Operations system administrator vs systems administrator

The differences between operations system administrators 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 an operations system administrator and a systems administrator. Additionally, a systems administrator has an average salary of $77,156, 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 systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.

Operations system administrator vs systems administrator overview

	Operations System Administrator	Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$76,891	$77,156
Hourly rate	$36.97	$37.09
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	173,494	134,500
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
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 systems administrator do?

Systems administrators are employees who oversee information technology infrastructures in the office. They are skilled information technology professionals who are knowledgeable about the company's network systems and other technology-related infrastructures. They are responsible for installing, configuring, or updating network systems, software, and hardware. They also monitor the different systems and troubleshoot any issues that users may encounter. Systems administrators manage the access of users, ensure the security of the network, and address any challenges that users may have. They conduct repairs and routine maintenance to ensure that the systems in place are in the best shape.

Operations system administrator vs systems administrator salary

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

	Operations System Administrator	Systems Administrator
Average salary	$76,891	$77,156
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $98,000	Between $59,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	PayPal	Meta
Best paying industry	Utilities	Technology

Differences between operations system administrator and systems administrator education

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

	Operations System Administrator	Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Operations system administrator vs systems administrator demographics

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

	Operations System Administrator	Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8%	Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1%
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, 8.6% 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 operations system administrator and systems 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.

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.

Operations system administrator vs systems administrator skills

Common operations system administrator skills

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

Common systems administrator skills

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

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Operations System Administrator
Operations System Administrator vs Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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