How to Become a Network Administrator

What a Network Administrator Does

A network administrator keeps an organization’s network running. That means the routers, switches, firewalls, wireless access points, and the connections between them, plus the accounts and permissions that decide who can reach what. When the network slows down or drops, you are the person who finds out why and fixes it.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not have a separate code for network administrators. They are counted under Network and Computer Systems Administrators (SOC 15-1244), a category that also covers systems administrators. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook describes the work as keeping organizations’ networks and computer systems running, and notes that many administrators specialize. Network administrators take the infrastructure side. Every figure on this page uses the 15-1244 code, so it describes both the network and systems versions of the job.

Daily Duties of a Network Administrator

The handbook lists the core duties, and a real week mixes several of them.

• Determine the organization’s network and system needs and install hardware and software.
• Make upgrades and repairs, and confirm systems are operating correctly.
• Maintain network and computer system security.
• Evaluate and optimize network and system performance.
• Add users to the network and assign security permissions.
• Train users on the organization’s systems.
• Diagnose and resolve problems when a user or an automated monitoring system reports one.

In practice, a lot of the job is reactive. A tool alerts you that a link is saturated, a branch office can’t reach a server, or a switch has failed, and you work out the cause. The rest is planned work: patching, firmware upgrades, documenting the network, and changing configurations after hours so nobody loses access in the middle of the day. Because systems need monitoring and updating, BLS notes the job may involve evening, night, or weekend work, and some administrators carry on-call duty.

Skills Employers Want in a Network Administrator

BLS names analytical, communication, creative, multitasking, and problem-solving skills, plus technical skills across a range of hardware and software. In job postings, the technical list is more specific. Employers ask for working knowledge of IP addressing and subnetting, routing and switching, VLANs, DNS and DHCP, firewalls, VPNs, wireless networking, and network monitoring tools. Familiarity with a cloud provider’s networking features comes up more each year. Scripting in a language like Python or PowerShell helps because it lets you automate the repeated tasks.

The communication skill is easy to underrate. You will explain outages to people who don’t care how a switch works and only want to know when email returns. You will also write documentation that someone else can follow at 2 a.m.

Certifications for Network Administrators

BLS says employers may require certification in the specific products they use, and that vendor and vendor-neutral certifications are both available. Three come up most often for network administrators.

• CompTIA Network+ is vendor-neutral and covers how networks work in general.
• Cisco CCNA covers routing, switching, and network fundamentals on Cisco equipment, which is widespread in business networks.
• CompTIA A+ is an entry-level support certification that many people take before moving toward network work.

A certification doesn’t replace the degree for this job. It shows you can use the tools on day one. Many people finish Network+ or the CCNA while still in school.

How to Become a Network Administrator: Education and the Typical Route

BLS lists the typical entry-level education as bachelor's degree, usually in computer and information technology or a related field. Coursework typically covers programming, networking, and systems design. Some employers accept a postsecondary certificate or an associate degree.

The most common path runs like this. You earn an associate or bachelor’s degree, take a help desk or network support job to get hands-on time, pick up Network+ or the CCNA, and move into an administrator role within a few years. If you are starting from a support job without a degree, an online bachelor’s program lets you keep working while you study. Our ranking of online network administration degrees lists programs built around this job, and the best online IT bachelor’s degrees ranking is the broader list.

Network Administrator Pay

The median annual wage for network and computer systems administrators is $99,130, or $47.66 an hour, from the BLS May 2025 wage survey. The spread is wide. The bottom 10% earn $62,640 or less, and the top 10% earn $155,050 or more. Pay climbs with experience, certifications, and the size and type of employer. Our network administrator salary page goes into the breakdown.

Network Administrator Job Outlook

BLS counts 314,340 people in this occupation. It projects a change of -4.1% from 2025 to 2035, so this is not a growing field in terms of new jobs. It still projects 13,400 openings each year, mostly from workers who retire or move to other jobs. The practical read is that the market is steady but competitive. Administrators who add cloud, security, or automation skills have more options than those who only manage on-premises gear.

Which Online Degree Fits a Network Administrator Career

A bachelor’s degree is the fit if you want the role without having to start in support and wait years for the jump. Look for a program with networking coursework, a lab component, and certification prep, and check whether it is ABET accredited if that matters to your employer. Our ABET-accredited online IT degrees ranking covers that filter. If you already work in support and hold an associate degree, a bachelor’s completion program is the shorter path. If you want to be in a paid support job sooner, an associate degree gets you started, and you can transfer the credits later.

Where a Network Administrator Career Leads

The job is a middle step. After a few years, administrators move toward network engineering and architecture, where the work shifts to designing networks. Others move into security, where network knowledge is a core requirement, and BLS notes that many information security analysts first work as network or systems administrators. Some move into management. The administrator role gives you the broadest base of any of the eight careers in our IT careers overview, which is one reason it remains a common starting point for people with a bachelor’s degree.

A Typical Week as a Network Administrator

Monday often starts with a review of what broke over the weekend. A monitoring tool flagged a switch that rebooted twice, and you check the logs to see whether it was a power issue or a firmware bug. Midweek is usually planned work. You schedule a maintenance window for a firewall update, tell the affected teams in advance, and make the change after hours so nobody loses access during the day. In between, tickets arrive from support: a new hire needs access to a file share, a conference room has no wifi, a remote worker can’t connect to the VPN.

The hard parts are worth knowing before you commit. The work is interrupt-driven, so deep focus is rare. Changes carry risk, because a mistyped configuration can take down a building. And on-call duty means your phone can ring at night. People who stay in the job tend to like the puzzle of tracing a fault through layers, and they like being the person everyone depends on when the network is down.

How to Get Your First Network Administrator Job

Employers hire administrators who have already touched a real network, so you want proof of hands-on work before you apply. A home lab counts: a used router and switch, a free network simulator, or a virtual setup lets you practice VLANs, routing, and firewall rules. School labs count too. Put the specifics on your resume, such as “configured VLANs and inter-VLAN routing on a four-switch lab,” instead of a general line about networking skills.

Then apply widely, including to help desk and network support openings. Many administrators got the title after a year or two in one of those jobs. Read our network support specialist guide if you want the stepping-stone role, and keep the IT careers overview open to compare where each job can lead.

Where Network Administrator Jobs Are

Texas has the most network administrators, about 34,840 of the 314,340 BLS counts nationally, and the top five states hold 39% of them. Size isn't the same as concentration: South Dakota has the most of these jobs relative to its workforce, at 1.83 times the national share. Remote work loosens this for some employers, but local demand still shapes who is hiring near you.

The 10 largest of 52. Concentration compares the state's share of these jobs with the national share, so 1.00x matches the country. These figures are for network and computer systems administrators, BLS May 2025.

Network Administrator Jobs in Major Metros

Among the 50 metro areas in our city guides with a published count, New York City has the most, about 17,690 workers. Austin is the most concentrated, at 1.92 times the national share.

The 10 largest of 50. These figures are for network and computer systems administrators, BLS May 2025.

IT Careers Side by Side

Network and Computer Systems Administrators rank 6 of 9 by median pay among the IT occupations we cover. Pay, projected change and openings don't always move together, so weigh all three against the education each job asks for.

Sorted by median pay. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, and Employment Projections, 2025-35.