- Feb 18, 2005
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I really didn't see anywhere else to put this as there is no forum for business professionals, so I figured I would start here. An idle conversation at work led to a question of overall job responsibility between two titles, System Administrator and Network Administrator.
From what I loosely understand the roles can be defined in the following way:
System Administrator: responsible for managing an organization's computer and operating systems. System administrators, or sys admins, normally manage and maintain several large-scale operating systems, such as UNIX and Microsoft Windows 2000, and are responsible for making sure that those operating systems work together, support end-users' business requirements, and function properly. Sys admins are also responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of an organization's operating systems, including backup and recovery, adding and deleting user accounts, and performing software upgrades. Sys admins sometime hold technical certifications like Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer or Sun Solaris Certifed Engineer.
Network Administrator: responsible for managing and maintaining an organization's Local Area Network (LAN). Network administrators normally focus on making sure an organization's LAN is tuned for optimum performance, delivering required information to end-users, and interacting properly with Wide Area Networks (WANs) like the Internet. Network administrators must be proficient with a wide variety of software and hardware, and normally hold specialized technical certifications like Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Certified NetWare Engineer, and Cisco Certified Networking Associate.
To me, it seems like these responsibilities commonly overlap and, in general, are extremely hard to determine. From personal experience Network Administration tended to be one of two things; either a broad I do all IT work including network and sys admin, or purely network hardware.
On the flipside, the same can sort of be said about a Sys Admin. They tend to have access to everything including network, and are in essence the same overall role - dual.
Ultimately the difference is determined by pay scale, so my question is this: Which pays more, and why?
From what I loosely understand the roles can be defined in the following way:
System Administrator: responsible for managing an organization's computer and operating systems. System administrators, or sys admins, normally manage and maintain several large-scale operating systems, such as UNIX and Microsoft Windows 2000, and are responsible for making sure that those operating systems work together, support end-users' business requirements, and function properly. Sys admins are also responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of an organization's operating systems, including backup and recovery, adding and deleting user accounts, and performing software upgrades. Sys admins sometime hold technical certifications like Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer or Sun Solaris Certifed Engineer.
Network Administrator: responsible for managing and maintaining an organization's Local Area Network (LAN). Network administrators normally focus on making sure an organization's LAN is tuned for optimum performance, delivering required information to end-users, and interacting properly with Wide Area Networks (WANs) like the Internet. Network administrators must be proficient with a wide variety of software and hardware, and normally hold specialized technical certifications like Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Certified NetWare Engineer, and Cisco Certified Networking Associate.
To me, it seems like these responsibilities commonly overlap and, in general, are extremely hard to determine. From personal experience Network Administration tended to be one of two things; either a broad I do all IT work including network and sys admin, or purely network hardware.
On the flipside, the same can sort of be said about a Sys Admin. They tend to have access to everything including network, and are in essence the same overall role - dual.
Ultimately the difference is determined by pay scale, so my question is this: Which pays more, and why?
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