Operations system administrator vs senior system administrator

The differences between operations system administrators and senior system 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 a senior system administrator. Additionally, a senior system administrator has an average salary of $98,146, which is higher than the $76,891 average annual salary of an operations system administrator.

The top three skills for an operations system administrator include technical support, linux and customer service. The most important skills for a senior system administrator are linux, windows server, and troubleshoot.

Operations system administrator vs senior system administrator overview

	Operations System Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Yearly salary	$76,891	$98,146
Hourly rate	$36.97	$47.19
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	173,494	100,873
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
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 a senior system administrator do?

A senior system administrator specializes in overseeing the computer system operations in an organization. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around monitoring the performance of all software and hardware, installing servers, configuring systems, and making sure every technical aspect is running smoothly. Should there be any issues, they must take charge of troubleshooting and providing solutions. As someone with more experience, a senior system administrator leads and evaluates the performances of fellow skilled professionals in the department, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

Operations system administrator vs senior system administrator salary

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

	Operations System Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Average salary	$76,891	$98,146
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $98,000	Between $75,000 And $126,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	PayPal	Cambridge Associates
Best paying industry	Utilities	Finance

Differences between operations system administrator and senior system administrator education

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

	Operations System Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Operations system administrator vs senior system administrator demographics

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

	Operations System Administrator	Senior System Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8%	Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0%
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, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 11.8% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between operations system administrator and senior system 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.

Senior system administrator example responsibilities.

Manage and optimize the design and delivery of project associate with AIX arena.
Manage all installs and setup of new servers, and server upgrades to server 2008 R2.
Implement IIS servers for both the internal and external web servers and managing security on all web servers.
Design, implement, and manage a network and domain extension in a remote location via a secure VPN link.
Manage Cisco network equipment including firewalls and switches.
Administer and manage daily backups via Symantec NetBackup.

Operations system administrator vs senior system administrator skills

Common operations system administrator skills

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

Common senior system administrator skills

Linux, 7%
Windows Server, 6%
Troubleshoot, 5%
System Administration, 4%
PowerShell, 4%
SAN, 4%

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Operations System Administrator vs Senior System Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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