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Servers & identity
Systems Administrator
Keeping the lights on for systems nobody thinks about.
Typical pay
$65k-$120k
How you get in
IT experience plus certifications
Outlook
Stable; shifting toward cloud and identity administration
Sysadmins manage servers, identity systems, backups and the infrastructure everything else runs on. It is a well-established path from help desk, and cloud has changed the tooling without eliminating the need.
A day in the life
- 8:00aCheck backup jobs, alerts and patch status
- 9:00aTroubleshoot a failing authentication service
- 11:00aProvision accounts and manage group policy
- 1:00pLunch
- 2:00pPlan a server migration to cloud infrastructure
- 6:00pPatch window after hours
How to get in
Help desk to sysadmin
Duration
2-4 years
Cost
$500-$3,000
Credential
CompTIA Network+ or Server+, Microsoft or Linux certifications
- Start on help desk or desktop support
- Learn Windows Server, Active Directory or Linux deeply
- Volunteer for server, backup and identity work
- Move to junior sysadmin, then add cloud platform skills
Certification-led with a lab
Duration
9-18 months
Cost
$1,000-$4,000
Credential
Microsoft, Red Hat or cloud certifications
- Build a home lab running real server workloads
- Get certified — RHCSA for Linux or Microsoft credentials for Windows
- Learn scripting in PowerShell or Bash
- Expect to still start in support at most employers
Sysadmin into cloud or security
Duration
2-4 years
Cost
$1,000-$5,000
Credential
AWS, Azure or security certifications
- Master traditional infrastructure first
- Learn infrastructure as code and cloud platforms
- Move into cloud engineering, DevOps or security operations
- This is where the traditional sysadmin role is migrating
What people love
- · Strong pay without a degree requirement
- · Every organization needs the function
- · Clear ladder from help desk upward
- · Bridges directly into cloud, security and DevOps
What wears people down
- · Maintenance windows are nights and weekends
- · On-call rotations
- · Only noticed when something breaks
- · Cloud is reshaping traditional server administration