Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between systems support administrators and systems support engineers 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 systems support engineer. Additionally, a systems support administrator has an average salary of $86,448, which is higher than the $82,561 average annual salary of a systems support engineer.
The top three skills for a systems support administrator include troubleshoot, linux and SQL. The most important skills for a systems support engineer are linux, troubleshoot, and technical support.
| Systems Support Administrator | Systems Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $86,448 | $82,561 |
| Hourly rate | $41.56 | $39.69 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 192,994 | 182,434 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| 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.
Systems support engineers are information technology professionals who are responsible for building and maintaining the IT infrastructure of an organization. They are required to provide network administration and technical support to identify complex problem issues and come up with solutions to solve them. They must assist the system support engineers in accomplishing any projects they are working with. They must troubleshoot servers, personal computers, and peripheral equipment while liaising with their customers. They must also create and maintain user accounts and implement group policy management through an active directory.
Systems support administrators and systems support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Systems Support Administrator | Systems Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $86,448 | $82,561 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $110,000 | Between $62,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | Novato, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Deft | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between a systems support administrator and a systems support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Systems Support Administrator | Systems Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between systems support administrators' and systems support engineers' demographics:
| Systems Support Administrator | Systems Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.3% Female, 20.7% | Male, 89.5% Female, 10.5% |
| 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, 8.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 11.5% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |