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Role hub · Network and Computer Systems Administrators

System Administrator: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of system administrators earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$99,130
Hourly
$47.66
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

System Administrators install, configure, and maintain an organization's local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), data communications network, operating systems, and physical and virtual servers. The median pay is $99,130 a year ($47.66 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).

Median pay
$99,130
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
314,340
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 3 of 5
medium preparation

Data Government data groups this job as Network and Computer Systems Administrators (O*NET-SOC 15-1244.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for System Administrators

SalarySystem Administrator salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →ResumeSystem Administrator resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsSystem Administrator interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

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The work

What system administrators do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Plan, coordinate, and implement network security measures to protect data, software, and hardware.
  2. Perform data backups and disaster recovery operations.
  3. Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve hardware, software, or other network and system problems, and replace defective components when necessary.
  4. Maintain and administer computer networks and related computing environments, including computer hardware, systems software, applications software, and all configurations.
  5. Configure, monitor, and maintain email applications or virus protection software.
  6. Confer with network users about solutions to existing system problems.
  7. Operate master consoles to monitor the performance of computer systems and networks and to coordinate computer network access and use.
  8. Maintain logs related to network functions, as well as maintenance and repair records.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

TroubleshootingcoreJudgment and Decision MakingcoreSystems AnalysiscoreSystems EvaluationActive ListeningComplex Problem SolvingReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingMonitoring

Knowledge areas: Computers and Electronics, Telecommunications, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Administrative.

Tools and technology

Software system administrators use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Ansible softwareExpert system softwareIn demand
  • Microsoft Active DirectoryInternet directory services softwareIn demand
  • Firewall softwareNetwork security and virtual private network VPN equipment softwareIn demand
  • Amazon DynamoDBData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormationCloud-based management softwareHot technology
  • Apache CassandraData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Apache HadoopData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Apache HiveData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Apache Subversion SVNFile versioning softwareHot technology
  • Atlassian JIRAContent workflow softwareHot technology
  • Border Gateway Protocol BGPSwitch or router softwareHot technology
  • ChefConfiguration management softwareHot technology

Also called: Network Administrator, LAN Administrator (Local Area Network Administrator), LAN Specialist (Local Area Network Specialist), Network Administrator (Network Admin), Network Analyst, Network Coordinator, Network Engineer.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. 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.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).