Senior information technology administrator vs systems administrator

The differences between senior information technology 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 a senior information technology administrator and a systems administrator. Additionally, a senior information technology administrator has an average salary of $105,357, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.

The top three skills for a senior information technology administrator include linux, SAN and unity. The most important skills for a systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.

Senior information technology administrator vs systems administrator overview

	Senior Information Technology Administrator	Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$105,357	$77,156
Hourly rate	$50.65	$37.09
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	156,682	134,500
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a senior information technology administrator do?

A senior information technology administrator leads and oversees the efforts in maintaining computer systems and infrastructures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities include setting goals and objectives, managing budgets and schedules, supervising the installation and upgrades of systems, and developing strategies to optimize a company's information technology operations. They may also perform regular maintenance checks on systems, performing corrective measures as needed. Furthermore, as a senior administrator, it is essential to serve as a role model to junior administrators and staff, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

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.

Senior information technology administrator vs systems administrator salary

Senior information technology administrators and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Information Technology Administrator	Systems Administrator
Average salary	$105,357	$77,156
Salary range	Between $82,000 And $135,000	Between $59,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	Milpitas, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Cohesity	Meta
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Technology

Differences between senior information technology administrator and systems administrator education

There are a few differences between a senior information technology administrator and a systems administrator in terms of educational background:

	Senior Information Technology Administrator	Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Senior information technology administrator vs systems administrator demographics

Here are the differences between senior information technology administrators' and systems administrators' demographics:

	Senior Information Technology Administrator	Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8%	Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 12.0% White, 62.0% 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 senior information technology administrator and systems administrator duties and responsibilities

Senior information technology administrator example responsibilities.

Maintain accurate VOIP phone inventory to manage costs.
Manage installation of SharePoint farm OS security patches and SharePoint & SQL CUs and SP updates.
Network administration utilizing Dell/ Force10 manage switches, as well as Aruba and FortiNet wireless devices.
Manage SharePoint permissions and configuration of SharePoint accounts and sites.
Design and install the SAN environment to support the VMWare infrastructure.
Audit and enforce systems security standards for the UNIX and Linux operations environment.

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.

Senior information technology administrator vs systems administrator skills

Common senior information technology administrator skills

Linux, 7%
SAN, 6%
Unity, 4%
Windows Server, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%
Unix, 3%

Common systems administrator skills

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

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Senior Information Technology Administrator vs Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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