Senior system administrator vs lead administrator

The differences between senior system administrators and lead 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 system administrator and a lead administrator. Additionally, a senior system administrator has an average salary of $98,146, which is higher than the $94,444 average annual salary of a lead administrator.

The top three skills for a senior system administrator include linux, windows server and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a lead administrator are payroll, office equipment, and expense reports.

Senior system administrator vs lead administrator overview

	Senior System Administrator	Lead Administrator
Yearly salary	$98,146	$94,444
Hourly rate	$47.19	$45.41
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	100,873	57,229
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

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.

What does a lead administrator do?

Lead administrators are information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for managing and troubleshooting departmental computer operations of an organization. These IT professionals must manage and approve access to their online score data as well as create new users directly in the portal to allow access to the score data. They manage the office supplies of the organization while processing salary management and executive payroll every month. Lead administrators must also coordinate with technicians for hardware, printer, and cabling repairs.

Senior system administrator vs lead administrator salary

Senior system administrators and lead administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior System Administrator	Lead Administrator
Average salary	$98,146	$94,444
Salary range	Between $75,000 And $126,000	Between $63,000 And $141,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	California	Oregon
Best paying company	Cambridge Associates	Koch Industries
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between senior system administrator and lead administrator education

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

	Senior System Administrator	Lead Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Computer Science	Business
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Stanford University

Senior system administrator vs lead administrator demographics

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

	Senior System Administrator	Lead Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0%	Male, 37.2% Female, 62.8%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.5% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between senior system administrator and lead administrator duties and responsibilities

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.

Lead administrator example responsibilities.

Manage and coordinate office operations and procedures to include payroll preparation, information management/filing systems, and supply requisitions.
Support and troubleshoot all claims questions and provide assistance with more advance issues.
Provide initiatives and suggestions for performance tuning of applications, script auto deployment plans, troubleshoot complex production issues.
Create and implement migration plans to new SharePoint environments.
Provide application training for company's custom provisioning application.
Implement SSO configuration and user provisioning on IDM environments.

Senior system administrator vs lead administrator skills

Common senior system administrator skills

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

Common lead administrator skills

Payroll, 10%
Office Equipment, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Windows, 6%
Data Entry, 5%
PowerPoint, 5%

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Senior System Administrator vs Lead Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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