Updated December 2024
You might not guess this from looking at job postings, but network administration and systems administration are separate specialties within IT.
It gets confusing because the two functions are closely related and are often combined, especially in smaller organizations. The job title alone isn’t enough to go on; you need to read the description carefully to understand exactly what’s involved.
So what is the difference between a network and systems administrator?
The short answer is that a network administrator manages the actual network, while a systems administrator maintains the systems on the network (servers, desktop/laptop computers, and applications).
The two roles do share some similarities, however.
In this post, we explain how network administrators and systems administrators compare in terms of job tasks, skills, salaries, and training paths.
Here’s what you need to know.