How To Become A Support Systems Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a support systems manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Matthew Liotine Ph.D.

The average support systems manager salary is $112,914. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 6-8 years of experience to become a support systems manager. Support systems managers with a IT Information Library Foundations Certification (ITIL) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 16% and produce 82,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a support systems manager?

Matthew Liotine Ph.D.

Clinical Professor and Director of Master of Science in Supply Chain and Operations Management, University of Illinois at Chicago

Most employers tell me that soft skills are equally, if not more important, than technical skills or domain knowledge. This translates into external/internal customer-facing skills, such as communication, team collaboration, writing, presentation, problem-solving, and being resourceful. (Many graduates overlook writing as a vital skill, but they fail to realize that in the course of their jobs, they will likely be required to write lots of memos and tons of emails.) The need to perfect these skills within the confines of a virtual world has become even more challenging and amplified with COVID. I teach in the information systems discipline, and when you view student resumes, many people look the same on paper. The soft skills will make a candidate stand out head and shoulders above the rest. That's why the candidate should pay attention to the screening interviews that they will undergo during the hiring process since employers will use these interviews to vet these skills.

ScoreSupport Systems ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $112,914

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.21%

Asian 12.70%

Black or African American 6.60%

Hispanic or Latino 9.91%

Unknown 5.19%

White 65.40%

Gender

female 24.60%

male 75.40%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a support systems manager

Explore support systems manager education requirements

Most common support systems manager degrees

Bachelor's

65.7 %

Associate

18.2 %

Master's

12.2 %

Start to develop specific support systems manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	8.92%
Support Systems	5.72%
Technical Support	4.75%
Logistics	4.09%
SQL	3.75%

Complete relevant support systems manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New support systems managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a support systems manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real support systems manager resumes.

Research support systems manager duties and responsibilities

Manage a small network of PCs for a small, family own manufacturing company.
Revise responsibilities include managing team of UNIX/Linux administrators in different locations, and the UNIX systems for the company.
Manage EDI process including translation and mapping software, idocs, vans, and EDI documents and new customer requirements.
Manage technical team responsible for system administration and maintenance of all corporate servers and workstations.

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