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The differences between systems support administrators and help desk 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 systems support administrator and a help desk administrator. Additionally, a systems support administrator has an average salary of $86,448, which is higher than the $49,798 average annual salary of a help desk administrator.
The top three skills for a systems support administrator include troubleshoot, linux and SQL. The most important skills for a help desk administrator are customer service, desk support, and troubleshoot.
| Systems Support Administrator | Help Desk Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $86,448 | $49,798 |
| Hourly rate | $41.56 | $23.94 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 192,994 | 130,180 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A system administrator acquires, installs, or upgrades computer software and components. System administrators perform routine automation of the computer system. They maintain the security policies of organizations or institutions. It is their job to supervise or train their staff or provide support for different projects. They also determine the problems found in the system, analyze the issues, and do repairs whenever necessary. The skills they need include scripting languages, security and monitoring, and account access management.
Help desk administrator is responsible for handling activities related to system support for their company or organization. They are in charge of providing superb client experiences and working in resolving support issues in a professional and timely manner. One of their primary tasks includes providing login resets and passwords for end-users. In addition, they will also perform innovative systems and network repairs, as well as assist computer information responses as required. Moreover, they support complete equipment set-up, renewal, or termination of a user account, handle server, and domain account changes.
Systems support administrators and help desk administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Systems Support Administrator | Help Desk Administrator | |
| Average salary | $86,448 | $49,798 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $110,000 | Between $34,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Deft | Houlihan Lokey |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between a systems support administrator and a help desk administrator in terms of educational background:
| Systems Support Administrator | Help Desk Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between systems support administrators' and help desk administrators' demographics:
| Systems Support Administrator | Help Desk Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.3% Female, 20.7% | Male, 74.3% Female, 25.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 10.1% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 8.8% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |