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The differences between application systems 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 systems administrator and a network administrator. Additionally, an application systems administrator has an average salary of $85,636, which is higher than the $71,357 average annual salary of a network administrator.
The top three skills for an application systems administrator include troubleshoot, linux and problem resolution. The most important skills for a network administrator are switches, windows server, and troubleshoot.
| Application Systems Administrator | Network Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $85,636 | $71,357 |
| Hourly rate | $41.17 | $34.31 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 141,894 | 106,886 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An application systems administrator manages and maintains any system, network, or application in a company. It is the primary job of a systems administrator to inspect all systems, software, and applications, determine problem areas and apply troubleshooting measures, upgrades and repairs. It is also the task of a systems administrator to regularly update programs, pinpoint bugs and problematic codes, and relay them to a programmer to have them resolved. The systems administrator is part of a company's back-end staff and focuses on the operation and maintenance of all software-based processes.
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 systems administrators and network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Systems Administrator | Network Administrator | |
| Average salary | $85,636 | $71,357 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $112,000 | Between $56,000 And $90,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Clara, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Washington |
| Best paying company | American Tower | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between an application systems administrator and a network administrator in terms of educational background:
| Application Systems Administrator | Network Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between application systems administrators' and network administrators' demographics:
| Application Systems Administrator | Network Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.3% Female, 23.7% | Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 12.5% 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |