Netadmin and Sysadmin Survey Results - US

Systems and Network Admins
Revealed!
A look at the attitudes and preferences of US-based systems and network
administrators

US DATA 1

Study overview: Who are systems/network
administrators?

» SolarWinds set out to measure the rapidly evolving
nature of systems and network administrators in the US
» We captured their thoughts on life inside and outside of
the workplace to understand who they are and what
drives them
» 801 US-based sysadmins (401) and netadmins (400) took
part in the survey conducted by RedShift Research in
October 2012

2

Systems vs. network admins: Professional life
findings
» NA’s have more resources, training and career opportunities.
» NA’s find their job more enjoyable, are more satisfied and
feel more appreciated.
» SA’s have a smaller budget and are less optimistic that it will
increase in 2013.
» SA’s enjoy helping users more.
» NA’s are happier with their IT department, systems and the
leadership at the company.
» NA’s are more likely to do overtime at work.
» NA’s earn more on average.

3

Systems vs. network admins: Social life findings

» NA’s prefer sporting events and doing something athletic.
» Call of Duty is more popular amongst NA’s, but preferred by
both groups as the top video game.
» SA’s are more likely to drink soda while NA’s are more likely
to drink beer, but the top choice for both groups is still some
type of beer.
» NA’s are more likely to own a classic car.
» NA’s see themselves as smarter.

4

PROFESSIONAL LIFE

Please note that statistical significance between Sysadmins and Netadmins has been noted at the 95% level o f confidence and
denoted using when the proportion is higher for the Netadmins, and when the proportion is higher for the Sysadmins.

5

How systems and network admins’ roles are changing
% Strongly Agree
There is more responsibility and demands on my time 38% 38%

There is more complexity in the systems I manage 36% 34%

I am doing more with less 33% 32%

I have been adequately trained in new tech skills 26% 38%

I am spending more time on the job 29% 33%

The software used to manage IT systems is more complex 26% 30%

There is more pressure 32% 28%

The software used to manage IT systems is more expensive 30% 30%

There are more career paths to pursue /more specialization 23% 28%

I feel more satisfied in my career 22% 28%

There is more incentive to perform my best 25% 26%

There are more resources to do my job 20% 27%

Strongly Agree (SA) Strongly Agree (NA)

• About three in ten agree that their jobs are more demanding, more complex and requires doing more with less. Network
admins are more likely to have been adequately trained in new skills and are more satisfied with their careers.
• While relatively few agree that more resources are available, network admins are more likely to agree with this vs. systems
admins.

Q15: How much do you agree or disagree with each statement, in terms of how the
system/network admin career has changed over the last 2-3 years?. (Asked: Strongly 6
agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree.)

How the sysadmin and netadmin roles are changing
% Strongly/Somewhat Agree
There is more responsibility and demands on my time 90% 90%

There is more complexity in the systems I manage 88% 89%

I am doing more with less 83% 81%

I have been adequately trained in new tech skills 75% 86%

I am spending more time on the job 80% 84%

The software used to manage IT systems is more complex 83% 82%

There is more pressure 85% 79%

The software used to manage IT systems is more expensive 90% 82%

There are more career paths to pursue /more specialization 75% 81%

I feel more satisfied in my career 71% 78%

There is more incentive to perform my best 68% 72%

There are more resources to do my job 69% 75%

Strongly/Somewhat Agree (SA) Strongly/Somewhat Agree (NA)

• In terms of complete agreement, the same pattern exists as that seen in the previous chart where respondents “strongly
agree.” In addition, systems admins are more likely to agree that they have more pressure . They are also more likely to
believe that the software used to manage IT systems is more expensive.

