Enterprise systems administrator vs network administrator

The differences between enterprise systems administrators and 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 an enterprise systems administrator and a network administrator. Additionally, an enterprise systems administrator has an average salary of $89,075, which is higher than the $71,357 average annual salary of a network administrator.

The top three skills for an enterprise systems administrator include troubleshoot, powershell and database. The most important skills for a network administrator are switches, windows server, and troubleshoot.

Enterprise systems administrator vs network administrator overview

	Enterprise Systems Administrator	Network Administrator
Yearly salary	$89,075	$71,357
Hourly rate	$42.82	$34.31
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	132,907	106,886
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does an enterprise systems administrator do?

Enterprise systems administrators install, maintain, upgrade software and hardware and interface with users to identify the support needs. They ensure system files and user safety by backing up the system's files to enhance system recreation after the system disc driver's hardware crashes. Besides installing, configuring, and supporting enterprise software applications, these systems administrators also assure system security by managing network security, including the operating system, files, and passwords. Moreover, enterprise systems administrators contribute to the computer services' success by performing all other assigned duties.

What does a network administrator do?

A network administrator is responsible for managing an organization's computer systems, ensuring its smooth operations and highest efficiency. Network administrators' duties include inspecting network malfunctions, troubleshooting unresponsive programs, improving system processes, analyzing client's specifications, upgrading existing applications, coordinating with the technology department, and creating a report of network issues resolutions. A network administrator should display a strong command of programming languages. Extensive knowledge in the technology industry and analytical and problem-solving skills to manage network problems immediately is also necessary.

Enterprise systems administrator vs network administrator salary

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

	Enterprise Systems Administrator	Network Administrator
Average salary	$89,075	$71,357
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $124,000	Between $56,000 And $90,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Adobe	Google
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between enterprise systems administrator and network administrator education

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

	Enterprise Systems Administrator	Network Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Enterprise systems administrator vs network administrator demographics

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

	Enterprise Systems Administrator	Network Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 84.3% Female, 15.7%	Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 9.5% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between enterprise systems administrator and network administrator duties and responsibilities

Enterprise systems administrator example responsibilities.

Work with e-services, EarthLink's customer facing team to manage mail and dns environment.
Save company many hours of manual testing and developing by engineering Java applications to automate tedious tasks.
Contact and coordinate with local network support to open appropriate SCCM, iLO, SCOM and HBSS ports.
Work with DNS for and on internal devices.
Lead for backup strategy and key member for PC imaging.
Install, maintain and troubleshoot server equipment and computer hardware/ software.

Network administrator example responsibilities.

Lead and manage desktop standards project.
Manage backups using EMC Networker and Avamar.
Manage Solarwinds to monitor servers and networks for all locations.
Manage all provisioning and technical issues for new customer IP blocks.
Deploy and manage storage (windows file servers and NetApp NAS).
Manage all technology: Novell, Microsoft, Cisco, email, library, labs, dorms, programs

Enterprise systems administrator vs network administrator skills

Common enterprise systems administrator skills

Troubleshoot, 6%
PowerShell, 5%
Database, 5%
Linux, 5%
Windows Server, 5%
SCCM, 4%

Common network administrator skills

Switches, 7%
Windows Server, 6%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Network Hardware, 5%
Routers, 4%
Lan Wan, 4%

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Enterprise Systems Administrator vs Network Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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