Application systems administrator vs senior system administrator

The differences between application systems administrators and senior system 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 senior system administrator. Additionally, a senior system administrator has an average salary of $98,146, which is higher than the $85,636 average annual salary of an application systems administrator.

The top three skills for an application systems administrator include troubleshoot, linux and problem resolution. The most important skills for a senior system administrator are linux, windows server, and troubleshoot.

Application systems administrator vs senior system administrator overview

	Application Systems Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Yearly salary	$85,636	$98,146
Hourly rate	$41.17	$47.19
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	141,894	100,873
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does an application systems administrator do?

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.

What does a senior system administrator do?

A senior system administrator specializes in overseeing the computer system operations in an organization. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around monitoring the performance of all software and hardware, installing servers, configuring systems, and making sure every technical aspect is running smoothly. Should there be any issues, they must take charge of troubleshooting and providing solutions. As someone with more experience, a senior system administrator leads and evaluates the performances of fellow skilled professionals in the department, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

Application systems administrator vs senior system administrator salary

Application systems administrators and senior system administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Application Systems Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Average salary	$85,636	$98,146
Salary range	Between $65,000 And $112,000	Between $75,000 And $126,000
Highest paying City	Santa Clara, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	American Tower	Cambridge Associates
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between application systems administrator and senior system administrator education

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

	Application Systems Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Application systems administrator vs senior system administrator demographics

Here are the differences between application systems administrators' and senior system administrators' demographics:

	Application Systems Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 76.3% Female, 23.7%	Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0%
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, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 11.8% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between application systems administrator and senior system administrator duties and responsibilities

Application systems administrator example 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.
Require thorough interfacing of MSSQL with PowerShell.
Administer IIS and FTP servers host at third party vender.

Senior system administrator example responsibilities.

Manage and optimize the design and delivery of project associate with AIX arena.
Manage all installs and setup of new servers, and server upgrades to server 2008 R2.
Implement IIS servers for both the internal and external web servers and managing security on all web servers.
Design, implement, and manage a network and domain extension in a remote location via a secure VPN link.
Manage Cisco network equipment including firewalls and switches.
Administer and manage daily backups via Symantec NetBackup.

Application systems administrator vs senior system administrator skills

Common application systems administrator skills

Troubleshoot, 13%
Linux, 8%
Problem Resolution, 6%
System Upgrades, 6%
Unix, 5%
Data Integrity, 4%

Common senior system administrator skills

Linux, 7%
Windows Server, 6%
Troubleshoot, 5%
System Administration, 4%
PowerShell, 4%
SAN, 4%

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Application Systems Administrator vs Senior System Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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