Storage administrator vs systems administrator

The differences between storage 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 storage administrator and a systems administrator. Additionally, a storage administrator has an average salary of $92,434, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.

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

Storage administrator vs systems administrator overview

	Storage Administrator	Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$92,434	$77,156
Hourly rate	$44.44	$37.09
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	71,753	134,500
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

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.

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.

Storage administrator vs systems administrator salary

Storage administrators and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Storage Administrator	Systems Administrator
Average salary	$92,434	$77,156
Salary range	Between $65,000 And $130,000	Between $59,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	The Citadel	Meta
Best paying industry	Health Care	Technology

Differences between storage administrator and systems administrator education

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

	Storage Administrator	Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	-	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Storage administrator vs systems administrator demographics

Here are the differences between storage administrators' and systems administrators' demographics:

	Storage Administrator	Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%	Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1%
Race ratio	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%	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 storage administrator and systems administrator duties and responsibilities

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.

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.

Storage administrator vs systems administrator skills

Common storage administrator skills

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

Common systems administrator skills

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

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Storage Administrator vs Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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