Data network technician vs senior system administrator

The differences between data network technicians 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 a data network technician and a senior system administrator. Additionally, a senior system administrator has an average salary of $98,146, which is higher than the $76,522 average annual salary of a data network technician.

The top three skills for a data network technician include switches, network equipment and CCNA. The most important skills for a senior system administrator are linux, windows server, and troubleshoot.

Data network technician vs senior system administrator overview

	Data Network Technician	Senior System Administrator
Yearly salary	$76,522	$98,146
Hourly rate	$36.79	$47.19
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	117,801	100,873
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Data network technician vs senior system administrator salary

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

	Data Network Technician	Senior System Administrator
Average salary	$76,522	$98,146
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $118,000	Between $75,000 And $126,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Cambridge Associates
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between data network technician and senior system administrator education

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

	Data Network Technician	Senior System Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Data network technician vs senior system administrator demographics

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

	Data Network Technician	Senior System Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8%	Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.3% 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 data network technician and senior system administrator duties and responsibilities

Data network technician example responsibilities.

Manage the day-to-day operations of telecommunication services utilize by DuPont.
Install new or troubleshot and replace faulty Cat6 lines and connectors where need for VoIP install.
Create and run Ethernet cables after testing to ensure they are tip properly.
Inventory all computers on base and verify their connections to the CPU and Ethernet ports.
Utilize UNIX tools and analysis systems to perform call traces to replicate call and data scenarios through the network switches.
Install and implementation various types of servers/computers, printers, and networking equipment effectively provide quality service and installation for customers.

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.

Data network technician vs senior system administrator skills

Common data network technician skills

Switches, 29%
Network Equipment, 11%
CCNA, 11%
Telecommunication, 9%
Fiber Optic, 4%
Windows, 3%

Common senior system administrator skills

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

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Data Network Technician vs Senior System Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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