Q15: How much do you agree or disagree with each statement, in terms of how
the system/network admin career has changed over the last 2-3 years?. (Asked:
Strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree.) 7

Ranking of key job frustrations
% Ranked 1st: Most Frustrating

Too little pay 22% 17%

Not enough budget 13% 21%

Increasing workload/responsibilities 16% 14%

Too much to do 12% 13%

Job is not challenging or rewarding enough 12% 10% SA NA

Lack of appreciation from users/company 8% 8%

Little control over what I work on 8% 7%

Not enough autonomy 5% 6%

• When having to choose the most frustrating aspects relative to each other, inadequate pay and budget constraints, coupled
with a heavy workload represent key points of frustration.
• NA’s worry more about not having enough budget.

Q7: Please rank your top three most frustrating challenges in order of level
of frustration.
8

Ranking of key job frustrations
% Ranked 1st to 3rd : Most Frustrating



Increasing workload/responsibilities 45% 42%


Job is not challenging or rewarding enough 43% 37%


SA NA

•The top three ranking scores indicate a similar profile as that seen for the top ranked job frustration.
• Notably, none of the attributes measured exceeded the 50% mark.

Q7: Please rank your top three most frustrating challenges in order of level
of frustration.
9

Job challenges
% Saying Very/Somewhat Frustrating

Job is not challenging or rewarding enough 95% 79%




Increasing workload/responsibilities 58% 58% SA NA




• When asked to rate each attribute on an individual level, most of the responses fall in the “somewhat frustrating” category,
• Nevertheless, in general, SA’s and NA’s seem to be more ambitious than their company allows them to be, since on this
measure, the top challenge emerges as “the job is not challenging or rewarding enough.”
• This is much more frustrating for SA’s than it is for NA’s. This could be consistent with SAs’ higher frustration level over
having “little control over what they work on” and “not having enough autonomy.”

Q6: Please rate the following work challenges using the scale below: Very
frustrating, Somewhat frustrating, Not frustrating at all, not applicable to my position
10

What systems and network admins enjoy most about
their work (All selections)

Solving problems 75% 78%

Helping users 62% 67%

Getting to work with new technologies 50% 65%

Thinking on my feet 52% 59%

Having a unique set of skills/capabilities 41% 52%

Making a contribution to the organization 43% 50%

Designing or planning new solutions 33% 49%
SA NA
Evaluating software solutions 28% 51%

Driving innovation in the company 27% 44%

Completing daily systems tasks 30% 41%

Other aspect not listed above 2% 2%

• Solving problems, helping users, encountering new technologies and thinking on their feet are the most enjoyable aspects of their profession.
• NA’s, in general, have a broader range of responsibilities; this is most notable in terms of such things as designing or planning new
solutions, evaluating software solutions and driving innovation in the business. They are also more likely to express a higher level of
enjoyment with nearly all aspects of their work.
• The SA’s role is more narrowly focused in terms of helping users and problem solving when compared with NA’s

Q12: Please select all of the items that you enjoy a lot about being a
systems/network administrator. 11

The single most enjoyable aspect about the profession

Solving problems 24% 23%

Helping users 20% 10%

Getting to work with new technologies 13% 15%

Having a unique set of skills 8% 9%

Designing or planning new solutions 10% 9%

Thinking on my feet 6% 9%

Making a contribution to the organization 6% 6%
SA NA
Evaluating software solutions 4% 8%

Driving innovation in the company 2% 8%

Completing daily systems tasks 5% 3%

Other 1%1%

•The challenge of problem solving, helping users and getting to work with new technologies are the most enjoyable aspects of
the work for both functions.
•SA’s were more likely to enjoy helping users.

Q13: Which of these do you enjoy most about being a systems/network
administrator? (One response only.)
12

Job satisfaction & recognition

54%
48%
SA NA 44% 44%

34%
30%
28%
25% 22%
20% 20%
12%
9%
5%
3% 2%

Not Somewhat Appreciated Highly
Not enjoyableSomewhat enjoyable
at all Enjoyable Highly enjoyable
appreciated at appreciated appreciated
all

•Most people find their jobs enjoyable to some extent and most feel they are at least somewhat appreciated.
• NA’s are a little more likely than SA’s to find their jobs enjoyable and feel they are appreciated

Q9: All things considered, how enjoyable is your job?
Q10: Do you feel appreciated for the job that you do by the
company in general? 13

How system/network admins feel about their employers
% Strongly Agree

Our systems are more reliable and efficient than in the past 33% 45%

I trust the leadership of the IT department at my company 31% 44%

Our IT department is in a better position than the past year 29% 36%

I feel 2013 will be a growth year for my company 28% 38%

I trust the senior/executive leadership of the company 26% 41%

Most of the company doesn’t understand what I do/the value 23% 28%
I bring

Strongly agree (SA) Strongly agree (NA)

• Most feel fairly positive about their workplace. NA’s are more likely to be more positive about their employers.

