Unix systems administrator vs senior unix systems administrator

The differences between unix systems administrators and senior unix 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 unix systems administrator and a senior unix systems administrator. Additionally, a senior unix systems administrator has an average salary of $116,752, which is higher than the $87,936 average annual salary of a unix systems administrator.

The top three skills for a unix systems administrator include production servers, solaris and database. The most important skills for a senior unix systems administrator are production servers, solaris, and troubleshoot.

Unix systems administrator vs senior unix systems administrator overview

	Unix Systems Administrator	Senior Unix Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$87,936	$116,752
Hourly rate	$42.28	$56.13
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	110,185	107,049
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Unix systems administrator vs senior unix systems administrator salary

Unix systems administrators and senior unix systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Unix Systems Administrator	Senior Unix Systems Administrator
Average salary	$87,936	$116,752
Salary range	Between $64,000 And $119,000	Between $90,000 And $150,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Bothell, WA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	PayPal	PayPal
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between unix systems administrator and senior unix systems administrator education

There are a few differences between a unix systems administrator and a senior unix systems administrator in terms of educational background:

	Unix Systems Administrator	Senior Unix Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Unix systems administrator vs senior unix systems administrator demographics

Here are the differences between unix systems administrators' and senior unix systems administrators' demographics:

	Unix Systems Administrator	Senior Unix Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8%	Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.8% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.9% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between unix systems administrator and senior unix systems administrator duties and responsibilities

Unix systems administrator example responsibilities.

Manage LUN assignments from Shark/Hitachi SAN through the fiber switches.
Manage system kernel settings to boost performance base on root cause analysis for performance issues.
Manage and maintain local area network (TCP/IP), consisting of 2 NCR 3430 servers and 130+ client workstations.
Help automate server and storage provisioning.
Manage resources for zones using Solaris 10container technology.
Manage AWS services and provide redundancy for internal corporate systems.

Senior unix systems administrator example responsibilities.

Install and manage DB2 servers on AIX.
Manage user accounts and groups on a large scale in LDAP and NIS environments.
Write shell, Perl, python, ruby scripts to automate daily repetitive activities.
Create and maintain shell and PERL scripts to automate and monitor within the UNIX environment.
Manage hardware replacements such as disks, modules, shelves on NetApp and BlueArc storage.
Team's lead change management process coordinator - manage changes, resources, and schedules during change windows.

Unix systems administrator vs senior unix systems administrator skills

Common unix systems administrator skills

Production Servers, 8%
Solaris, 5%
Database, 4%
SAN, 4%
System Administration, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%

Common senior unix systems administrator skills

Production Servers, 8%
Solaris, 6%
Troubleshoot, 5%
VMware, 4%
OS, 4%
Windows, 4%

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Unix Systems Administrator vs Senior Unix Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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