A wide-ranging survey of Australian network and systems administrators that captures the rapidly evolving nature of these IT Pros’ roles and their thoughts on life inside and outside of the workplace

1. Systems and Network Admins
Revealed!
A look at the attitudes and preferences of US-based systems and network
administrators
AUSTRALIA DATA 1

2. Study overview: Who are systems/network
administrators?
» SolarWinds set out to measure the rapidly evolving
nature of systems and network administrators in
Australia
» We captured their thoughts on life inside and outside of
the workplace to understand who they are and what
drives them
» 722 Australia-based sysadmins (410) and netadmins
(312) took part in the survey conducted by RedShift
Research in October 2012
2

3. 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.
» NA’s enjoy solving problems more and having the
opportunity to work with new technologies.
» SA’s are much more frustrated with many aspects of their
jobs, and are more likely to see themselves in a different
career in the future.
» NA’s believe their budgets will remain the same in 2013.
» NA’s are happier with their IT department, systems and the
leadership at the company.
3

4. Systems vs. network admins: Social life findings
» NA’s are more active and have more interests in general:
 They tend to spend more time with family and friends, and are more engaged in reading, cooking, watching or participating
in sports, playing video games, having alternative tech. interests, going out to bars, volunteering, collecting, yoga and
programming.
» Both groups are generally not gamers.
» NA’s prefer Androids and Blackberrys, SA’s prefer iPhones.
» NA’s prefer PCs, while SA’s prefer Macs (although the most used is the PC)
» NA’s prefer Rock music.
» NA’s are more likely to be males and nearly half of SA’s are females.
» NA’s perceive themselves quite differently than do SA’s on many personality traits:
 Friendly
 Funny
 Smart
 A leader
 Adventurous
 Outgoing
 Serious
 Cynical
 Upbeat
 Joker
 Average Jo/Jane
 Tough, rugged
 Thrill-seeker
 Life of the party
 Off-center
4

5. 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

6. How Systems and Network Admins’ roles are changing
% Strongly Agree
There is more responsibility and demands on my time 24% 29%
There is more pressure 23% 30%
I am spending more time on the job 22% 22%
There is more complexity in the systems I manage 19% 27%
I am doing more with less 19% 23%
The software used to manage IT systems is more expensive 18% 28%
The software used to manage IT systems is more complex 17% 27%
There are more career paths to pursue /more specialization 16% 23%
I have been adequately trained in new tech skills 14% 24%
I feel more satisfied in my career 12% 20%
There is more incentive to perform my best 11% 18%
There are more resources to do my job 10% 18%
Strongly Agree (SA) Strongly Agree (NA)
• About one-quarter strongly agree that there have more responsibilities and demands at work.
• Three in ten NA’s are feeling more pressure- perhaps as a result of an increased complexity in the systems they manage as well
as the software used (and the higher cost of the software). Nevertheless, about one-quarter strongly agree that they are
adequately trained and feel more satisfied in their career.
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.)

7. How the sysadmin and netadmin roles are changing
% Strongly/Somewhat Agree
There is more responsibility and demands on my time 86% 85%
There is more complexity in the systems I manage 84% 82%
I am doing more with less 80% 75%
I have been adequately trained in new tech skills 71% 76%
I am spending more time on the job 77% 75%
The software used to manage IT systems is more complex 79% 78%
There is more pressure 80% 78%
The software used to manage IT systems is more expensive 82% 79%
There are more career paths to pursue /more specialization 76% 73%
I feel more satisfied in my career 71% 79%
There is more incentive to perform my best 59% 66%
There are more resources to do my job 63% 69%
Strongly/Somewhat Agree (SA) Strongly/Somewhat Agree (NA)
• In terms of complete agreement, the differences seen in the previous chart become less prominent since most people
“somewhat” agree” with nearly all statements.
• We still see NA’s expressing a higher satisfaction in their careers, along with more enthusiasm to perform their best.
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

8. Ranking of key job frustrations
% Ranked 1st: Most Frustrating
Too little pay 20% 16%
Not enough budget 13% 21%
Increasing workload/responsibilities 12% 13%
Too much to do 15% 13%
Job is not challenging or rewarding enough 11% 13% SA NA
Lack of appreciation from users/company 10% 7%
Little control over what I work on 7% 4%
Not enough autonomy 4% 4%
• When having to choose the most frustrating aspects relative to each other, inadequate pay and budget constraints 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

9. Ranking of key job frustrations
% Ranked 1st to 3rd : Most Frustrating
Too little pay 45% 43%
Not enough budget 38% 45%
Increasing workload/responsibilities 41% 38%
Too much to do 40% 43%
Job is not challenging or rewarding enough 39% 38%
Lack of appreciation from users/company 33% 25%
Little control over what I work on 26% 23%
SA NA
Not enough autonomy 17% 18%
• The top three ranking scores indicate a similar profile as that seen for the top ranked job frustration. Here we see that SA’s
are more likely to feel unappreciated.
• 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