Q18: Please rate the following sentences based on how much you agree or disagree.
(Asked: Strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree.) 14







Most of the company doesn’t understand what I do/the 71% 65%
value I bring

SA's NA's

• In terms of total agreement, the vast majority in both groups feel positive about their workplace. However, about 70%
worry that their work is not easily understood by others in their company.

Q18: Please rate the following sentences based on how much you agree or
disagree. (Asked: Strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly
disagree.) 15

How often do system/network admins change jobs?

35%

SA NA
29%

25%
22%
21% 21%
19%
17%

9%

3%

Every 1-2 years Every 3-5 years Every 5-10 years More than 10 years Never changed jobs

• About half rarely or never change jobs, having worked in the same company for 10 years or more.

Q37: How often do you change jobs?
16

Future career perceptions

IT department head or lead 39% 43%

As a Systems administrator 23% 19%

Retired 11% 4%

As a Network administrator 10% 12%
SA NA
Something non-technical and unrelated to 8% 2%
current field

CIO 5% 17%

Other 4% 3%

• In the future, both groups primarily see themselves IT department heads or leads.
• Sysadmins feel they will be retired, while netadmins believe they will be CIOs.

Q16. Where do you see yourself in five years in your career?
17

Why they switch jobs

25%
SA NA
21%
19%
18%
16%
15% 15% 15%
14%
11%
9%
8%
6%
4%
3%
2%

For a pay raise For a more For a more For a Change of I was laid off Current Lack of overall
challenging satisfying role promotion career company is support in
role unstable current role

• System/network admins are likely to jump ship for more money or a more challenging/satisfying role than for other reasons.
• NA’s are more likely to switch jobs for a promotion
• SA’s are slightly more likely to switch for a career change or because they were laid off.

Q38: What was the last reason that made you change your job?
18

2013 IT budget predictions

SA NA
38% 37%
Total Less:
Total More:
SA: 30%
SA: 23%
NA: 21%
NA: 42%

17% 16%
12% 11%
9% 8% 9% 9% 9% 9%
7%
4% 3%
1%

More than 10% 5-10% less 1-4% less Same as 2012 1-4% more 5-10% more More than 10% I don’t know/I'm
less more not involved in
budgeting

• Nearly 4 in 10 believe budgets are likely to remain fairly flat in 2013.
• About the same number of netadmins, however, feel the budgets will be higher. Only about 2 in 10 sysadmins believe this.
• Among those who believe the budget will increase in 2013, netadmins in feel the increase will be higher overall vs. sysadmins.

Q8: Do you anticipate your department will have more, less or the same budget
in 2013? (Please select one response.) 19

Do they have the resources to do the job right?
% Always

Adequate tools/software and hardware 20% 29%

Skilled staff/people resources 18% 27%

Adequate support from organization 18% 26%

Adequate ongoing training and skills development 20% 25%

Adequate budget/money resources 14% 22%

Always (SA) Always (NA)

• Between two and three in 10 feel they always have the right resources to do their job right.
• Network admins feel much more secure in having the appropriate resources.
• Having sufficient budget seems to be a relatively scarcer resource.

Q14: Do you feel you have the following resources you need to adequately perform
your job on a daily basis? (Asked: Always, usually, sometimes, rarely, never.) 20

Do they have the resources to do the job right?
% Always/Usually

Adequate tools/software and hardware 63% 75%

Skilled staff/people resources 60% 70%

Adequate support from organization 57% 72%

Adequate ongoing training and skills development 58% 66%

Adequate budget/money resources 45% 56%

Always/Usually (SA) Always/Usually (NA)

• The same pattern emerges on this level.

