Windows system administrator vs unix systems administrator

The differences between windows system administrators and 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 windows system administrator and a unix systems administrator. Additionally, a unix systems administrator has an average salary of $87,936, which is higher than the $79,845 average annual salary of a windows system administrator.

The top three skills for a windows system administrator include windows server, infrastructure and powershell. The most important skills for a unix systems administrator are production servers, solaris, and database.

Windows system administrator vs unix systems administrator overview

	Windows System Administrator	Unix Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$79,845	$87,936
Hourly rate	$38.39	$42.28
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	94,648	110,185
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
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 a unix systems administrator do?

UNIX system administrators install, configure, and maintain the UNIX systems of organizations. The administrators are in charge of the troubleshooting of server errors. They install new system hardware for their respective organizations and respond to the issues raised by the users. It is part of their job to monitor the network's performance. Usually, they are working in an office using UNIX multiuser operating system. They supervise the execution of data conversion projects such as database hardware replacements.

Windows system administrator vs unix systems administrator salary

Windows system administrators and unix systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Windows System Administrator	Unix Systems Administrator
Average salary	$79,845	$87,936
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $104,000	Between $64,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	Sunnyvale, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	PayPal
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between windows system administrator and unix systems administrator education

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

	Windows System Administrator	Unix Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Windows system administrator vs unix systems administrator demographics

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

	Windows System Administrator	Unix Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7%	Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8%
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, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.8% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between windows system administrator and unix systems 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.

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.

Windows system administrator vs unix systems administrator skills

Common windows system administrator skills

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

Common unix systems administrator skills

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

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Windows System Administrator vs Unix Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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