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

What is a systems director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A systems director contributes to growth in companies of all sizes and a wide range of industries. They are typically involved in managing an organization's information technology (IT) activities, ensuring stability and smooth operation.

They are responsible for maintaining the accessibility, functionality, and security of all computer resources. This typically includes any data storage infrastructure, networking equipment, web applications, and computer hardware, though every organization has different needs. Moreover, they assess an organization's technology needs and make upgrade recommendations among other responsibilities. Other qualifications include at least a bachelor's degree in computer science or a similar field; although, a master's degree is more preferable. In addition, work experience of over five years is also desirable.

The job compensates generously for the responsibilities. The average hourly salary is $69.48, which amounts to $144,527 annually. The career is expected to see growth in the near future and create new opportunities across the United States.

ScoreSystems DirectorUS Average

Salary

8.6

Avg. Salary $136,676

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 12.75%

Black or African American 6.50%

Hispanic or Latino 9.76%

Unknown 5.18%

White 65.60%

Gender

female 27.71%

male 72.29%

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 systems director

Explore systems director education requirements

Most common systems director degrees

Bachelor's

67.2 %

Master's

17.7 %

Associate

9.3 %

Start to develop specific systems director skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	10.09%
Oversight	7.86%
Health System	7.21%
Patient Care	6.24%
Project Management	6.02%

Complete relevant systems director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New systems directors 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 systems director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real systems director resumes.

Research systems director duties and responsibilities

Manage installation and administration of HP-UX, AIX, Unix, and Linux servers.
Implement and manage a VoIP phone system to streamline communications between branch locations and reduce operating costs by $60k.
Manage budgets associate with payroll, equipment and other costs associate with examinations.
Lead projects with responsibilities for the architecture, implementation and administration of data warehouse and repository technical environments.

Get systems director experience

Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a systems director. The most common roles before becoming a systems director include director, manager team lead and project manager.

Prepare your systems director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your systems director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a systems director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable systems director resume templates

Build a professional systems director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your systems director resume.