Q14: Do you feel you have the following resources you need to
adequately perform your job on a daily basis? (Asked:
Always, usually, sometimes, rarely, never.)
21

% Strongly Agree






I bring

SA NA

• Between one-quarter and one-third of systems admins have a positive opinion about their employer.
• Network admins are much more positive.

Q18: Please rate the following sentences based on how much you agree or
disagree. (Asked: Strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly
disagree.)
22







I bring

SA NA

• On this level, the vast majority are positive about their employers, and the same pattern emerges, where network admins
are much more positive.
• Nevertheless, we see that about 70% feel that the company doesn’t really understand what they do or what value they
bring.

Q18: Please rate the following sentences based on how much you agree or disagree.
(Asked: Strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree.)
23

Amount of free time spent on work assignments

42% SA NA
37%
33% 32%

18%

11% 10%
7% 6% 5%

A significant but A small and reasonable No amount of extra time, I A significant and A small but unreasonable
manageable amount of amount of extra time complete all my tasks unreasonable amount of amount of extra time
extra time during work hours extra time

• Both groups spend at least part of their free time on work assignments. Most of this time is seen as manageable or reasonable
for their jobs.
• Netadmins are more likely to spend a significant (but manageable) amount of their free time working.

Q11:Outside of your normal working hours, how much of your free time do you
use to continue working to complete your assignments? 24

Where sysadmins/netadmins turn to for help

16% 16%
15%
SA NA

11% 11%

9% 9%
8% 8% 8%
7% 7% 7% 7%
6%
5% 5%
4% 4% 4% 4%
3%

Current colleagues search Personal networks seminars
General engine IT Online forums and communities sites training sessions technicaltrainingetc
Vendor web
CompanyUniversity, college, Vendor school sessions publications
Media/trade Books

• The top source of information when faced with a challenge varies widely, with asking colleagues and searching the
internet being among the most popular, but no single source is dominant. Both job functions are very similar in terms of
the sources they rely upon.
• NA’s are a little more likely to value IT seminars
• SA’s are a little more likely to use general search engines

Q17: When faced with a challenging task on the job, please rank the top three sources of
information you turn to in order of importance? 25

The average hourly working week

48%

42% SA NA

29%
25%

10% 11% 12%
8%
6%
4% 4%
1%

Under 40 40-45 45-50 50-55 55-60 More than 60

• On average people are working between 40 and 50 hours per week. Overall both functions work very similar hours.
• NA’s tend to be a little more likely to work longer hours (51% work more than 45 hours a week).

Q19:On average, how many hours do you usually work per week? 26

What sysadmins do on the job

Maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or network 47%
Installing, supporting, maintaining servers or other computer systems 37%
Project management for systems-related projects 30%
Light programming 26%
Planning for and responding to service outages or other problems 19%
Supervising or training computer operators 15%
Monitoring performance of the network 14%
Procurement of new hardware, rolling out new software installs 14%
Designing and/or Installing networks 14%
Maintaining standards for server installations and applications 12%
Maintaining the disk images for new computer installs 10%
Ensuring security for Internet connectivity 8%
Checking for security breaches and poor data management practices 8%
Making sure licenses for software are paid 6%

• Nearly half of sysadmins are primarily responsible for maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or network.
Other key tasks may include installation/support/maintenance of servers and computers & project management for systems –
related projects.

Q3: Which of the following categories describes your role in the IT
department? Please check as many as apply based on your primary
responsibilities. 27

What netadmins do on the job

Maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or network 75%
Monitoring performance of the network 73%
Procurement of new hardware, rolling out new software installs 67%
Installing, supporting, maintaining servers or other computer systems 66%
Project management for systems-related projects 65%
Ensuring security for Internet connectivity 65%
Maintaining standards for server installations and applications 62%
Planning for and responding to service outages or other problems 61%
Supervising or training computer operators 57%
Making sure licenses for software are paid 56%
Checking for security breaches and poor data management practices 55%
Designing and/or Installing networks 53%
Maintaining the disk images for new computer installs 50%
Light programming 35%

• Network administrators have an expectedly higher level of responsibilities than do sysadmins and are widely engaged with a
greater variety of different tasks beyond simple maintenance, installation and operation.

