Systems director vs information technology director

The differences between systems directors and information technology directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a systems director and an information technology director. Additionally, an information technology director has an average salary of $138,906, which is higher than the $136,676 average annual salary of a systems director.

The top three skills for a systems director include patients, oversight and health system. The most important skills for an information technology director are customer service, project management, and cloud.

Systems director vs information technology director overview

	Systems Director	Information Technology Director
Yearly salary	$136,676	$138,906
Hourly rate	$65.71	$66.78
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	83,992	87,765
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	8	8

What does a systems director do?

A systems director is in charge of spearheading the implementation and development of systems and networks within a company, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities revolve around setting goals and objectives, allocating budgets, identifying company needs, and developing strategies to optimize operations. They may also manage the workforce and resolve any issues as needed. Furthermore, as a systems director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workers to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed.

What does an information technology director do?

An information technology (IT) Director is an individual responsible for the management, strategy, and execution of an organization's IT infrastructure. He/She supervises a team of workers while working with the organization's management and external vendors and advisors. Aside from managing workers, an IT director should possess problem-solving skills and an aptitude for organizational thinking. An IT director must also identify new market opportunities and should lead an effort to improve the organization's IT process.

Systems director vs information technology director salary

Systems directors and information technology directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Systems Director	Information Technology Director
Average salary	$136,676	$138,906
Salary range	Between $98,000 And $189,000	Between $97,000 And $197,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Holland & Knight	The Tipping Point
Best paying industry	Media	Technology

Differences between systems director and information technology director education

There are a few differences between a systems director and an information technology director in terms of educational background:

	Systems Director	Information Technology Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Carnegie Mellon University

Systems director vs information technology director demographics

Here are the differences between systems directors' and information technology directors' demographics:

	Systems Director	Information Technology Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 72.3% Female, 27.7%	Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between systems director and information technology director duties and responsibilities

Systems director example 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.
Ensure availability by installing SAN arrays replicating in real time.
Integrate multiple CRM applications into a single platform for access worldwide.

Information technology director example responsibilities.

Lead the implementation of the ServiceNow ITSM solution.
Work with customers and internal management to create and manage acceptable SLA standards and measurements.
Manage the migration of email system for 400 plus users from Novell GroupWise to Google Gmail.
Manage the QA department and oversee the support of all storage for the company and its outsource customers.
Perform resource planning for a portfolio of projects via prioritizing the demand queue and successfully managing business relationships.
Lead the prototyping of a Microsoft SharePoint implementation that customize the look & feel to support the organizational requirements.

Systems director vs information technology director skills

Common systems director skills

Patients, 10%
Oversight, 8%
Health System, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
Project Management, 6%
Process Improvement, 4%

Common information technology director skills

Customer Service, 10%
Project Management, 7%
Cloud, 6%
Network Infrastructure, 6%
Disaster Recovery, 3%
Windows Server, 3%

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Systems Director
Systems Director vs Information Technology Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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