Data network specialist vs systems administrator

The differences between data network specialists and systems 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 network specialist and a systems administrator. Additionally, a data network specialist has an average salary of $81,950, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.

The top three skills for a data network specialist include switches, timely maintenance and business rules. The most important skills for a systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.

Data network specialist vs systems administrator overview

	Data Network Specialist	Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$81,950	$77,156
Hourly rate	$39.40	$37.09
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	91,708	134,500
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Data network specialist vs systems administrator salary

Data network specialists and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Data Network Specialist	Systems Administrator
Average salary	$81,950	$77,156
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $123,000	Between $59,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	California
Best paying company	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	Meta
Best paying industry	Health Care	Technology

Differences between data network specialist and systems administrator education

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

	Data Network Specialist	Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Data network specialist vs systems administrator demographics

Here are the differences between data network specialists' and systems administrators' demographics:

	Data Network Specialist	Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2%	Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.4% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 11.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between data network specialist and systems administrator duties and responsibilities

Data network specialist example responsibilities.

Design, develop, and manage SharePoint sites on both classify and unclassify networks.
Maintain and manage a tactical network during military and combat operations, both in garrison and deploy.
Design, configure and run VMWare Vcenter servers to manage multiple ESXi host servers and optimize server resources.
Manage TCP/IP network, install and configure network peripherals, run DHCP clients and servers, and maintain WNS and DNS.
Ensure business continuity by managing and monitoring all infrastructure backups, and notifying business partners of fail backup jobs.
Assist customers, if necessary, with proper configuration of network devices to support VOIP implementation.

Systems administrator example responsibilities.

Used Jenkins to automate most of the build relate tasks.
Manage windows file servers, messaging, and SQL databases.
Lead the project which integrate internal DNS into the corporate LDAP infrastructure for end user host management prior to deployment.
Lead business-critical information security initiatives involving encryption of customer data.
Authore and maintain shell and Perl scripts to automate administration tasks for infrastructure management.
Configure & manage all switches and servers responsible for providing WLAN connectivity and authentication services.

Data network specialist vs systems administrator skills

Common data network specialist skills

Switches, 9%
Timely Maintenance, 7%
Business Rules, 6%
Network Management, 6%
Data Network Systems, 5%
VoIP, 5%

Common systems administrator skills

Linux, 7%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Windows Server, 6%
Database, 5%
Technical Support, 4%
PowerShell, 3%

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Data Network Specialist vs Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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