Network security specialist vs senior network administrator

The differences between network security specialists and senior network administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a network security specialist, becoming a senior network administrator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a senior network administrator has an average salary of $89,169, which is higher than the $82,206 average annual salary of a network security specialist.

The top three skills for a network security specialist include network security, incident response and IDS. The most important skills for a senior network administrator are switches, routers, and troubleshoot.

Network security specialist vs senior network administrator overview

	Network Security Specialist	Senior Network Administrator
Yearly salary	$82,206	$89,169
Hourly rate	$39.52	$42.87
Growth rate	32%	5%
Number of jobs	82,646	110,027
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	42	43
Years of experience	6	2

What does a network security specialist do?

A Network Security Specialist is a person who oversees computer networks to find security threats or unauthorized users. Their responsibilities include: identifying compromised machines, creating briefs of security measures taken, identifying possible security risks, determining the proper procedure to address the risks, assessing software that security aid, and researching security devices to get proper information on installation, audit-related information, and disaster recovery plans.

What does a senior network administrator do?

Senior Network Administrators provide system and network solutions for their organizations. They supervise the functioning of networking equipment and follow strict maintenance standards.

Network security specialist vs senior network administrator salary

Network security specialists and senior network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Network Security Specialist	Senior Network Administrator
Average salary	$82,206	$89,169
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $112,000	Between $68,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	Sunnyvale, CA	San Mateo, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	Tesoro
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between network security specialist and senior network administrator education

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

	Network Security Specialist	Senior Network Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Network security specialist vs senior network administrator demographics

Here are the differences between network security specialists' and senior network administrators' demographics:

	Network Security Specialist	Senior Network Administrator
Average age	42	43
Gender ratio	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 10.1% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between network security specialist and senior network administrator duties and responsibilities

Network security specialist example responsibilities.

Achieve a reputation as a security and technology leader in the LINUX world, interview profiled by several LINUX publications.
Manage project to maximize available bandwidth and throughput by implementing QOS technologies including compression, traffic shaping and priority/custom queuing.
Install new firewalls, switches and routers contingent on management schedule.
Create encryption policy and technical solutions to protect company mobile computing devices including laptops and smart phones.
Manage project to maximize available bandwidth and throughput by implementing QOS technologies including compression, traffic shaping and priority/custom queuing.
Coordinate efforts in moving data from Novell servers to Microsoft server with total overhaul of file and security group structure.

Senior network administrator example responsibilities.

Lead IP management specialist and assist with management of DHCP scopes and reservations.
Establish and manage SharePoint base intranet for departmental and interdepartmental support.
Configure and manage SQL database archival requests for automate timely data submissions.
Configure and manage multiple data and application servers and maintain SQL relational databases.
Prioritize and manage servicing of customer trouble calls in locally develop tracking database.
Configure and manage company routers and switches in addition to VPN configuration and policy enforcement.

Network security specialist vs senior network administrator skills

Common network security specialist skills

Network Security, 12%
Incident Response, 6%
IDS, 5%
Firewall, 5%
Switches, 4%
Intrusion Detection, 4%

Common senior network administrator skills

Switches, 8%
Routers, 5%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Windows Server, 4%
Network Infrastructure, 4%
Lan Wan, 4%

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Network Security Specialist vs Senior Network Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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