10. Job challenges
% Saying Very/Somewhat Frustrating
Too little pay 71% 55%
Not enough budget 69% 63%
Lack of appreciation from users/company 66% 48%
Increasing workload/responsibilities 65% 54%
SA NA
Too much to do 64% 55%
Job is not challenging or rewarding enough 61% 41%
Little control over what I work on 57% 39%
Not enough autonomy 56% 39%
• When asked to rate each attribute on an individual level, most of the responses fall in the “somewhat frustrating” category,
• Nevertheless, among SA’s we see a clear pattern of being more frustrated on nearly all aspects measured.
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

11. What systems and network admins enjoy most about
their work (All selections)
Solving problems 72% 79%
Helping users 58% 57%
Thinking on my feet 49% 57%
Making a contribution to the organization 44% 53%
Getting to work with new technologies 41% 53%
Having a unique set of skills/capabilities 32% 44%
Completing daily systems tasks 26% 32%
SA NA
Designing or planning new solutions 24% 38%
Driving innovation in the company 23% 41%
Evaluating software solutions 22% 35%
Other aspect not listed above 3% 4%
• 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 but find their jobs much more enjoyable than do SA’s, with the exception of
completing daily tasks.
Q12: Please select all of the items that you enjoy a lot about being a
systems/network administrator. 11

12. The single most enjoyable aspect about the profession
Solving problems 23% 28%
Helping users 15% 10%
Making a contribution to the organization 10% 7%
Getting to work with new technologies 9% 14%
Designing or planning new solutions 9% 9%
Thinking on my feet 9% 9%
Having a unique set of skills 7% 8%
SA NA
Completing daily systems tasks 7% 4%
Driving innovation in the company 6% 7%
Evaluating software solutions 3% 4%
Other 2% 1%
• The challenge of problem solving and helping users are the most enjoyable aspects of the work for both functions.
• SA’s were more likely to enjoy helping users, while NA’s find working with new technologies more enjoyable.
Q13: Which of these do you enjoy most about being a systems/network
administrator? (One response only.)
12

13. Job satisfaction & recognition
48%
SA NA 45%
40% 41%
37%
34%
28%
27% 25%
24%
13%
13% 10%
6%
4% 4%
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 more likely to find their jobs highly enjoyable and feel more highly 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

14. How system/network admins feel about their employers
% Strongly Agree
Our systems are more reliable and efficient than in the past 18% 29%
I trust the leadership of the IT department at my company 18% 35%
I trust the senior/executive leadership of the company 18% 37%
Most of the company doesn’t understand what I do/the value 15% 22%
I bring
I feel 2013 will be a growth year for my company 14% 22%
Our IT department is in a better position than the past year 12% 27%
Strongly agree (SA) Strongly agree (NA)
• NA’s are much more positive on all aspects measured. However, they are also more likely to state that the company doesn’t
understand what they do or the value they provide.
Q18: Please rate the following sentences based on how much you agree or disagree.
(Asked: Strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree.) 14

15. How system/network admins feel about their employers
% Strongly/Somewhat Agree
Our systems are more reliable and efficient than in the past 79% 88%
I trust the leadership of the IT department at my company 79% 88%
I trust the senior/executive leadership of the company 74% 84%
Our IT department is in a better position than the past year 71% 79%
Most of the company doesn’t understand what I do/the 71% 62%
value I bring
I feel 2013 will be a growth year for my company 70% 73%
SA's NA's
• In terms of total agreement, the vast majority in both groups feel at least somewhat positive about their workplace.
• However, on this level, SA’s are more likely to say that their work or the value they bring is not easily understood by others
in the 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

16. How often do system/network admins change jobs?
SA NA 29% 29%
27%
25%
24%
21%
14%
12%
11%
7%
Every 1-2 years Every 3-5 years Every 5-10 years More than 10 years Never changed jobs
• The frequency of changing jobs is similar across both groups, with about one-quarter claiming they change between every 3
years to more than 10 years. Job-hopping is nearly as uncommon as is never changing jobs.
Q37: How often do you change jobs?
16

17. Future career aspirations
IT department head or lead 23% 24%
Something non-technical and unrelated to 23% 14%
current field
Retired 20% 19%
As a Systems administrator 14% 15%
SA NA
As a Network administrator 10% 8%
Other 8% 8%
CIO 2% 13%
• In the future, both groups primarily see themselves as IT department heads or leads.
• However, SA’s are more likely to change careers.
Q16. Where do you see yourself in five years in your career?
17

18. Why they switch jobs
24% SA NA
20% 20% 20%
17% 17%
15%
13%
11%
9%
8% 8%
7%
5% 5%
3%
For a more Change of For a pay raise For a more I was laid off For a Current Lack of overall
challenging career satisfying role promotion company is support in
role unstable current role
• SA’s and NA’s are likely to jump ship for a more challenging role or for a change of career than for other reasons.
• There are no significant differences between groups.
Q38: What was the last reason that made you change your job?
18

