Systems support administrator vs junior systems administrator

The differences between systems support administrators and junior 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 systems support administrator and a junior systems administrator. Additionally, a systems support administrator has an average salary of $86,448, which is higher than the $62,225 average annual salary of a junior systems administrator.

The top three skills for a systems support administrator include troubleshoot, linux and SQL. The most important skills for a junior systems administrator are windows server, troubleshoot, and technical support.

Systems support administrator vs junior systems administrator overview

	Systems Support Administrator	Junior Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$86,448	$62,225
Hourly rate	$41.56	$29.92
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	192,994	154,134
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a systems support administrator do?

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.

What does a junior systems administrator do?

A junior systems administrator is primarily responsible for handling and maintaining systems for users while under the supervision of a more experienced systems administrator. Their responsibilities often revolve around assisting senior administrators, troubleshooting support, providing installations and configurations, and handling inquiries and concerns, providing them with corrective measures. Aside from support tasks, one may also have administrative duties such as producing reports and presentations, managing schedules, and maintaining accurate data of all transactions. Furthermore, it is essential to adhere to all the policies and regulations of the company.

Systems support administrator vs junior systems administrator salary

Systems support administrators and junior systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Systems Support Administrator	Junior Systems Administrator
Average salary	$86,448	$62,225
Salary range	Between $67,000 And $110,000	Between $51,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Deft	Jacobs Engineering Group
Best paying industry	Professional	Finance

Differences between systems support administrator and junior systems administrator education

There are a few differences between a systems support administrator and a junior systems administrator in terms of educational background:

	Systems Support Administrator	Junior Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Systems support administrator vs junior systems administrator demographics

Here are the differences between systems support administrators' and junior systems administrators' demographics:

	Systems Support Administrator	Junior Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 79.3% Female, 20.7%	Male, 88.4% Female, 11.6%
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, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 12.1% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between systems support administrator and junior systems administrator duties and responsibilities

Systems support administrator example responsibilities.

Manage projects such as server migrations and mass client OS migrations.
Authore and maintain shell and Perl scripts to automate administration tasks for infrastructure management.
Maintain Unix mail, news, web, and directory servers and DNS records.
Monitor SharePoint timer jobs, search crawls, and ensure all services are properly running.
Work with OS team in realizing the DR environment and test the periodic working of the DR environment.
Support the implementation of VMware hardware and operating systems solutions to provide hosting services to multiple data centers.

Junior systems administrator example responsibilities.

Manage Linux servers, running primarily CentOS.
Manage customer accounts and cases in Salesforce.
Load and manage customer provide encryption files.
Create, run and manage server back-ups monthly.
Develop PowerShell scripts to revamp and automate server build process.
Maintain and manage windows 2012 R2 in a virtual environment.

Systems support administrator vs junior systems administrator skills

Common systems support administrator skills

Troubleshoot, 7%
Linux, 6%
SQL, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Database, 5%
OS, 4%

Common junior systems administrator skills

Windows Server, 7%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Technical Support, 5%
System Administration, 5%
Switches, 5%
OS, 4%

Systems Support Administrator vs. similar jobs

Systems Support Administrator related careers

Systems Support Administrator related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Computer and Mathematical Industry
Systems Support Administrator
Systems Support Administrator vs Junior Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse computer and mathematical jobs