Assistant systems administrator vs senior system administrator

The differences between assistant 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 assistant systems administrator and a senior system administrator. Additionally, a senior system administrator has an average salary of $98,146, which is higher than the $40,777 average annual salary of an assistant systems administrator.

The top three skills for an assistant systems administrator include customer service, patients and payroll. The most important skills for a senior system administrator are linux, windows server, and troubleshoot.

Assistant systems administrator vs senior system administrator overview

	Assistant Systems Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Yearly salary	$40,777	$98,146
Hourly rate	$19.60	$47.19
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	104,311	100,873
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does an assistant systems administrator do?

Assistant systems administrators are responsible for supporting a team with their day-to-day operations of a company's computer systems and networks. They perform varied tasks, including monitoring, maintaining, and testing internet performance, ensuring the availability of computer networks for all users, and troubleshooting system failures and computer hardware and software issues. Assistant systems administrators may conduct training and support other network users within the organization. Additional tasks also include monitoring and evaluating the efficiency of operations and preparing systems and software documentation.

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.

Assistant systems administrator vs senior system administrator salary

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

	Assistant Systems Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Average salary	$40,777	$98,146
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $71,000	Between $75,000 And $126,000
Highest paying City	Chico, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	California
Best paying company	City of Los Angeles	Cambridge Associates
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between assistant systems administrator and senior system administrator education

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

	Assistant Systems Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Assistant systems administrator vs senior system administrator demographics

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

	Assistant Systems Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4%	Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.1% 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 assistant systems administrator and senior system administrator duties and responsibilities

Assistant systems administrator example responsibilities.

Perform a wide variety of administrative tasks including managing daily schedules and interconnecting with other medical facilities and patients.
Monitor network connectivity, traffic, loads, and TCP/IP packet efficiency.
Work on Solaris volume manager to create file systems as per user and database requirements.
Maintain anti-virus software, remedy virus infections, and resolve hardware problems and technical issues.
Configure PCs, fax, printers, network, and internet for their small office.
Provide desktop support & user account administration on NT and Novell servers on a token ring network

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.

Assistant systems administrator vs senior system administrator skills

Common assistant systems administrator skills

Customer Service, 15%
Patients, 12%
Payroll, 7%
PowerPoint, 5%
Bed Facility, 5%
Human Resources, 5%

Common senior system administrator skills

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

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Assistant Systems Administrator vs Senior System Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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