Data center administrator vs senior network administrator

The differences between data center administrators and senior 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 a data center administrator and a senior network administrator. Additionally, a senior network administrator has an average salary of $89,169, which is higher than the $49,854 average annual salary of a data center administrator.

The top three skills for a data center administrator include customer service, linux and vmware. The most important skills for a senior network administrator are switches, routers, and troubleshoot.

Data center administrator vs senior network administrator overview

	Data Center Administrator	Senior Network Administrator
Yearly salary	$49,854	$89,169
Hourly rate	$23.97	$42.87
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	172,212	110,027
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a data center administrator do?

A data center administrator is in charge of overseeing the daily operations of an organization's data center. Their job focuses on maintaining and updating data storage systems, managing hardware and software, implementing data protection and recovery plans, performing installations and repairs, and providing technical support to staff as needed. They also conduct research and analyses to establish the ideal practices and center layouts, escalating complex issues to the assigned department, maintaining records, and conducting assessments and evaluations to ensure procedures adhere to company standards and project timelines.

What does a senior network administrator do?

Senior Network Administrators provide system and network solutions for their organizations. They supervise the functioning of networking equipment and follow strict maintenance standards.

Data center administrator vs senior network administrator salary

Data center administrators and senior network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Data Center Administrator	Senior Network Administrator
Average salary	$49,854	$89,169
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $89,000	Between $68,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	Palo Alto, CA	San Mateo, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	NETSCOUT	Tesoro
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between data center administrator and senior network administrator education

There are a few differences between a data center administrator and a senior network administrator in terms of educational background:

	Data Center Administrator	Senior Network Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Data center administrator vs senior network administrator demographics

Here are the differences between data center administrators' and senior network administrators' demographics:

	Data Center Administrator	Senior Network Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 13.0% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 10.1% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between data center administrator and senior network administrator duties and responsibilities

Data center administrator example responsibilities.

Manage Cisco UCS systems that host the organization's VMware environment running critical clinical applications.
Work with USAMITC to manage DNS and with DISA tiger team to manage mail.mil email system.
Manage integrated network connectivity, reporting, and troubleshooting including switch, router, and firewall connectivity to increase system stability.
Work with SQL database developer to create the VMware view database and importing require tables.
Move content to new SQL server.
Use of EMC centera base file archival management system.

Senior network administrator example responsibilities.

Lead IP management specialist and assist with management of DHCP scopes and reservations.
Establish and manage SharePoint base intranet for departmental and interdepartmental support.
Configure and manage SQL database archival requests for automate timely data submissions.
Configure and manage multiple data and application servers and maintain SQL relational databases.
Prioritize and manage servicing of customer trouble calls in locally develop tracking database.
Configure and manage company routers and switches in addition to VPN configuration and policy enforcement.

Data center administrator vs senior network administrator skills

Common data center administrator skills

Customer Service, 7%
Linux, 6%
VMware, 5%
Vmware Esxi, 5%
Windows Server, 5%
HVAC, 4%

Common senior network administrator skills

Switches, 8%
Routers, 5%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Windows Server, 4%
Network Infrastructure, 4%
Lan Wan, 4%

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Data Center Administrator vs Senior Network Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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