Wide area network administrator vs security administrator

The differences between wide area network administrators and security 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 wide area network administrator and a security administrator. Additionally, a security administrator has an average salary of $79,564, which is higher than the $61,805 average annual salary of a wide area network administrator.

The top three skills for a wide area network administrator include switches, PC and tcp ip. The most important skills for a security administrator are customer service, troubleshoot, and security procedures.

Wide area network administrator vs security administrator overview

	Wide Area Network Administrator	Security Administrator
Yearly salary	$61,805	$79,564
Hourly rate	$29.71	$38.25
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	83,700	99,222
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Wide area network administrator vs security administrator salary

Wide area network administrators and security administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Wide Area Network Administrator	Security Administrator
Average salary	$61,805	$79,564
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $90,000	Between $54,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Gap Inc.
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between wide area network administrator and security administrator education

There are a few differences between a wide area network administrator and a security administrator in terms of educational background:

	Wide Area Network Administrator	Security Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Bakersfield

Wide area network administrator vs security administrator demographics

Here are the differences between wide area network administrators' and security administrators' demographics:

	Wide Area Network Administrator	Security Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 89.5% Female, 10.5%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 9.6% White, 70.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 8.7% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between wide area network administrator and security administrator duties and responsibilities

Wide area network administrator example responsibilities.

Manage and support corporate Linux Production/Development servers.
Coordinate marketing brainstorming meetings, prepare minutes, manage project follow-up, and create summary PowerPoint presentations.
Maintain and update Novell, Microsoft, and Linux servers.
Create a macro driven pc base budget preparation system.
Administer and install Cisco switches, routers, firewalls and VPNs.
Participate in projects requiring installation, configuration and support for network routers and switches, firewalls and effective application load balancing.

Security administrator example responsibilities.

Manage updates and creation of intranet file.
Create, manage, and maintain corporate LAN.
Manage and monitor various tools and reporting tools relating to security and encryption.
Manage all network objects: computers, users, TCP/IP resources, printers, copier.
Manage staff to implement JCL procedure modifications.
Utilize PowerShell scripts to automate system administrative tasks.

Wide area network administrator vs security administrator skills

Common wide area network administrator skills

Switches, 42%
PC, 31%
Tcp Ip, 28%

Common security administrator skills

Customer Service, 10%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Security Procedures, 6%
Data Entry, 5%
Security Policies, 5%
SCI, 5%

Wide Area Network Administrator vs. similar jobs

Wide Area Network Administrator related careers

Wide Area Network Administrator related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Computer and Mathematical Industry
Wide Area Network Administrator
Wide Area Network Administrator vs Security Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse computer and mathematical jobs