Service desk analyst vs systems administrator

The differences between service desk analysts and systems administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a systems administrator has an average salary of $77,156, which is higher than the $45,397 average annual salary of a service desk analyst.

The top three skills for a service desk analyst include service desk, customer service and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.

Service desk analyst vs systems administrator overview

	Service Desk Analyst	Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$45,397	$77,156
Hourly rate	$21.83	$37.09
Growth rate	-	5%
Number of jobs	55,828	134,500
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	37	43
Years of experience	-	2

What does a service desk analyst do?

Service Desk Analysts are information technology (IT) employees who usually oversee the helpdesk hotline of the IT department. They address the technical concerns of other employees or even clients of the company. They also help in installing, repairing, and maintaining the different IT systems in the company. Service Desk Analysts resolve issues related to software, hardware, and other related systems. They also manage information related to these concerns and analyze these concerns. They identify trends or patterns and anticipate concerns that might come in the future. Service Desk Analysts may recommend steps to ensure that these concerns will not come up again.

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.

Service desk analyst vs systems administrator salary

Service desk analysts and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Service Desk Analyst	Systems Administrator
Average salary	$45,397	$77,156
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $67,000	Between $59,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	The Citadel	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between service desk analyst and systems administrator education

There are a few differences between a service desk analyst and a systems administrator in terms of educational background:

	Service Desk Analyst	Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Information Technology	Computer Science
Most common college	-	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Service desk analyst vs systems administrator demographics

Here are the differences between service desk analysts' and systems administrators' demographics:

	Service Desk Analyst	Systems Administrator
Average age	37	43
Gender ratio	Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6%	Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 12.3% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%	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	13%	9%

Differences between service desk analyst and systems administrator duties and responsibilities

Service desk analyst example responsibilities.

Used SharePoint to manage and enter in help desk ticket information for health information exchange and electronic health record vendor issues.
Design and manage company wide imaging infrastructure.
Best-Inform administrator managing application from UNIX server.
Manage OS re-imaging and data recovery for rent equipment.
Manage security, reliability, and configurations for data backup and recovery for client workstations.
Diagnose, investigate and report operational systems errors using Citrix and ITSM.

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.

Service desk analyst vs systems administrator skills

Common service desk analyst skills

Service Desk, 15%
Customer Service, 15%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Technical Support, 6%
Phone Calls, 3%
ITIL, 3%

Common systems administrator skills

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

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Service Desk Analyst
Service Desk Analyst vs Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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