Q3: Which of the following categories describes your role in the IT
department? Please check as many as apply based on your primary
28
responsibilities.

Comparison of sysadmins and netadmins: Job responsibilities

Maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or… 47% 75%

Installing, supporting, maintaining servers or other computer… 37% 66%

Project management for systems-related projects 30% 65%

Light programming 26% 35%

Planning for and responding to service outages or other… 19% 61%

Supervising or training computer operators 15% 57%

Monitoring performance of the network 14% 73%

Procurement of new hardware, rolling out new software installs 14% 67%

Designing and/or Installing networks 14% 53%

Maintaining standards for server installations and applications 12% 62%

Maintaining the disk images for new computer installs 10% 50%

Ensuring security for Internet connectivity 8% 65%

Checking for security breaches and poor data management… 8% 55% SA NA
Making sure licenses for software are paid 6% 56%

• Nearly half of sysadmins are primarily responsible for maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or network.
Other key tasks may include installation/support/maintenance of servers and computers & project managing systems projects

Q3: Which of the following categories describes your role in the IT department?
Please check as many as apply based on your primary responsibilities. 29

Number of hours spent on various tasks:
Systems Admins
More than 3% 4% 6% 3% 3% 4% 7% 6% 5%
20 hours 11% 10% 11% 12%
11% 14% 15% 17%
21%
11 to 20
hours
42% 44% 43% 46% 46%
49% 48% 48%
2 to 10 hours 39%

Less than 1
hour
44% 42% 40% 39% 39% 32% 32% 31% 30%

• Sysadmins spend up to 10 hours on all of the tasks that were evaluated.
• The tasks that seem to take somewhat longer to perform are: upgrading systems and software, evaluating software solutions and
dealing with unplanned user tickets and problems.
• Those that appear to take the longest time are: designing or planning new solutions (this is the most time consuming of
all), troubleshooting system problems and monitoring applications and systems (the second most time consuming task).

Q5: For each of the following tasks, please estimate the number of hours you spend per week
using the following categories: Less than 1 hour, 2-10 hours, 11-20 hours, More than 20 hours) 30

Network Admins (Page 1 of 2)

More than
20 hours
2% 6%
7% 6% 7%
10%
11 to 20 10% 15% 14%
hours 15% 16%

2 to 10
hours 51% 48% 53%
49%
Less than 1
hour 73%

32% 31% 28% 28%

Device management: Upgrading/maintaining unplannedand software within individual machines problems, security breaches, etc)
Provisioning, e.g. IP address configuration/management (outages, bandwidthnetworkuser (drivers, analysis/management, intrusion detection, authentication, etc)
Dealing with hardware issues
Network security: monitoring/maintaining issues, Network(log personal patching, housekeeping, troubleshooting, etc.)
security administration:
computers, printers, Smartphones, etc)

• Network admins usually spend up to between 2 and 10 hours on most tasks. The task that takes the least amount of time is
provisioning.
• The tasks that seem to take relatively less time to perform are noted on this chart.
• Those taking a relatively longer time to perform are noted on the next chart.


Network Admins (Page 2 of 2)

More than
20 hours

9% 8% 8% 10% 9%
11 to 20
hours 15% 21% 21% 17%
21%

2 to 10
hours

56% 52% 53%
Less than 1 56%
50%
hour

19% 19% 16% 21% 21%

Network deployment: upgrading/deploying hardware and software on the network (installing routers, hardware solutions,etc) QoS, etc) design and planning
Network operations: monitoring/maintaining the network software and switches, firewalls, taking sales calls from vendors, maintaining
Vendor management: evaluating (connectivity, bandwidth, availability,
Backups/restores Network

• The tasks that seem to take Network Admins somewhat longer to perform are: network operations, backups /restores, network
design/planning and vendor management.


