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The differences between senior technical system engineers and senior system 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 technical system engineer and a senior system administrator. Additionally, a senior technical system engineer has an average salary of $107,278, which is higher than the $98,146 average annual salary of a senior system administrator.
The top three skills for a senior technical system engineer include infrastructure, cloud and architecture. The most important skills for a senior system administrator are linux, windows server, and troubleshoot.
| Senior Technical System Engineer | Senior System Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $107,278 | $98,146 |
| Hourly rate | $51.58 | $47.19 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 173,061 | 100,873 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Senior Technical System Engineers manage the company's network systems and computers, including creating solutions to handle performance goals, network issues, and complex applications. They enhance the company's performance by planning and putting into practice infrastructure changes. These professionals oversee the daily operation support for network, storage, and server infrastructure. Other duties performed by Senior Technical System Engineers include building, patching, testing, and deploying complex channels and systems to meet the client's specifications and requirements. They also configure security settings for people and groups.
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.
Senior technical system engineers and senior system administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Technical System Engineer | Senior System Administrator | |
| Average salary | $107,278 | $98,146 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $139,000 | Between $75,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Mayo Clinic | Cambridge Associates |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior technical system engineer and a senior system administrator in terms of educational background:
| Senior Technical System Engineer | Senior System Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior technical system engineers' and senior system administrators' demographics:
| Senior Technical System Engineer | Senior System Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% | Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |