Senior system administrator vs storage administrator

The differences between senior system administrators and storage 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 storage administrator. Additionally, a senior system administrator has an average salary of $98,146, which is higher than the $92,434 average annual salary of a storage administrator.

The top three skills for a senior system administrator include linux, windows server and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a storage administrator are linux, switches, and NAS.

Senior system administrator vs storage administrator overview

	Senior System Administrator	Storage Administrator
Yearly salary	$98,146	$92,434
Hourly rate	$47.19	$44.44
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	100,873	71,753
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
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 storage administrator do?

A storage administrator is typically in charge of managing and storing company data, ensuring its safety and accuracy. Their responsibilities typically revolve around devising strategies for data storage, developing and installing storage systems and back-ups, identifying errors and inconsistencies, troubleshooting, and performing regular maintenance checks to ensure the efficiency and security of storage systems. Furthermore, as a storage administrator, it is essential to produce progress reports and maintain records of all transactions, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Senior system administrator vs storage administrator salary

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

	Senior System Administrator	Storage Administrator
Average salary	$98,146	$92,434
Salary range	Between $75,000 And $126,000	Between $65,000 And $130,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Cambridge Associates	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Finance	Health Care

Differences between senior system administrator and storage administrator education

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

	Senior System Administrator	Storage Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	-

Senior system administrator vs storage administrator demographics

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

	Senior System Administrator	Storage Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0%	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%
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, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 14.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between senior system administrator and storage 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.

Storage administrator example responsibilities.

Accomplish using mediums such as: FICON, SNA, ESCON, IP, FC, & ISCSI.
Manage, and deploy LUNS from EMC storage frames to multiple servers using the UNISHERE for VNX and VMAX.
Support teams which manage CentOS.
Manage and support SRDF replications between DR data centers.
Create CIFS, setting up permissions as per customer requirements and manage DFS.
Manage users and groups on a large scale in NIS and LDAP environments.

Senior system administrator vs storage administrator skills

Common senior system administrator skills

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

Common storage administrator skills

Linux, 7%
Switches, 6%
NAS, 5%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Isilon, 4%
VNX, 4%

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Senior System Administrator vs Storage Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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