How To Become A Computer Systems Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a computer systems operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Mario Bkassiny Ph.D.

The average computer systems operator salary is $94,444. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an computer information systems major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a computer systems operator. Computer systems operators with a Security 5 Certification certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 18,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a computer systems operator?

Mario Bkassiny Ph.D.

Associate Professor, SUNY Oswego

Young graduates should continuously seek every learning opportunity to enhance their professional skills. With the fast growth of engineering technology, it is important for engineers to remain up to date with the most recent innovations in their fields. The learning process does not stop at graduation, but instead, it extends beyond college to the workplace where engineers can gain expert knowledge in their fields.

ScoreComputer Systems OperatorUS Average

Salary

7.4

Avg. Salary $94,444

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 8.72%

Black or African American 9.09%

Hispanic or Latino 12.77%

Unknown 5.10%

White 64.01%

Gender

female 26.39%

male 73.61%

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

Key steps to become a computer systems operator

Explore computer systems operator education requirements

Most common computer systems operator degrees

Bachelor's

43.9 %

Associate

37.4 %

High School Diploma

10.2 %

Start to develop specific computer systems operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Switches	7.78%
Customer Service	7.64%
Unix	7.38%
Troubleshoot	6.54%
Remedy	6.01%

Complete relevant computer systems operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New computer systems operators 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 a computer systems operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real computer systems operator resumes.

Research computer systems operator duties and responsibilities

Lead successful domain migration including implementation of domain controller with DNS.
Prepare test environments and manage configurations for multiple servers and databases in VMware.
Manage the storage infrastructure for virtualization, high availability systems and data consolidation.
Interact with text-command-driven UNIX server for accounting and payroll files and records maintenance.

Prepare your computer systems operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your computer systems operator resume.

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