Operations system administrator vs information technology administrator

The differences between operations system administrators and information technology 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 operations system administrator and an information technology administrator. Additionally, an operations system administrator has an average salary of $76,891, which is higher than the $73,195 average annual salary of an information technology administrator.

The top three skills for an operations system administrator include technical support, linux and customer service. The most important skills for an information technology administrator are customer service, troubleshoot, and linux.

Operations system administrator vs information technology administrator overview

	Operations System Administrator	Information Technology Administrator
Yearly salary	$76,891	$73,195
Hourly rate	$36.97	$35.19
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	173,494	159,499
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does an operations system administrator do?

In the information technology industry, an Operations System Administrator is responsible for overseeing and maintaining computer systems, including software, hardware, and applications. They are responsible for supervising staff, spearheading installations and repairs, troubleshooting problems, diagnosing and resolving technical issues and concerns, and ensuring data security and safety by implementing back-ups, firewalls, and other protocols. Moreover, as an operations system administrator, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach goals while implementing standards and regulations to maintain the smooth flow of operations.

What does an information technology administrator do?

An Information Technology (IT) administrator is an individual responsible for managing the day-to-day operation of an organization's IT systems and ensuring that the systems are running effectively. IT administrators must conduct consistent analyses of the computer system and install updates when needed. They are required to assess the organization's security programs and run the system for viruses and spyware. IT administrators also extend support to the organization's end-users and train them on desktop applications.

Operations system administrator vs information technology administrator salary

Operations system administrators and information technology administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Operations System Administrator	Information Technology Administrator
Average salary	$76,891	$73,195
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $98,000	Between $50,000 And $105,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	PayPal	Databricks
Best paying industry	Utilities	Finance

Differences between operations system administrator and information technology administrator education

There are a few differences between an operations system administrator and an information technology administrator in terms of educational background:

	Operations System Administrator	Information Technology Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Operations system administrator vs information technology administrator demographics

Here are the differences between operations system administrators' and information technology administrators' demographics:

	Operations System Administrator	Information Technology Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8%	Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 9.5% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 9.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between operations system administrator and information technology administrator duties and responsibilities

Operations system administrator example responsibilities.

Manage VOIP Digium phones for clients.
Manage and update share drive and SharePoint.
Manage DNS, SMTP for Webservers contacting customers.
Manage LDAP accounts on across the enterprise system.
Manage machines and accounts in active directory and dhcp.
Lead a team of 5 engineers providing PC support to 1,000 customers and implement PC disaster recovery efforts for 400 customers.

Information technology administrator example responsibilities.

Define, document and project manage the implementation and configuration changes to HRIS applications.
Manage the migration from ADP to Lawson software; adapt HRIS to fit organizational needs.
Manage PC trainers and develop high quality internal instructor-le courses.
Manage host peripheral hardware including disk files and space utilization.
Manage and maintain corporate telecommunications and LAN; recommend repairs as needed.
Manage administration for SharePoint websites including account creation or modifying existing user accounts and site settings.

Operations system administrator vs information technology administrator skills

Common operations system administrator skills

Technical Support, 9%
Linux, 8%
Customer Service, 5%
VMware, 4%
SQL, 4%
Windows Server, 4%

Common information technology administrator skills

Customer Service, 10%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Linux, 5%
Database, 4%
VMware, 4%
Windows Server, 4%

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Operations System Administrator
Operations System Administrator vs Information Technology Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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