Windows system administrator vs information technology administrator

The differences between windows system administrators and information technology 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 windows system administrator and an information technology administrator. Additionally, a windows system administrator has an average salary of $79,845, which is higher than the $73,195 average annual salary of an information technology administrator.

The top three skills for a windows system administrator include windows server, infrastructure and powershell. The most important skills for an information technology administrator are customer service, troubleshoot, and linux.

Windows system administrator vs information technology administrator overview

	Windows System Administrator	Information Technology Administrator
Yearly salary	$79,845	$73,195
Hourly rate	$38.39	$35.19
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	94,648	159,499
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a windows system administrator do?

A Windows System Administrator maintains the systems and servers of a Windows operating system. They evaluate and modify the system's performance.

What does an information technology administrator do?

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.

Windows system administrator vs information technology administrator salary

Windows system administrators and information technology administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Windows System Administrator	Information Technology Administrator
Average salary	$79,845	$73,195
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $104,000	Between $50,000 And $105,000
Highest paying City	Sunnyvale, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Databricks
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between windows system administrator and information technology administrator education

There are a few differences between a windows system administrator and an information technology administrator in terms of educational background:

	Windows System Administrator	Information Technology Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Stanford University

Windows system administrator vs information technology administrator demographics

Here are the differences between windows system administrators' and information technology administrators' demographics:

	Windows System Administrator	Information Technology Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7%	Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.7% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 9.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between windows system administrator and information technology administrator duties and responsibilities

Windows system administrator example responsibilities.

Manage and configure VPN connections for the users.
Deploy and manage Panasonic PBX and VOIP phone systems and network connectivity.
Manage exchange stores, mailbox provisioning, active sync and monitoring the mailboxes.
Manage data usage, space, security and archival over servers, workstations and NAS machines.
Manage issues with server hardware, networking, web services, database, DNS, clustering, and e-mail.
Manage all OU's under domain at multiple sites across the country through a constant VPN tunnel per client rules.

Information technology administrator example responsibilities.

Define, document and project manage the implementation and configuration changes to HRIS applications.
Manage the migration from ADP to Lawson software; adapt HRIS to fit organizational needs.
Manage PC trainers and develop high quality internal instructor-le courses.
Manage host peripheral hardware including disk files and space utilization.
Manage and maintain corporate telecommunications and LAN; recommend repairs as needed.
Manage administration for SharePoint websites including account creation or modifying existing user accounts and site settings.

Windows system administrator vs information technology administrator skills

Common windows system administrator skills

Windows Server, 9%
Infrastructure, 7%
PowerShell, 7%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Linux, 5%
SCCM, 4%

Common information technology administrator skills

Customer Service, 10%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Linux, 5%
Database, 4%
VMware, 4%
Windows Server, 4%

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Windows System Administrator
Windows System Administrator vs Information Technology Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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