How much sway do sysadmins have?

I have some influence in at least some IT matters 40%

I have no involvement at all in the decision making process 16%
for any IT matters
Make at Least Some Decisions: 70%
I make the final decisions for all IT matters 14%
Make No Decisions: 30%
I have very little influence in the decision making process 14%
for any IT matters

I have a strong influence in at least some IT decisions 10%

I make the final decisions for at least some IT matters 6%

• Despite their limited role descriptions, 7 in 10 systems admins have at least some influence in IT decisions.

Q4: Which of the following best describes your overall role in the IT decision
making process? (Please select only one response.) 33

How much sway do netadmins have?

I make the final decisions for all IT matters 54%

I make the final decisions for at least some IT 26%
matters

I have a strong influence in at least some IT 20%
decisions

• The vast majority of netadmins make at least some, if not all the final IT decisions.

Q4: Which of the following best describes your overall role in the IT decision
making process? (Please select only one response.)
34

How they spend free time

Unwind at home 74% 75% Do something athletic 38% 53%

Spending time with 72% 75% Alternative tech. 32% 43%
family/friends interests

Surf the Web 70% 75% Team 28% 37%
sports/competitive…

Watch a movie 58% 64% Go out to a bar 28% 34%

Enjoy the great 52% 60% Collecting 27% 29%
outdoors

Reading 51% 58% Programming 27% 32%

Cooking 49% 51% Charity/volunteer work 24% 33%

Watch a sporting 47% 57% Yoga 22% 30%
event

Play video games 41% 48% SA NA Dancing 20% 24%

• Unwinding at home, spending time with family or friends, surfing the web and watching movies are the most popular ways
for both systems and network admins to spend their free time.
• Netadmins are more likely to be outdoorsmen, enjoy reading, playing video games, sports, charity work, and yoga.

Q23. Let’s say you’ve had a hard week at work, and you want to “blow off
some steam”. How often do you participate in each of the following fun
36
activities in this type of situation?

Mobile gadget of choice

39%
37% 37%

32% SA NA

16%

12%
11%

6%
5%
4%

Android iPhone Blackberry Other Windows mobile

• Androids and iPhones dominate with little difference in evidence between the choices made by NA’s and SA’s.

Q24: For my personal Smartphone, I use a(n):
37

Are you a PC or a Mac?

84% 82%

SA NA

13% 13%

3% 4%
1% 1%

PC Mac Open source Other

• PCs dominate across the profession

Q25: I’m a…
38

What’s the all-time best gaming platform?

Xbox 23% 29%

I’m not a gamer 19% 14%

PlayStation 17% 17%

Wii 14% 12%

My PC 11% 13% SA NA

Nintendo 8% 9%

• Xbox beats PlayStation and Wii. But surprisingly, as many as one in six are not gamers! NA’s and SA’s are not significantly
different from each other in their choice of platforms.

Q26: What is the best video game platform of all time? 39

What video game rules over all?

Call of Duty 28% 36%

Super Mario Bros. 23% 21%

Grand Theft Auto 17% 21%

Other 18% 15%

Tetris 19% 14%

World of Warcraft 12% 18%

PacMan/Ms. PacMan 15% 16%

Legend of Zelda 14% 12%

The Sims 11% 14%
SA NA
Wii 11% 8%

Guitar Hero 8% 12%

Space Invaders 11% 10%

• Jarheads beat Italian plumbers and gangsters.
• NA’s are more likely than SA’s to be fans of CoD and WoW (although Call of Duty tops the list for both groups).

Q27: Please select your top 3 favorite games of all time. (Those above 10% shown.)
40

Best sci-fi/fantasy movie?

