Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between security systems administrators 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 security systems administrator and a network administrator. Additionally, a security systems administrator has an average salary of $79,008, which is higher than the $71,357 average annual salary of a network administrator.
The top three skills for a security systems administrator include security systems, troubleshoot and linux. The most important skills for a network administrator are switches, windows server, and troubleshoot.
| Security Systems Administrator | Network Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $79,008 | $71,357 |
| Hourly rate | $37.98 | $34.31 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 173,690 | 106,886 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Security Systems Administrators are responsible for managing the security systems operations of an organization. Their duties include conducting penetration and vulnerability tests, establishing policies for network security, implementing protocols for disaster recovery, configuring security tools, carry out security audits, and monitor network traffic. Security Systems Administrators also advise executives on best practices and assist staff training programs in security procedures and awareness. They work on protecting the network against unauthorized access, destruction, or modification.
A network administrator is responsible for managing an organization's computer systems, ensuring its smooth operations and highest efficiency. Network administrators' duties include inspecting network malfunctions, troubleshooting unresponsive programs, improving system processes, analyzing client's specifications, upgrading existing applications, coordinating with the technology department, and creating a report of network issues resolutions. A network administrator should display a strong command of programming languages. Extensive knowledge in the technology industry and analytical and problem-solving skills to manage network problems immediately is also necessary.
Security systems administrators and network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Security Systems Administrator | Network Administrator | |
| Average salary | $79,008 | $71,357 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $103,000 | Between $56,000 And $90,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Raven Software | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a security systems administrator and a network administrator in terms of educational background:
| Security Systems Administrator | Network Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Computer Information Systems | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between security systems administrators' and network administrators' demographics:
| Security Systems Administrator | Network Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.2% Female, 19.8% | Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.1% 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% |