Network systems consultant vs network administrator

The differences between network systems consultants 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 a network systems consultant and a network administrator. Additionally, a network systems consultant has an average salary of $81,696, which is higher than the $71,357 average annual salary of a network administrator.

The top three skills for a network systems consultant include windows server, switches and technical support. The most important skills for a network administrator are switches, windows server, and troubleshoot.

Network systems consultant vs network administrator overview

	Network Systems Consultant	Network Administrator
Yearly salary	$81,696	$71,357
Hourly rate	$39.28	$34.31
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	120,261	106,886
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Network systems consultant vs network administrator salary

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

	Network Systems Consultant	Network Administrator
Average salary	$81,696	$71,357
Salary range	Between $58,000 And $114,000	Between $56,000 And $90,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between network systems consultant and network administrator education

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

	Network Systems Consultant	Network Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Network systems consultant vs network administrator demographics

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

	Network Systems Consultant	Network Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 95.5% Female, 4.5%	Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 10.5% 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 network systems consultant and network administrator duties and responsibilities

Network systems consultant example responsibilities.

Manage the migration of existing physical infrastructures to virtualization solutions using VMWare ESXi and ESX 3.0/4.1.
Manage and frequently update network configuration settings for internal and external systems, including DNS, DHCP and Cisco equipment settings.
Lead in-house and consultant team in large-scale Linux server upgrade for multinational consulting firm, which significantly enhance system performance.
Install and maintain network infrastructure switches and routers, prepare and maintain documentation and network diagrams.
Maintain and configure VMware ESX server and Vcenter via web access.
Test server and desktop security using Microsoft and Linux security tools.

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

Network systems consultant vs network administrator skills

Common network systems consultant skills

Windows Server, 8%
Switches, 7%
Technical Support, 5%
Network Infrastructure, 5%
VMware, 4%
Software Issues, 4%

Common network administrator skills

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

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Network Systems Consultant vs Network Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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