Network and Computer Systems Administrators

Moderate Risk
51%
Where Would You Like to Go Next?
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Vote Comments (17)
Or, Explore This Profession in Greater Detail...
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
58%
(Moderate Risk)
POLLING
44%
(Moderate Risk)
Average: 51%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
-2.6%
by year 2033
WAGES
$95,360
or $45.84 per hour
Volume
323,020
as of 2023
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
4.9/10

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Calculated automation risk

58% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): Occupations with a moderate risk of automation usually involve routine tasks but still require some human judgment and interaction.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Originality

  • Social Perceptiveness

User poll

44% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 58% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Network and Computer Systems Administrators will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Network and Computer Systems Administrators' job openings is expected to decline 2.6% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2024.

Wages

Very high paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Network and Computer Systems Administrators' was $95,360, or $45 per hour

'Network and Computer Systems Administrators' were paid 98.4% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 323,020 people employed as 'Network and Computer Systems Administrators' within the United States.

This represents around 0.21% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 470 people are employed as 'Network and Computer Systems Administrators'.

Job description

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.

SOC Code: 15-1244.00

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Comments

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dfsdf (No chance) 5 months ago
Not possible as system hosting will require humans due to Ai not understanding how itself works
2 0 Reply
Anders (Highly likely) 6 months ago
so many of the rudimentary maintenance tasks that don't involve having a person there to troubleshoot and resolve will be automated. Eventually, infrastructure will be maintained fully off site and physical robots or AI will handle everything.
1 4 Reply
Wes (Uncertain) 1 year ago
A lot of my day to day, is not admin the network or doing patch its landholding users to turn it off and on again, or explaining the same thing for the 47th time to some one who only does that task once a week or a month.

I dont think any of my users have ever used the correct i.t terms to talk about their problems, so i dont see how an A.I could know what there on about, and that when marry says her pc is broke what she really means is she has jammed the printer again.

But I could see more complex tasks to do with patching and licencing etc just going away.
1 0 Reply
L0pht Geezer 1 year ago
There only thing AI can't replace for quite some time would be physical network infrastructure deployment... By the way, those guys get paid pennies currently for most contracting companies and it is tasked to jr admin most of the time with sr admin having the final review...

As for configurations, routing, switching, network/cyber security, there are no unobtainable variables for an AI that is programmed to do this job specifically. All they would have to do is just get a base of basic job duties and a list of variables to consider when dealing with an A to Z situation and poof, there goes your job. Any unaccounted variables will be added in the testing phases. The real question will be price of AI vs Human and company specific financial situations. Last I check Humans can set their rates lower than what a developer is required to offer it at to prevent net loss.
0 0 Reply
Risto (No chance) 1 year ago
Servers can't fix themselves
2 0 Reply
Jay (No chance) 3 years ago
No way too many variables
1 0 Reply
Bengt 3 years ago
I took a career in a Management position. If you are afraid to lose your job in the technical field, Management is always a good path.

Remember; soon rather than later gentlemen :)

0 0 Reply
Simon (Uncertain) 3 years ago
Automation is a crustal part of IT System operations. But configuring new Infrastructure or troubleshooting "broken" networks requires manual Human actions. All repetitive Work is or will be completely automated.
1 0 Reply
Gabriel (Low) 3 years ago
someone got to watch the watchers
1 0 Reply
Ni 3 years ago
The problem of automation here is that the technology changes very fast.
Automation can be done in a limited way in an evolving environment.
0 0 Reply
jeff (No chance) 3 years ago
Creates and manages the communication layer AI uses. Would require either a common available complete drop in network solution that never needs changed or robots to manage the physical side. Neither are less than 20 years away minimum.
0 0 Reply
Chanwit Chonsuwanwat (Low) 4 years ago
Because A.I. and Big Data must rely on Good System / Network Infrastructure either organization will use On-Premise or On-Cloud. However Traditional System Admin can upskills themselves to be Cloud Administrator / Engineer , DevOps Engineer , Security Administrator / Engineer and etc.
0 0 Reply
Nick M. 4 years ago
I’m a network engineer and agree with the other comment. We have automation and some GUI based systems, but without the underlying knowledge, it’s meaningless. A human will always be needed.
0 0 Reply
letouane (Moderate) 4 years ago
With an AI tranning or eating support tickets the job can be automatized. "Is it working now" can be answered by the customer...
The only part of the work that need a human is in case of material problem only...
0 0 Reply
Marek (Uncertain) 4 years ago
Lots of work can be automated and implemented via scripts and parts of the code. On the other hand what saves this position is that network topology design changes over time and new implementation methods are needed and all has to be updated.
0 0 Reply
Guadalupe Toro 4 years ago
Systems administrators, or sysadmins, are responsible for deploying, configuring, maintaining, monitoring and managing an organizations servers or other computer systems. Propelled by the DevOps trend, people in these professions have become increasingly reliant on automation in recent years to help them handle mundane tasks like server configuration and software updates. In addition, many monitoring tools are beginning to incorporate machine learning and AI capabilities, which can reduce the number of false alerts and, in some cases, warn sysadmins in advance of problems that are likely to occur so that they can take preventive action. This is likely a position where AI will augment the capabilities of human workers rather than replacing them entirely. The BLS reports median pay for network and computer systems administrators was $79,700 per year in 2016, and the field is experiencing average growth.
0 0 Reply
Bjarki Heimisson (No chance) 5 years ago
I'm a system administrator and even without human error and though a lot of systems are automated in some ways, having the human touch is always needed.
0 0 Reply

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