Star Wars 22% 23%

Star Trek 17% 20%

Lord of the Rings 17% 15%

Matrix 12% 15%

The Terminator 13% 13%

Alien 6% 8%
SA NA
Other 2%2%

None of the above 10% 5%

• In the battle of light sabers vs. phasers, Yoda rules the galaxy. NA’s and SA’s share the same general preferences.

Q29: What is your favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy movie franchise? 41

Favorite geek/sci-fi TV show

Star Trek 23% 22%

The Big Bang Theory 19% 19%

The X-Files 11% 17%

Family Guy 11% 11%

The Simpsons 8% 6%

Battlestar Galactica 6% 6%

Lost in Space 5% 8%

ALF 4% 5% SA NA

Other 4% 3%


• System and network admins’ TV sets boldly go for Kirk & Picard ahead of Cooper & Hofstadter.
• NA’s are more likely to be X-Files fans.
• SA’s are less likely to select any of the shows tested.

Q31: What is your favorite all-time geek or sci-fi TV show?
42

The most badass superhero?

Batman 18% 22%

Superman 16% 12%

Iron Man 12% 10%

Wolverine 10% 10%

The Hulk 5% 8%

Spiderman 5% 6%

Captain America 5% 4%

Wonder Woman 2% 5% SA NA

Don’t know 9% 6%


• Batman is the “baddest” badass. No significant difference exists between NA & SA preferences.

Q28: Who is the most ‘badass’ superhero of all time? (Top 10 answers
shown.) 43

What’s in their cup when off duty?

Beer, Craft Beer or Beer with a Chaser Beer (any type) 31% 40%

Soda 19% 10%

Coffee 11% 13%

Wine 10% 8%

Water 8% 5%

SA NA
Mixed drink 6% 6%

Straight spirits 4% 5%
(Vodka, rum, scotch, whiskey, Tequila, etc.)

• The top drink of choice for both System and Network Admins is beer of some type when relaxing.
• NA’s are more likely to favor beer, while SA’s are more likely to favor soda.

Q30: What is your usual beverage of choice when you’re relaxing? 44

How they spend their vacations...

Hitting the beach 18% 15%

Cruising 15% 17%

Spending time with family 15% 17%

Cultural destination 8% 11%

City vacation 10% 8%

Hiking/camping destination 8% 9%

Spa/spa resort 3% 6%

Geek convention/gathering 3% 3%
SA NA
Staycation 3% 2%

Adrenaline sports 3% 2%

Retreating to my man/woman cave 3% 2%

• Hitting the beach, cruising or just spending time with the family are the way in which both sysadmins and netadmins spend their
vacations.

Q32: What is your ideal vacation? (Top 10 shown.)
45

What wheels they’re driving

Compact car 26% 26%

SUV 25% 22%

Classic car 11% 19%

Sports car 9% 10%

Truck 6% 6%

Minivan or station wagon 5% 5%
SA NA
Motorcycle 3%3%

Bicycle 2% 3%

• Most systems/network admins cruise around in compact cars and SUVs.
• NA’s are more likely to drive classic cars

Q36: What class of vehicle you most drive on a regular basis? (3% or more)
46

Top tunes

21%

18%

14%
13% SA NA
11%
10% 10%
9% 9%
8%
7% 7% 7% 7% 7%
6% 6%
5% 5% 5%
3%
2% 2% 2% 2% 2%
1% 1%

•Rock rocks! But house, funk and techno fall on deaf ears. NA’s and SA’s like the same kinds of music.

Q33: What is your favorite type of music? 47

What kind of person are you? (Page 1 of 3)

60% 61% SA NA
56% 55% 56%
51% 50%
48% 49% 49%
45% 46% 45% 46%
44%
42%
40%
38%
32% 33%

• System/network admins view themselves as hardworking but friendly and fun.
• NA’s are a little more likely to see themselves as fun-loving, smart, adventurous and leaders.
• SA’s are a little more likely to see themselves as homebodies.

Q39. Please rate each of the following personality traits in terms of how well each
describes you. (Results based on “Describes me completely.”) 48


38%
SA NA
32% 33%
31% 31%32% 30%31%
32%
30%
26% 26% 26% 27%
24% 23% 23%22%
22% 21%22% 20%

•SA’s are more likely to describe themselves as “average Joes/Janes”.

