Network and Computer Systems Administrators
15-1244.00
Updated 2026

The occupation code you requested, 15-1071.00 (Network and Computer Systems Administrators), is no longer in use. In the future, please use 15-1244.00 (Network and Computer Systems Administrators) instead.

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.

Sample of reported job titles: Information Analyst, Information Technology Specialist (IT Specialist), LAN Specialist (Local Area Network Specialist), Local Area Network Administrator (LAN Administrator), Network Administrator, Network Coordinator, Network Manager, Systems Administrator (Systems Admin)

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • 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.
  • Load computer tapes and disks, and install software and printer paper or forms.
  • Train people in computer system use.
  • Maintain logs related to network functions, as well as maintenance and repair records.
  • Gather data pertaining to customer needs, and use the information to identify, predict, interpret, and evaluate system and network requirements.
  • Coordinate with vendors and with company personnel to facilitate purchases.
  • Implement and provide technical support for voice services and equipment, such as private branch exchange, voice mail system, and telecom system.
  • Maintain an inventory of parts for emergency repairs.
  • Research new technologies by attending seminars, reading trade articles, or taking classes, and implement or recommend the implementation of new technologies.
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Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment — Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
  • Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
  • Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
  • Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 96% responded “Every day.”
  • E-Mail — 90% responded “Every day.”
  • Telephone Conversations — 71% responded “Every day.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams — 61% responded “Every day.”
  • Contact With Others — 67% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Spend Time Sitting — 50% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — 56% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals — 52% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 58% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 71% responded “Very important.”
  • Time Pressure — 42% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
  • Duration of Typical Work Week — 49% responded “40 hours.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 34% responded “Moderate results.”
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 39% responded “Important.”
  • Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 29% responded “Every day.”
  • Physical Proximity — 44% responded “Slightly close (e.g., shared office).”
  • Written Letters and Memos — 29% responded “Every day.”
  • Level of Competition — 39% responded “Moderately competitive.”
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — 29% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People — 34% responded “Once a year or more but not every month.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 28% responded “Once a year or more but not every month.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Education
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related Experience
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Job Zone Examples
Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, conservation scientists, art directors, and cost estimators.
SVP Range
(7.0 to < 8.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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Apprenticeship Opportunities

Example apprenticeship titles for this occupation:

  • Information Assurance Specialist
  • Information Technology Specialist
  • It Systems Administrator
  • Network and Computer Systems Administrator (Alternate Title: It Specialist)
  • Network Support Technician
  • Systems Administrator
  • Systems Administrator (Nof)

Specific title(s) listed above are vetted by industry and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor for use in a Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Start your career and build your skillset. Visit Apprenticeship.gov to learn about opportunities related to this occupation.

Worker Requirements

Software Skills

Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.
In Demand skills are frequently included in employer job postings for this occupation.

Essential Skills

  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems.

Transferable Skills

  • Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Systems Analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Troubleshooting — Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
  • Programming — Writing computer programs for various purposes.
  • Operations Monitoring — Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  • Quality Control Analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
  • Operations Analysis — Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
  • Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Equipment Maintenance — Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
  • Management of Personnel Resources — Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Operation and Control — Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
  • Repairing — Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
  • Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Knowledge

  • Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Engineering and Technology — Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  • Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Telecommunications — Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  • Administrative — Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 52%
     
    Bachelor’s degree required
  • 20%
     
    Associate’s degree required
  • 10%
     
    Some college, no degree required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.

Interests

Interest code: CRI
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  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
    • Information Technology — Work involves designing, developing, testing, and maintaining computer software, hardware, networks, and systems.
  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
    • Mechanics/Electronics — Work involves maintaining and repairing of machinery, such as automotive engines, electronic equipment, computers, and communication systems.
    • Engineering — Work involves applying science and technology to the design, building, testing, and use of electrical and electronic components, mechanical devices and machines, automotive, marine, and aerospace equipment and vehicles, materials, or structures.
  • Investigative — Work involves studying and researching non-living objects, living organisms, disease or other forms of impairment, or human behavior. Investigative occupations are often associated with physical, life, medical, or social sciences, and can be found in the fields of humanities, mathematics/statistics, information technology, or health care service.

Work Styles

  • Intellectual Curiosity — A tendency to seek out and acquire new work-related knowledge and obtain a deep understanding of work-related subjects.
  • Cautiousness — A tendency to be careful, deliberate, and risk-avoidant when making work-related decisions or doing work.
  • Integrity — A tendency to be honest and ethical at work.
  • Attention to Detail — A tendency to be detail-oriented, organized, and thorough in completing work.
  • Dependability — A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2024)
$46.54 hourly, $96,800 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
331,500 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Decline (-1% or lower)
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
14,300
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations
Accreditation, Certification, & Unions