy and manage storage (windows file servers and NetApp NAS).
  • Manage all technology: Novell, Microsoft, Cisco, email, library, labs, dorms, programs
  • Show more

Application administrator vs network administrator skills

Common application administrator skills
  • Troubleshoot, 9%
  • Linux, 5%
  • Technical Support, 5%
  • Java, 5%
  • SQL Server, 4%
  • Application Support, 4%
Common network administrator skills
  • Switches, 7%
  • Windows Server, 6%
  • Troubleshoot, 5%
  • Network Hardware, 5%
  • Routers, 4%
  • Lan Wan, 4%

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