# network administrator vs system administrator



## wiZ

hey guys just wondering what is the difference between the two? and which one would be a better job? easier?

to be a network admin i know you need to take CIS or IT as a major but what about for system admin?


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## linkin

System Admin is just for the system you are working on... network admin would be for the entire network of computers, my guess being able to access them from any location on the network...


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## geekitupsum

in the job world Network admin and System admin have different definition to everyone, esp the job poster. some jobs are titled system admin but involve heavy networking and some jobs titled Network admin have heavy server administration in them too. It just really depends on the company and who is posting the job. 

Wanna do network admin, start off with your ccent the upgrade to CCNA, then knock out wireless. Wanna start out doing system admin stuff, hit up the microsoft line of technologies. Either way you will start off at the bottom of the ladder.

as far as learning IT related stuff in College... well, from all the people that i have interviewed trying to get into IT with just College degrees, you will need a LOTTTTT more focused training and studying.


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## tlarkin

Systems Administrator varies from lots of different things.   Typically you manage all servers/clients on your network.  So thinks like server maintenance, OS Imaging, package creation and deployment, group policies, users/groups and LDAP, so on and so forth.

Network Admin is typically the person that sets up and maintains all your networking hardware.  Such as:  switches, controllers, routers, access points, and so forth.  Since networking hardware can also run services like firewalls, DHCP, DNS, and so forth, a Network Admin would take control of that aspect as well.

Then of course it really all depends on who you work for.  Job titles can be really meaningless in the IT world.  There are guys who get hired as software developers but end up doing administration because they know it and are good at it, and vice versa.  Just like some web designers code the back and and others design it visually.  

So, really it just depends on where you work and how they have it set up.  A lot of jobs just have titles with I, II, and III in them and tech support II is just a pay scale more so than it is a job title.  My position is just called TIS Tech II, but I am pretty much tech support, sys admin, amongst several other things.


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## wiZ

thank you for the responses guys!
now if i want to be a sys admin i can just major on Computer Information Systems or Information Technology right? or do i need Comp Science?

also for college do you guys recommend going to a traditional college or technical/vocational(not online btw)? many people are telling me to go to a technical school since they do a lot of hands on training but what do you guys think?


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## tlarkin

I work in IT, my degree is in Art.   My opinion is, go to school, take developer classes, IT admin classes, networking classes, web development, etc.  Find out what you like first.  Then get a major and a minor so you got something to fall back on.


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## wiZ

wiZ said:


> also for college do you guys recommend going to a traditional college or technical/vocational(not online btw)? many people are telling me to go to a technical school since they do a lot of hands on training but what do you guys think?



??


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## JlCollins005

to me around here, the ITT Tech school teaches the same damn thing the community college i go to does, im goin to MCC which is a community college around here for Network Admin, and i have a buddy who is going to ITT tech and he is learning the same thing i am but paying like triple the amount i am


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## tlarkin

Go to a real college, not a trade school.  Get a real degree, or hell get a non IT degree and an IT minor.  IT it is all about what you can produce and your experience, because your bosses want results.  If your email server crashes, your CEO wants his email on his blackberry all the time.  It doesn't matter if you have a degree or not, because if you cannot get that email server back up you may be looking for a new job really soon.

However, like I already stated, there are many different fields in IT.  All the way from help desk, to server admin, to network admin, to software developer, to web developer, to project management, and so on and so forth.

Find your niche and then go with it.


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## ROFLcopter

Tbh you just need to pick a course that teaches a little bit about everything. In nearly office i've been to(Intern and Co-op + my job) the people you help will expect you to know everything about everything that has a chip. My current job the title is "Software Support" meaning I help solve problems over the phone. This is an understatement because I also have to support: The equipment they use, the equipment we use, general computer repair in the shop as well as a little bit of server management. In my experience being a "Jack of All Trades" is better than a specialist. You can specialize in something but you have a low chance of landing that job because there's such a small market for it.


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## tlarkin

ROFLcopter said:


> Tbh you just need to pick a course that teaches a little bit about everything. In nearly office i've been to(Intern and Co-op + my job) the people you help will expect you to know everything about everything that has a chip. My current job the title is "Software Support" meaning I help solve problems over the phone. This is an understatement because I also have to support: The equipment they use, the equipment we use, general computer repair in the shop as well as a little bit of server management. In my experience being a "Jack of All Trades" is better than a specialist. You can specialize in something but you have a low chance of landing that job because there's such a small market for it.



jack of all trades is great to get your foot in the door, but like I have said numerous times, if your CEO cannot email and you cannot get the email server up and running, you will be finding a new job soon.

