Network systems consultant vs systems administrator

The differences between network systems consultants 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 a network systems consultant and a systems administrator. Additionally, a network systems consultant has an average salary of $81,696, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.

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

Network systems consultant vs systems administrator overview

	Network Systems Consultant	Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$81,696	$77,156
Hourly rate	$39.28	$37.09
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	120,261	134,500
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Network systems consultant vs systems administrator salary

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

	Network Systems Consultant	Systems Administrator
Average salary	$81,696	$77,156
Salary range	Between $58,000 And $114,000	Between $59,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between network systems consultant and systems administrator education

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

	Network Systems Consultant	Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Network systems consultant vs systems administrator demographics

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

	Network Systems Consultant	Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 95.5% Female, 4.5%	Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1%
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, 8.6% 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%

Differences between network systems consultant and systems 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.

Systems administrator example responsibilities.

Used Jenkins to automate most of the build relate tasks.
Manage windows file servers, messaging, and SQL databases.
Lead the project which integrate internal DNS into the corporate LDAP infrastructure for end user host management prior to deployment.
Lead business-critical information security initiatives involving encryption of customer data.
Authore and maintain shell and Perl scripts to automate administration tasks for infrastructure management.
Configure & manage all switches and servers responsible for providing WLAN connectivity and authentication services.

Network systems consultant vs systems administrator skills

Common network systems consultant skills

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

Common systems administrator skills

Linux, 7%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Windows Server, 6%
Database, 5%
Technical Support, 4%
PowerShell, 3%

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Network Systems Consultant vs Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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