Q39 Please rate each of the following personality traits in terms of how well each
describes you. (Results based on “Describes me completely.”) 49


23% 23%
22% SA NA
21%
20% 20% 20%
19% 19%
17%

14% 14%
13%
12% 12% 12%
11% 11%
10%
9%

Q39 Please rate each of the following personality traits in terms of how well each
describes you. (Results based on “Describes me completely.”)
50

DEMOGRAPHICS OF
SURVEY RESPONDANTS

51

Gender

67%
65%
SA NA

35% 34%

Male Female

• No gender difference exists between the two job functions, but the profession as a whole is two-thirds male

52

Number of employees

SA NA
21% 21%
20%

17%
15%
14%
13% 13%
12%
11% 11%
10%
9%
8%

Less than 100 Between 100 and 200 Over 200 up to 400 Over 400 up to 600 Over 600 up to 1000 1,000 up to 4,000 More than 4,000
employees

53

Company revenue

SA NA 27%

14% 14% 14% 14%
13% 13% 13%
12% 12%
10%
9% 9% 9%

6%
5%

Under 1 million Between 1 million Over 5 million to Over 10 million to Over 50 million to Over 100 million Over 500 million Don’t know
and 5 million 10 million 50 million 100 million to 500 million

54

Age

SA NA
39%

34%

26% 26%
23% 22%

17%
13%

22-34 35-44 45-54 55+

• The profession contains a wide spread of ages & there is little difference between the ages of NA’s and SA’s

55

Marital status

64%
59%

SA NA

22% 22%

9% 7% 7% 6%
1% 1%

Married Divorced Widowed Single/never married Living with a
significant other

• No difference exists between the two job functions – the largest proportion of people are married

56

Years in technology field

52%
50%
SA NA

34%

27%
23%

14%

Up to 5 years Between 5 and 10 years Over 10 years

• The majority have over 10 years of experience
• NA’s are more experienced

57

Highest level of education

SA NA
58%
54%

28%
24%
21%
14%

Some college or less College graduate Post graduate studies (with or without
degree)

• The majority are college graduates. Sysadmins are somewhat less educated.

58

Years as a sysadmin/netadmin

SA NA

26%

23% 23%
22% 22%
21%

16% 16%

13%

10%

7%

2%

Less than 1 year 1 to 3 years Over 3-5 years Over 5-8 years Over 8-10 years Over 10 years

• In general, network admins have been in their roles longer than system admins.

59

Visit www.solarwinds.com for
more information

60

One activity liked most in free time:
Spontaneous responses

• SA’s and NA’s have a wide variety of interests. On a spontaneous basis, both provided fairly similar responses:
reading, spending time with family and friends, watching or participating in sports and watching movies.

Q22: Total: What is the one activity that you most like to do in your free time
for fun? (Open end) 62

Website visited most frequently for job-related issues

• SA’s and NA’s most frequently seek information on Google for their work-related questions and issues.

Q34. Website visit most for job
63

Website visited most frequently in free time

• SA’s and NA’s visit various websites in their free time. However, the most popular ones are:
Facebook, YouTube, Google, Amazon, Yahoo and ESPN.

Q35. Website visited most in free time
64

Most prized possession

• SA’s and NA’s feel that their most prized possessions are their families (children, wife, grandchildren), pets, their homes, cars
and their computers. Many also mentioned their collections of various items such as: baseball cards, DVDs/movies, comic
books and music.

Q40. Most prized possession
65

Job title

• Spontaneously, titles were consistent to the descriptions for the survey qualification criteria. System Administrator and
Network Administrator were frequently mentioned as specific titles. Other frequently mentioned titles were:
Engineers, Directors, Managers, Analysts, CIO support, Systems/Network-related titles such as
Specialist, Manager, Supervisor, Administrator, Director, etc.

Q45. Job title
66

Netadmin and Sysadmin Survey Results - US

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