Systems Administrator Salary

Before I discuss a systems administrator salary, I must first discuss what exactly a systems administrator is and what they do.  A systems administrator is a person who is in charge of maintaining and operating a computer system and it's network. These individuals can typically be found in the information technology departments or in the communication engineering departments of many companies, corporations and other businesses.  There is a lot that can go on with a job such as that of a systems administrator. These individuals have a lot of stress and responsibility on their shoulders.  The duties as well as responsibilities of a systems administrator consist of a wide range of varying actions and duties that I will discuss in this article along with the ins and outs of the is job as well as a systems administrator salary. 

Duties

As I stated earlier, there are a wide range of duties that will be expected from a systems administrator.  Those who are systems administrators should expect to become extremely familiar with analyzing system logs and identifying an potential problems or issue that may arise in a computer system or program.  Everyday these individuals will come in and go through all of the computer system logs and look for any problems that may come on. These logs will have recorded everything that has been done on the computer so that a person can audit all activity to make sure that the employees are doing what they are suppose to be doing and that all the computer programs are working properly. 

You will also find that it is the job of a systems administrator to introduce and integrate all new technological data, systems, programs and more into the company and computers. A systems administrator will teach everyone what to do and how to operate these systems. They will be in charge of making sure that the company can familiarize themselves with it and that it is implemented properly.

Another important duty that will be expected out of a systems administrator is being able to perform routine audits of all systems and software being used. They will also be expected to run all backups on computers, ensuring that all information is safe and secure.  A systems administrator will become an expert at applying new operating systems, updates, configuration changes as well as patches to all systems, formatting issues and much more.  They will install any new hardware and software to all computer systems.  It is the system administrators duty to ensure that all systems are up to date with the highest form of software and hardware, so that everything can run smoothly and properly.  Being able to answer any technical questions will be required as well, as the systems administrator will be looked at as the "go to" person for computer questions. Being able to help customers as well as employees with adding, removing, updating user accounts, resetting passwords and other mundane problems like this will also be a requirement for a systems administrator to deal with.  They will also be responsible for all security systems on the companies network, which can be a big responsibility.  The systems administrator is the one, essentially, in charge of making sure the company's information is safe, secure and cannot be broken into or tampered with. 

Skills

As you can see, a systems administrator must be extremely computer literate to be able to be accomplished in this job.  They must be able to know all the ins and outs of computers, their systems and be able to coach and teach individuals how to use computers and maneuver around them.  A systems administrator must be extremely knowledgeable about computer operating systems, applications, hardware, software, security, troubleshooting steps as well as the organization and mechanics of how a computer works.  A systems administrator essentially must know all of the ins and outs of a computer and how it works. 

One of the most important skills for a system administrator to know is how to help people with any problem solving issues.  They must be able to help employees as well as customers to understand what they are doing and how to do it.  This can become really annoying for some people, because truthfully, there are a lot of people out there who are stupid. You will find that many systems administrators will have to spend large parts of their day walking people through how to simply get online, how to get to a web page, set up their information and other things of that nature. For individuals who are so computer savvy already, this can become quite annoying.   

Another major skill or duty required of a systems administrator is that they will be in charge of configuring new software, picking out the proper hardware and security that the company will be using. They will be in charge of making sure that everything is running properly and working out.  This can be a huge responsibility, but this is why those who are systems administrators will find that they are making the money that they are making.

Systems Administrator Salary

As you can see, a systems administrator is in charge of some of the most important aspects of ensuring that a company can be safe, secure and ran efficiently. A systems administrator salary can be anywhere between seventy to one hundred and twenty thousand a year. Depending on how long a systems administrator has been in the business, the experience he or she has as well as the company they work for, will ultimately depend on how much they will be making.

The job outlook for systems administrators is extremely bright and wide open. This job can take you anywhere you want to go in the country or outside of the country. With computer systems and technology taking off the way it is, you will find that there are more and more company looking to employee systems administrators.  You will also find that if you want to work for yourself, that is also a possibility. There are many self employed systems administrators that will travel all over the country and the world, helping companies to set up their systems and ensure that everything is working properly.