I agree with part of what you say.  Have a strong base, then specialize.


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## ROFLcopter

tlarkin said:


> jack of all trades is great to get your foot in the door, but like I have said numerous times, if your CEO cannot email and you cannot get the email server up and running, you will be finding a new job soon.
> 
> I agree with part of what you say.  Have a strong base, then specialize.



True but companies won't give new people full on access to servers or the task of fixing the mail server if they're fresh out of college. New people generally do low end stuff like fixing printers and doing the smaller problems in an organization. I guess it all depends what kind of company you work at as well.


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## tlarkin

ROFLcopter said:


> True but companies won't give new people full on access to servers or the task of fixing the mail server if they're fresh out of college. New people generally do low end stuff like fixing printers and doing the smaller problems in an organization. I guess it all depends what kind of company you work at as well.



Getting your foot in the door is more of willing to work help desk, willing to be a desktop jockey, and so forth.  You need to start and work your way up.  I agree with you 100%.

However, after a certain level of experience it is probably best to stick with something and go with it.


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## bengal85

They both have a lot of pros and cons. To me they are pretty much equal I would like to be either one it doesnt matter to me. I guess if I had to choose I would say that the system admin is easier because you dont have as many machines to deal with.


But like I said I would do either one


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## tlarkin

bengal85 said:


> They both have a lot of pros and cons. To me they are pretty much equal I would like to be either one it doesnt matter to me. I guess if I had to choose I would say that the system admin is easier because you dont have as many machines to deal with.
> 
> 
> But like I said I would do either one



Systems Admins have more, they manage the client machines.  In a 200 employee company, there will be a couple of 48 port switches, maybe a router or two, and that is all the network guy will deal with.  Well, plus some access points.

The Sys admin guy will deal with 200 desktops, some laptops, several servers.


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## mtb211

Im an Information Systems Major, Im an "it engineer" but im really a system admin


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## ROFLcopter

To simplify things if you work in the I.T department of a company you are more than likely going to be fixing/managing anything to do with computers.


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## JTM

tlarkin said:


> Systems Admins have more, they manage the client machines.  In a 200 employee company, there will be a couple of 48 port switches, maybe a router or two, and that is all the network guy will deal with.  Well, plus some access points.
> 
> The Sys admin guy will deal with 200 desktops, some laptops, several servers.



That seems like an incorrect statement. If you're working for a tiny company, then yes networking would be easier. However, most companies (200+ Client PC's) have huge networks. Such an example are retail stores, big or small. Sure their headquarters may have 200 client PC's, but the whole network may be massive (stores etc.). Once you get into WAN's, networking gets difficult, along with hardware monitoring and up keep.


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## tlarkin

JTM said:


> That seems like an incorrect statement. If you're working for a tiny company, then yes networking would be easier. However, most companies (200+ Client PC's) have huge networks. Such an example are retail stores, big or small. Sure their headquarters may have 200 client PC's, but the whole network may be massive (stores etc.). Once you get into WAN's, networking gets difficult, along with hardware monitoring and up keep.



Man it is really easy.   You set up something how you want it, create an image, and then image all your switches.  Hell, with Cisco you don't even need to configure anything anymore.  Your AP and/or switch can grab it's config from the network.

You basically set it and forget it, and then just wait for issues to come up and fix.

This is of course, if you are efficient at your job, how it will be.  Automation is a beautiful thing.


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## JTM

tlarkin said:


> Man it is really easy.   You set up something how you want it, create an image, and then image all your switches.  Hell, with Cisco you don't even need to configure anything anymore.  Your AP and/or switch can grab it's config from the network.
> 
> You basically set it and forget it, and then just wait for issues to come up and fix.
> 
> This is of course, if you are efficient at your job, how it will be.  Automation is a beautiful thing.



That would be fine and dandy if that was your only job. However, someone who works in a network department deals with far more issues than that.


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## tlarkin

JTM said:


> That would be fine and dandy if that was your only job. However, someone who works in a network department deals with far more issues than that.



I dunno, every Cisco guy I have worked with had it easy going.  Set it up, forget about it.


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