Infrastructure administrator vs junior systems administrator

The differences between infrastructure administrators and junior 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 an infrastructure administrator and a junior systems administrator. Additionally, an infrastructure administrator has an average salary of $93,079, which is higher than the $62,225 average annual salary of a junior systems administrator.

The top three skills for an infrastructure administrator include troubleshoot, linux and windows server. The most important skills for a junior systems administrator are windows server, troubleshoot, and technical support.

Infrastructure administrator vs junior systems administrator overview

	Infrastructure Administrator	Junior Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$93,079	$62,225
Hourly rate	$44.75	$29.92
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	100,799	154,134
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does an infrastructure administrator do?

Infrastructure administrators are information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for implementing and maintaining the telecommunication and data systems of an organization. These administrators must coordinate the implementations of IT procedures and policies of the organization as well as perform daily monitoring, maintenance, and backups. They are required to assist in network troubleshooting and provide end-user support about their hardware and software problems. Infrastructure administrators must also implement policies regarding security, network usage, and disaster recovery.

What does a junior systems administrator do?

A junior systems administrator is primarily responsible for handling and maintaining systems for users while under the supervision of a more experienced systems administrator. Their responsibilities often revolve around assisting senior administrators, troubleshooting support, providing installations and configurations, and handling inquiries and concerns, providing them with corrective measures. Aside from support tasks, one may also have administrative duties such as producing reports and presentations, managing schedules, and maintaining accurate data of all transactions. Furthermore, it is essential to adhere to all the policies and regulations of the company.

Infrastructure administrator vs junior systems administrator salary

Infrastructure administrators and junior systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Infrastructure Administrator	Junior Systems Administrator
Average salary	$93,079	$62,225
Salary range	Between $66,000 And $129,000	Between $51,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	PayPal	Jacobs Engineering Group
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between infrastructure administrator and junior systems administrator education

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

	Infrastructure Administrator	Junior Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	University of Pennsylvania

Infrastructure administrator vs junior systems administrator demographics

Here are the differences between infrastructure administrators' and junior systems administrators' demographics:

	Infrastructure Administrator	Junior Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 90.4% Female, 9.6%	Male, 88.4% Female, 11.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.9% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 12.1% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between infrastructure administrator and junior systems administrator duties and responsibilities

Infrastructure administrator example responsibilities.

Manage allocate SAN storage and HBA configuration.
Manage, upgrade, and troubleshot ShoreTel VOIP network.
Manage all SSL certificates as well as internal and external DNS services for the organization.
Used SCCM to manage resources, software distribution, inventory, build software packages, and troubleshoot fail installs.
Authore and maintain shell and Perl scripts to automate administration tasks for infrastructure management.
Resolve network issues using DHCP, and DNS.

Junior systems administrator example responsibilities.

Manage Linux servers, running primarily CentOS.
Manage customer accounts and cases in Salesforce.
Load and manage customer provide encryption files.
Create, run and manage server back-ups monthly.
Develop PowerShell scripts to revamp and automate server build process.
Maintain and manage windows 2012 R2 in a virtual environment.

Infrastructure administrator vs junior systems administrator skills

Common infrastructure administrator skills

Troubleshoot, 10%
Linux, 7%
Windows Server, 6%
OS, 4%
PowerShell, 4%
SAN, 4%

Common junior systems administrator skills

Windows Server, 7%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Technical Support, 5%
System Administration, 5%
Switches, 5%
OS, 4%

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Infrastructure Administrator vs Junior Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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