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The differences between switch engineers 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 switch engineer and a systems administrator. Additionally, a switch engineer has an average salary of $103,588, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.
The top three skills for a switch engineer include switches, MSC and software upgrades. The most important skills for a systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.
| Switch Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $103,588 | $77,156 |
| Hourly rate | $49.80 | $37.09 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 33,099 | 134,500 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Switch engineers and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Switch Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Average salary | $103,588 | $77,156 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $139,000 | Between $59,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | Concord, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | NetApp | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a switch engineer and a systems administrator in terms of educational background:
| Switch Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between switch engineers' and systems administrators' demographics:
| Switch Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0% | Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 11.0% White, 61.9% 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% |