Network Engineer vs System Administrator: pay, outlook, education and work, side by side.
Every row comes from one named source and says which career leads on that one dimension. There is no overall score.
Network Engineer vs System Administrator: BLS classifies them as different occupations (SOC 15-1241 and 15-1244). The national median annual wage is $134,050 for network engineers and $99,130 for system administrators (BLS, May 2025). BLS projects national employment to change +7.7% for network engineers and -4.1% for system administrators from 2025 to 2035. Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree vs Bachelor's degree. Which fits better depends on what you value; the table shows who leads on each dimension, with no overall winner.
Side by side
Data Differences smaller than a stated threshold read “About the same” (pay 5%, growth 2 points, openings 10%, one education level, ORS 10 points, O*NET 0.2).
Pick what matters to you; the matching rows are highlighted. Nothing is combined into a score.
| Dimension · source | Network EngineerSOC 15-1241 | System AdministratorSOC 15-1244 | Leads on this dimension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual wageBLS OEWS, May 2025 (national) | $134,050 | $99,130 | Network Engineer |
| EmploymentBLS OEWS, May 2025 | 179,740 | 314,340 | Not ranked |
| Projected employment change, 2025–35BLS Employment Projections (national) | +7.7% | -4.1% | Network Engineer |
| Projected numeric change in jobs, 2025–35BLS Employment Projections (national) · A count, not a rate: it scales with the size of the occupation. | +14,100 jobs | -13,200 jobs | Not ranked |
| Projected openings (annual average)BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35 | 9,600 a year | 13,400 a year | System Administrator |
| Typical entry-level educationBLS Employment Projections · typical, not a legal requirement | Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree | About the same |
| Typical work experience in a related occupationBLS Employment Projections | 5 years or more | None | System Administrator |
| Typical on-the-job trainingBLS Employment Projections | None | None | Not ranked |
| Pressure level (O*NET, 1–5; lower = less)O*NET® 31.0 work context | 3.01 | 2.99 | About the same |
| Social-contact level (O*NET, 1–5)O*NET® 31.0 work context · not ranked: neither direction is better | 3.71 | 3.66 | Not ranked |
| Freedom to make decisions (O*NET, 1–5)O*NET® 31.0 work context | 3.75 | 3.93 | About the same |
| Work styles O*NET rates most importantO*NET® 31.0 work styles (occupation ratings, not a personality test) | Attention to Detail, Dependability, Intellectual Curiosity | Attention to Detail, Dependability, Cautiousness | Not ranked |
Choose based on what matters to you
Data Each line restates a measured difference from the table; nothing here predicts how you will feel about a job.
- higher median pay matters most ($134,050 vs $99,130)
- faster projected national growth matters (+7.7% vs -4.1%)
- starting without related work experience matters (None vs 5 years or more)
Which skills each one leans on
Data O*NET 31.0 skill ratings: level (0–7) and importance.
Skill-profile match: 84% (similarity of the two O*NET skill profiles, importance × level; 100% = identical).
- Management of Financial Resources (+1.2 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Mathematics (+0.8 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Coordination (+0.6 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Technology Design (+0.4 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Equipment Maintenance (+1.6 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Repairing (+1.2 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Installation (+1.1 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Operation and Control (+1.0 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
What each career involves
Data Core tasks from O*NET 31.0.
Network Engineer
- Develop disaster recovery plans.
- Develop or recommend network security measures, such as firewalls, network security audits, or automated security probes.
- Develop and implement solutions for network problems.
- Maintain networks by performing activities such as file addition, deletion, or backup.
System Administrator
- Plan, coordinate, and implement network security measures to protect data, software, and hardware.
- Perform data backups and disaster recovery operations.
- Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve hardware, software, or other network and system problems, and replace defective components when necessary.
- Maintain and administer computer networks and related computing environments, including computer hardware, systems software, applications software, and all configurations.
Largest employing industries
Data Share of all jobs in each occupation, BLS Employment Matrix 2025.
Network Engineer
- Professional, scientific, and technical services (35.5% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Telecommunications (9.0% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Management of companies and enterprises (8.6% of all jobs in this occupation)
System Administrator
- Professional, scientific, and technical services (25.0% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Educational services; state, local, and private (13.3% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals (8.5% of all jobs in this occupation)
Moving between these careers
Data The comparison shows which; the career-change guides show how.
- Network Engineer → System Administrator: skills to build: Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Installation.
- System Administrator → Network Engineer: skills to build: Management of Financial Resources, Mathematics, Coordination.
Go deeper
Network Engineer career hub · Network Engineer salary · Network Engineer how to become · System Administrator career hub · System Administrator salary
Common questions
Which pays more, Network Engineer or System Administrator?
Which is growing faster?
Which is better?
How this page is built
BLS classifies them as different occupations (SOC 15-1241 and 15-1244). Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025 national median for each occupation's SOC code. Outlook: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 (growth, numeric change and annual openings are separate metrics). Requirements rows: 2025 preliminary BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, shown only when both roles have detailed-occupation estimates. Work environment: O*NET 31.0 work context. This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. TryHired has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Searches this page answers include “network engineer vs network administrator”, “network engineer vs system administrator”, “network engineer vs network administrator salary” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Any one employer's pay, schedule or culture.
- Job security, ease of hiring or work-life balance: these are not measured here.
- Which career you will prefer: the rows describe the occupations, not you.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, 2025–35 national projections (growth, openings, typical entry-level education and experience).
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 estimates (preliminary: two of the third wave's samples, collected August 2023 to July 2025; released January 16, 2026), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (all jobs, including self-employed).