Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between infrastructure systems engineers 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 an infrastructure systems engineer and a systems administrator. Additionally, an infrastructure systems engineer has an average salary of $110,556, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.
The top three skills for an infrastructure systems engineer include cloud, linux and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.
| Infrastructure Systems Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $110,556 | $77,156 |
| Hourly rate | $53.15 | $37.09 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 133,481 | 134,500 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Infrastructure systems engineers are information technology (IT) professionals who design, coordinate, and maintain the IT infrastructure using the latest technology to ensure all the IT systems of an organization are functioning efficiently. These engineers are required to improve collaboration and work sharing by implementing a cloud-backed file system. They must train and mentor other employees about the system functionality and perform troubleshoot when issues arise in the system. Infrastructure systems engineers must also eliminate interruptions for wireless users during upgrades by installing disaster recovery servers.
Systems administrators are employees who oversee information technology infrastructures in the office. They are skilled information technology professionals who are knowledgeable about the company's network systems and other technology-related infrastructures. They are responsible for installing, configuring, or updating network systems, software, and hardware. They also monitor the different systems and troubleshoot any issues that users may encounter. Systems administrators manage the access of users, ensure the security of the network, and address any challenges that users may have. They conduct repairs and routine maintenance to ensure that the systems in place are in the best shape.
Infrastructure systems engineers and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Infrastructure Systems Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Average salary | $110,556 | $77,156 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $147,000 | Between $59,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Technology |
There are a few differences between an infrastructure systems engineer and a systems administrator in terms of educational background:
| Infrastructure Systems Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between infrastructure systems engineers' and systems administrators' demographics:
| Infrastructure Systems Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0% | Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.9% White, 61.1% 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% |