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The differences between application administrators and systems 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 systems administrator. Additionally, an application administrator has an average salary of $100,258, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.
The top three skills for an application administrator include troubleshoot, linux and technical support. The most important skills for a systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.
| Application Administrator | Systems Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $100,258 | $77,156 |
| Hourly rate | $48.20 | $37.09 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 78,004 | 134,500 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
Systems administrators are employees who oversee information technology infrastructures in the office. They are skilled information technology professionals who are knowledgeable about the company's network systems and other technology-related infrastructures. They are responsible for installing, configuring, or updating network systems, software, and hardware. They also monitor the different systems and troubleshoot any issues that users may encounter. Systems administrators manage the access of users, ensure the security of the network, and address any challenges that users may have. They conduct repairs and routine maintenance to ensure that the systems in place are in the best shape.
Application administrators and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Administrator | Systems Administrator | |
| Average salary | $100,258 | $77,156 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $137,000 | Between $59,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Cloudflare | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between an application administrator and a systems administrator in terms of educational background:
| Application Administrator | Systems Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between application administrators' and systems administrators' demographics:
| Application Administrator | Systems Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0% | Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 11.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |