Network and Computer Systems Administrators

What the job really is

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.

At a glance

• Sector: Computer & Mathematical
• O*NET-SOC code: 15-1244
• O*NET job zone: 4 — considerable preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Maintain and administer computer networks and related computing environments, including computer hardware, systems software, applications software, and all configurations.
• 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.
• Configure, monitor, and maintain email applications or virus protection software.
• Operate master consoles to monitor the performance of computer systems and networks and to coordinate computer network access and use.
• Monitor network performance to determine whether adjustments are needed and where changes will be needed in the future.
• Plan, coordinate, and implement network security measures to protect data, software, and hardware.
• Analyze equipment performance records to determine the need for repair or replacement.
• Confer with network users about solutions to existing system problems.
• Recommend changes to improve systems and network configurations, and determine hardware or software requirements related to such changes.
• Design, configure, and test computer hardware, networking software and operating system software.
• Perform routine network startup and shutdown procedures, and maintain control records.

Tools and technology

AJAX, Adobe Acrobat, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2, Amazon Redshift, Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation, Amazon Web Services AWS software, Ansible software, Apache Cassandra, Apache Hadoop, Apache Hive, Apache Kafka

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Computer Network Support Specialists
• Database Administrators
• Computer Network Architects
• Computer Systems Engineers/Architects
• Computer Systems Analysts
• Information Security Engineers
• Information Security Analysts
• Computer User Support Specialists

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 4 (considerable preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Network and Computer Systems Administrators — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.