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What is an application systems administrator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Anthony Barrese

Imagine this: a company's payroll system malfunctions and breaks down, cascading unpleasant errors and inconveniences in connection with the employees' paychecks. To avoid these kinds of nightmares and disasters, enterprises and organizations hire application systems administrators.

They ensure that the organization's applications and software are up and running smoothly. Their primary function is to install, update, tune, and diagnose internal and third-party applications, along with the servers that they will run on.

Although it may look like a chill and laid-back post, the career path of an application systems administrator demands a weighty skillset. Aside from possessing knowledge of relevant technologies, an application system administrator needs to have the ability and positive attitude to work well in a fast-paced environment with diverse groups of customers and IT personnel. They also need an expertise in supporting, maintaining, and administering complex applications in order to effectively use analytical tools and troubleshooting methods.

What general advice would you give to an application systems administrator?

Anthony BarreseAnthony Barrese LinkedIn profile

Interim Dean of the School of Systems and Enterprises and Teaching Professor, Stevens Institute of Technology

Pursue opportunities to broaden your experience across systems engineering, development, integration and test, field sales support and professional services positions. Generalist experience becomes invaluable with career advancement. Running a team is much more feasible for leaders who understand the process behind the work their reports deliver.
ScoreApplication Systems AdministratorUS Average
Salary
6.7

Avg. Salary $85,636

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
5.7

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.6
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 12.53%

Black or African American 8.62%

Hispanic or Latino 12.32%

Unknown 5.06%

White 61.16%

Gender

female 23.65%

male 76.35%

Age - 42
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42
Stress level
5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
6.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Application systems administrator career paths

Key steps to become an application systems administrator

  1. Explore application systems administrator education requirements

    Most common application systems administrator degrees

    Bachelor's

    64.6 %

    Associate

    19.5 %

    Master's

    10.5 %
  2. Start to develop specific application systems administrator skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Troubleshoot13.30%
    Linux8.10%
    Problem Resolution6.03%
    System Upgrades5.73%
    Unix5.41%
  3. Complete relevant application systems administrator training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New application systems administrators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an application systems administrator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real application systems administrator resumes.
  4. Research application systems administrator duties and responsibilities

    • Manage the installation and renewal of SSL certificates for thousands of websites within IIS.
    • Manage large development/test/production environment on multiple Unix & NT servers.
    • Lead enterprise-wide virtualization effort, overseeing and personally completing vendor/hardware qualifications, architecture/design, installation, configuration, migration and documentation.
    • Maintain OS PTFS on the 570 and HMC.
  5. Prepare your application systems administrator resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your application systems administrator resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an application systems administrator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable application systems administrator resume templates

    Build a professional application systems administrator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your application systems administrator resume.
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
    Application Systems Administrator Resume
  6. Apply for application systems administrator jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an application systems administrator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first application systems administrator job

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Average application systems administrator salary

The average application systems administrator salary in the United States is $85,636 per year or $41 per hour. Application systems administrator salaries range between $65,000 and $112,000 per year.

Average application systems administrator salary
$85,636 Yearly
$41.17 hourly

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How do application systems administrators rate their job?

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Application systems administrator reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022
Cons

There was nothing to like. Everyone was polite an hard workers


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Cons

Nothing not doing my job


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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