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.
Systems support administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real systems support administrator resumes:
- 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.
- Maintain file and print, DHCP, DNS server and RAS servers for remote users and remote administration.
- Enable the engineering lab to successfully support customers by rapidly deploying test environments using VMware, IBM and Cisco products.
- Create domain and child domain, additional domain controller for an existing domain, configure clients to use DNS server.
- Control departmental cameras, projectors and conference phones through SharePoint.
- Identify, troubleshoot and report application program problems and justify enhancements for any deposit system application.
- Research and recommend purchase of software and hardware, including SonicWall firewall and update enterprise backup software.
- Key contributor in growing the organization from stand-alone PCs to a technologically up-to-date and secure WAN/LAN capability.
- Prepare and update technical resolution documentation for current and resolve issues and creatingupdating remedy on the known issues.
- Start troubleshoot immediately and involve circuit providers and network engineers when require to resolve issues within acceptable downtime limit.
Systems support administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Systems Support Administrators are proficient in Troubleshoot, Linux, and SQL. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Systems Support Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Troubleshoot, 7%
Started troubleshoot immediately and involved circuit providers and network engineers when required to resolve issues within acceptable downtime limit.
- Linux, 6%
Performed all system maintenance, user management/training & hardware/software trouble-shooting for a 96-node Linux cluster, serving multiple departments and disciplines.
- SQL, 6%
Migrated this application from windows 2000 to windows 2008r2 using SQL server on Windows 2008r2 in a Virtual environment.
- Customer Service, 6%
Provided world class customer service, troubleshooting assistance, and video conferencing support catered towards executives.
- Database, 5%
Planned and executed the upgrade and boot migration of business critical high-availability database servers.
- OS, 4%
Maintained K4 publishing system (v5.8 clients and servers) with regular K4 and Mac OS upgrades with no downtime.
Common skills that a systems support administrator uses to do their job include "troubleshoot," "linux," and "sql." You can find details on the most important systems support administrator responsibilities below.
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for systems support administrator responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of systems support administrators all the time, as "administrators must quickly resolve problems that arise with computer networks." An excerpt from a real systems support administrator resume shows how this skill is central to what a systems support administrator does: "developed linux based solutions to address technology needs such as setting up a web based classes. "
Analytical skills. Lastly, "analytical skills" is an important element of what a systems support administrator does. Systems support administrator responsibilities require this skill because "administrators need to evaluate networks and systems to make sure that they perform reliably and to anticipate new requirements as customers’ needs change." This resume example highlights how systems support administrator duties rely on this skill: "participated kickstart linux workstations and datacenter racked servers. "
The three companies that hire the most systems support administrators are:
- Peraton4 systems support administrators jobs
- MAG Aerospace
4 systems support administrators jobs
- Jacobs Engineering Group
3 systems support administrators jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable systems support administrator resume templates
Build a professional systems support administrator resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your systems support administrator resume.
Compare different systems support administrators
Systems support administrator vs. Administrative technical support
Administrative technical support maintains every technical set-up used in a company. Their primary responsibility is to inspect a company's systems, evaluate for issues, and repair any problems immediately. Administrative technical support is typically on call at the start of the day and, when they are not responding to calls, they conduct regular check-ups on all company systems. They are also responsible for creating technical reports and offering recommendations for improvements.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a systems support administrator are more likely to require skills like "sql," "database," "os," and "dod." On the other hand, a job as an administrative technical support requires skills like "phone calls," "data entry," "desk support," and "email accounts." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Administrative technical supports tend to reach similar levels of education than systems support administrators. In fact, administrative technical supports are 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Systems support administrator vs. Information technology administrator
An Information Technology (IT) administrator is an individual responsible for managing the day-to-day operation of an organization's IT systems and ensuring that the systems are running effectively. IT administrators must conduct consistent analyses of the computer system and install updates when needed. They are required to assess the organization's security programs and run the system for viruses and spyware. IT administrators also extend support to the organization's end-users and train them on desktop applications.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real systems support administrator resumes. While systems support administrator responsibilities can utilize skills like "sql," "dod," "little supervision," and "ssl," information technology administrators use skills like "disaster recovery," "sql server," "system administration," and "excellent interpersonal."
Information technology administrators earn a lower average salary than systems support administrators. But information technology administrators earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $93,678. Additionally, systems support administrators earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $82,360 annually.In general, information technology administrators achieve similar levels of education than systems support administrators. They're 0.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for systems support administrators in the next 3-5 years?
Ming Chow
Associate Teaching Professor, Tufts University
References:
1. cybersecurity
2. cybersecurity
Systems support administrator vs. Help desk administrator
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.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, systems support administrators are more likely to have skills like "database," "little supervision," "switches," and "san." But a help desk administrator is more likely to have skills like "desk support," "phone calls," "network printers," and "email accounts."
Help desk administrators earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $56,503. Comparatively, systems support administrators have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $82,360.help desk administrators typically earn similar educational levels compared to systems support administrators. Specifically, they're 3.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Systems support administrator vs. Unix administrator
Types of systems support administrator
Updated January 8, 2025
