Computer and Mathematical · Holland code CRI

Network and Computer Systems 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. Perform system monitoring and verify the integrity and availability of hardware, network, and server resources and systems. Review system and application logs and verify completion of scheduled jobs, including system backups. Analyze network and server resource consumption and control user access. Install and upgrade software and maintain software licenses. May assist in network modeling, analysis, planning, and coordination between network and data communications hardware and software.

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

O*NET 15-1244.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $99,130; Middle half earn $78,010 to $126,640. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: -4% · Decline; 331,500 jobs in 2024, projected 317,700. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Network and computer systems administrators".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.9 / 5
Speaking3.3 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Computers and Electronics4.6 / 5
Telecommunications3.6 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.4 / 5
English Language3.4 / 5
Administration and Management3.2 / 5
Administrative3.1 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic53
Investigative51
Artistic0
Social20
Enterprising41
Conventional86

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

ICT system analyst · DE IT-Systemanalytiker/IT-Systemanalytikerin · FR analyste de système informatique
ICT system administrator · DE IT-Systemadministrator/IT-Systemadministratorin · FR administrateur de systèmes informatiques/administratrice de systèmes informatiques
ICT network administrator · DE IT-Netzwerk-Administrator/IT-Netzwerk-Administratorin · FR administrateur de réseau informatique/administratrice de réseau informatique
system configurator · DE Systemkonfigurator/Systemkonfiguratorin · FR configurateur de systèmes/configuratrice de systèmes
ICT network engineer · DE IT-Netzwerkingenieur/IT-Netzwerkingenieurin · FR ingénieur de réseaux informatiques/ingénieure de réseaux informatiques
ICT security administrator · DE IT-Sicherheitsadministrator/IT-Sicherheitsadministratorin · FR administrateur sécurité informatique/administratrice sécurité informatique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

IT network professionals (2137)33,500 employed
IT user support technicians (3132)135,000 employed
Cyber security professionals (2135)91,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “その他の情報処理・通信技術者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥339,800; Middle half earn ¥280,400 to ¥445,500 a month.
Workers in the category: 214,820; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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