FlightWay / Careers / Network and Computer Systems Administrators

Technology

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.

Sector: Technology
Preparation: Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed
O*NET code: 15-1244.00

What you'll actually do

The activities O*NET rates highest for this occupation, most important first. Numbers are out of 100.

Working with Computers

central to the job — rated 97/100 for importance.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems

a major part of the work — rated 83/100 for importance.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

a major part of the work — rated 81/100 for importance.
Getting Information

a major part of the work — rated 79/100 for importance.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

a major part of the work — rated 77/100 for importance.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events

a major part of the work — rated 76/100 for importance.

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.

What it takes

Two numbers per line: the level the work expects, and how important it is to doing the job well. Both are O*NET ratings, already on a 0–100 scale.

Skills

Reading Comprehension

Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
Critical Thinking

Needed at a solid working level (55/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
Judgment and Decision Making

Needed at a solid working level (55/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
Systems Analysis

Needed at a solid working level (55/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
Systems Evaluation

Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.

Knowledge

Computers and Electronics

Needed at expert level (96/100), and rated 98/100 for importance.
English Language

Needed at a solid working level (56/100), and rated 71/100 for importance.
Customer and Personal Service

Needed at a high level (67/100), and rated 66/100 for importance.
Engineering and Technology

Needed at a high level (65/100), and rated 65/100 for importance.

Abilities

Problem Sensitivity

Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Written Comprehension

Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
Information Ordering

Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
Deductive Reasoning

Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.

How people get in

O*NET places this occupation in Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed. That is a statement about what employers typically require, not a rule about you.

Education

A four-year bachelor's degree is the usual entry ticket.

Experience

Two to four years of related work, internships or research on top of the degree.

Training

Most of the learning happens before you are hired, not after.

What it pays

These are typical technology compensation bands by employer tier — sector-level figures, not a measured salary for Network and Computer Systems Administrators specifically. Treat them as the shape of the market, then check a real posting for the number.

Google · Meta · Apple

$165k – $350k+

Fortune 500 Tech

$100k – $170k

Startups & SMBs

$75k – $120k

How the work tends to run

Each line below is read off a single O*NET activity rating for this occupation — named, so you can disagree with it.

Most of the day happens at a screen.From “Working with Computers”
You own decisions rather than execute someone else’s.From “Making Decisions and Solving Problems”

How FlightWay scores your fit against this

No black box. Here is the whole method, factor by factor.

1. You answer a short quiz: Your answers build a profile across the same 161 O*NET dimensions this page is describing — skills, knowledge, abilities and work activities. Same axes, so the comparison is like-for-like.
2. We correlate the two profiles: Fit is a mean-centered cosine — a correlation between the SHAPE of your profile and the shape of Network and Computer Systems Administrators. Centering matters: raw similarity between any two occupations sits at 0.70–0.85 because all work shares a common profile, so without it every career would look like a match.
3. The number you see is personality fit only: "Would I want this work" and "am I ready for this work" are different questions, and averaging them answers neither. So readiness — what your résumé, coursework and projects prove — is scored separately and shown next to fit, never blended into it.
4. Every factor is visible: You can open any match and see which dimensions pushed it up and which pulled it down. If you disagree with the number, you can see exactly where it came from.

More in Technology

See every Technology career →

See your fit for Network and Computer Systems Administrators

Ten questions, about 90 seconds. You get your match against Network and Computer Systems Administrators and 782+ other real careers — with the reasoning shown.

Take the quiz Open in FlightWay

Occupational data on this page comes from the O*NET 30.3 Database, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). O*NET is a registered trademark of USDOL/ETA. FlightWay is not endorsed by, and USDOL/ETA is not responsible for, anything built on that data — see our terms. What is ours is the comparison, the score and the plan.