No more hiding in the server room

SysAdmin vs. Network Admin

Here's something that's always kind of been a curiosity of mine in the industry when it comes to people's opinions on titles and roles within the IT industry.

First off, I am a Network Administrator. I've never referred to myself as a Systems Administrator because, to me, that entails a more advanced skill set than I currently possess.

In my mind, if we had to use a tier structure, Network Administrator would be Tier 3 and Systems Administrator would be Tier 4. As such, I consider it pretty high, but undeserved, flattery when one of the people online call me a SysAdmin.

While I can maintain an existing (Microsoft, let me be specific since that's important) infrastructure pretty well and can set up all the necessary physical hardware for one, I'd be struggling if I ever had to set up one 'from scratch'.

The other day I was told by a SysAdmin online that "a Network Administrator is a wanna-be SysAdmin." This same individual couldn't configure a switch or even replace a motherboard to save his life so his opinion honestly means jack squat to me but it got me wondering.

What is the take on admin titles of other administrators out there?

In my mind, whether it's true or not is unknown, I view a Network Administrator as about 60% Hardware Setup/Support, 30% Advanced End-User Troubleshooting, and 10% OS/Software level infrastructure support.

For a Systems Administrator I'd say 80% OS/Software level infrastructure support, 15% Hardware Setup/Support, 5% direct End-User Support.

I have also noticed that the biggest majority of people I talk to online who have Systems Administrator as their official title are also almost exclusively Linux administrators. That, however, is probably an entirely different discussion concerning roles/titles.

These are rough percentages and pretty much personal opinion so feel free to correct me or give me your thoughts on it.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cole Lavallee on January 14, 2011 at 8:00pm

I think 90% of roles in IT don't fit the actual job.

I had the title of Network Analyst - yet all I did was server (MS/Linux) and VMware support, as well as server hardware/storage. I never touched a switch, router, etc. while I was in that role.

I think the titles are often misleading, and that's why on your resume you should always have a detailed description of your actual duties and key accomplishments.

Just my two cents.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike Rigsby on January 14, 2011 at 8:19pm

Totally.

I guess my opinion is similar to my opinion of the whole 'Mac vs. PC' or 'Microsoft vs. Linux' battle. I personally do not feel any are "better" than the others, they're 'different tools'. Saying a Mac is better than a PC is like saying a Screwdriver is better than a Hammer.

I don't consider myself a SysAdmin so categorizing me as 'a wanna-be' simply by my title was ridiculous. I fully expect to advance to that title, but I'm not there yet by a long shot.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Matt Simmons on January 16, 2011 at 12:03am

I was the lead IT guy at an ISP, maintaining all server and network resources.

I was a Network Administrator.

I am a lead IT guy at a SaaS company, maintaining all server and network resources

I am a System Administrator.

My primary responsibility is servers, so I consider myself a server administrator (of course, sometimes I'm referred to as the network admin, but usually in the context of network-specific tasks). At the ISP, the networks were my primary concern, so that's what I considered myself.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike Rigsby on January 16, 2011 at 12:19am

It would be nice if there was a bit more consistency of job titles in the industry.

I personally would also like a nice, consistent list of skills/tasks that would fall under the different levels of titles.

Kind of a career benchmark so that I could compare skills against.

The IT equivalent to "You must be this tall to ride this ride." "You must have these skills to be considered a whatever."

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stefan Pynappels on January 16, 2011 at 8:09pm

I think this is a good idea, especially if crossover between the roles is also addressed. I work in a small medical software company, and I look after both (Linux) servers and the networks that connect them. I look after these in a variety of locations and sometimes feel more like a delivery driver than an anything Admin, but I would class myself more a Systems Admin than a Network Admin, however I am working towards a CCNA certification so that would have me with a foot in both camps, would it?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike Rigsby on January 16, 2011 at 8:39pm

I've got a spreadsheet I put together of tasks for SysAdmin, Network Admin, and Desktop Support. They're based on a list that Matt posted once I believe. Most are heavily up to interpretations. I'll see if the site here will let me upload it.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stefan Pynappels on January 16, 2011 at 8:47pm

If not Mike, I'be interested in receiving that spreadsheet by email.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike Rigsby on January 16, 2011 at 11:25pm

Not seeing a file upload option so if you use Dropbox, you can check my spreadsheet here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16932782/SysAdmin%20Gap%20Analysis.xls

That or message me your email address and I'll be happy to send it.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stefan Pynappels on January 17, 2011 at 10:37am

That is very good Mike, I'll spend a little bit more time reading through it properly later, but it will be very interesting putting in the job duties I carry out and see where I fit according to the spreadsheet.

Thanks for posting that, it was very helpful.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Graycat on January 17, 2011 at 11:13am

To my way of thinking Network Admin is primarily focused on networking side of things but probably has a good amount of cross over into servers. Whereas SysAdmins have a wider range of skills and are generally slightly higher in the tiers of things.

It would be great to have clear cut job titles but I think the IT industry is just too large to allow it. For instance, try putting together a list of all the jobs that you do (eg: DBA, Server Admin, Firewall Engineer etc) and the list will soon end up being too huge to cope with. In that case the general Network Analyst / SysAdmin etc job titles come into play. Kinda similar to the "old" MCSE titles - lots of people have the same title but areas of strength / expertise are completely different.

That said my job title is now pretty descriptive - formal version is "IT Manager" but informally it's just "Chief Geek" :-)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike Rigsby on January 17, 2011 at 4:46pm

We're pretty much in agreement there. The way I see it, Desktop Support: Tier 1-2, Network Admin: Tier 3, SysAdmin: Tier 4.

However there is definitely a lot of cross-over, especially if you're a staff IT Geek, like I am. We have 140+ Users, over 380 PCs, and an IT Staff of 3.

My boss, the IT Manager, handles Management duties and 'the lions share' of the traditional SysAdmin duties, some development work, and covers me when I'm not here.

I handle End-User Desktop level Support, Network\PC troubleshooting, Printer Installation\Support, monitoring Hyper-V servers, maintaining Active Directory plus whatever else needs to be done.

Our 3rd guy is a dedicated Developer so, while he is in our IT Department, he isn't any support for anything either myself or my boss does.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike Rigsby on January 17, 2011 at 4:05pm

Ok, I've reformatted the skills/tasks list that I gleaned from information presented by Matt Simmons and Joseph Kern (honestly can't recall which one originated the data).

All I did was put it into a spreadsheet, added some of my own, and parsed it out to what 'title' I personally felt the tasks applied to.

I added a column for myself and am using it as essentially a 'Skills Gap Analysis'. Check it out and toss out some feedback. Also let me know if there are things missing.