19. 2013 IT budget predictions
SA NA
Total Less: 44%
Total More:
37%
SA: 38%
SA: 15%
NA: 25%
NA: 26%
18%
12% 13%
10% 11%
8% 9% 8%
6% 7% 6%
4% 5%
3%
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.
• NA’s are more likely to feel there will be little change.
• About one-quarter of NA’s feel there will just as many cuts as there will be increases.
Q8: Do you anticipate your department will have more, less or the same budget
in 2013? (Please select one response.) 19

20. Do they have the resources to do the job right?
% Always
Adequate ongoing training and skills development 14% 21%
Adequate tools/software and hardware 13% 19%
Skilled staff/people resources 13% 17%
Adequate support from organization 12% 26%
Adequate budget/money resources 10% 17%
Always (SA) Always (NA)
• Between two and three in ten of NA’s feel they always have the appropriate resources to do their job right.
• The exception (for NA’s) is having skilled staff or people resources.
• Having sufficient budget seems to be a relatively scarcer resource, although NA’s are more likely to say the budget is
manageable.
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

21. Do they have the resources to do the job right?
% Always/Usually
Adequate tools/software and hardware 58% 73%
Adequate support from organization 51% 69%
Skilled staff/people resources 47% 55%
Adequate ongoing training and skills development 47% 63%
Adequate budget/money resources 40% 52%
Always/Usually (SA) Always/Usually (NA)
• The same pattern emerges on this level, although here, the majority of NA’s feel they do have skilled staff/people resources.
Notably, this is a relatively lower proportion than most other aspects measured.
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

22. Amount of free time spent on work assignments
36% 37% 36% SA NA
30%
16%
13%
10%
8% 8% 7%
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.
Q11:Outside of your normal working hours, how much of your free time do you
use to continue working to complete your assignments? 22

23. Where sysadmins/netadmins turn to for help
21%
20%
18%
15% SA NA
12% 12%
9% 9%
7% 7% 6% 6%
4% 4% 5% 5% 5%
3% 3% 2% 3% 4% 2% 2% 2% 1%
• 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.
• SA’s are a more likely to value the opinions of their colleagues.
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? 23

24. The average hourly working week
38%
34% 34%
28% SA NA
19%
15%
8%
6% 6%
5% 5%
2%
Under 40 40-45 45-50 50-55 55-60 More than 60
• On average about one-third of both groups work under 40 hours per week. The vast majority work up to 45 hours.
Q19:On average, how many hours do you usually work per week? 24

25. What sysadmins do on the job
Maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or network 42%
Project management for systems-related projects 23%
Supervising or training computer operators 23%
Installing, supporting, maintaining servers or other computer systems 20%
Light programming 20%
Making sure licenses for software are paid 18%
Planning for and responding to service outages or other problems 17%
Monitoring performance of the network 17%
Ensuring security for Internet connectivity 16%
Procurement of new hardware, rolling out new software installs 15%
Checking for security breaches and poor data management practices 10%
Maintaining standards for server installations and applications 9%
Maintaining the disk images for new computer installs 8%
Designing and/or Installing networks 6%
• About four in ten SA’s are primarily responsible for maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or a network.
• About one-quarter manage system-related projects and supervise or train computer operators.
Q3: Which of the following categories describes your role in the IT
department? Please check as many as apply based on your primary
responsibilities. 25

26. What netadmins do on the job
Maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or network 73%
Procurement of new hardware, rolling out new software installs 72%
Ensuring security for Internet connectivity 61%
Making sure licenses for software are paid 60%
Monitoring performance of the network 54%
Installing, supporting, maintaining servers or other computer systems 54%
Planning for and responding to service outages or other problems 53%
Maintaining standards for server installations and applications 49%
Project management for systems-related projects 47%
Supervising or training computer operators 43%
Checking for security breaches and poor data management practices 39%
Maintaining the disk images for new computer installs 38%
Designing and/or Installing networks 37%
Light programming 35%
• NA’s have a wider range of responsibilities than do SA’s and are more engaged with a greater variety of different tasks beyond
simple maintenance, installation and operations.
• Three-quarters maintain and/or operate a computer system and/or a network. The same proportion are involved in
procurement of new hardware and rolling out new software installs.
Q3: Which of the following categories describes your role in the IT
department? Please check as many as apply based on your primary
26
responsibilities.

27. Comparison of sysadmins and netadmins: Job responsibilities
Maintaining and/or operating a computer system and/or… 42% 73%
Project management for systems-related projects 23% 47%
Supervising or training computer operators 23% 43%
Installing, supporting, maintaining servers or other computer… 20% 54%
Light programming 20% 35%
Making sure licenses for software are paid 18% 60%
Monitoring performance of the network 17% 54%
Planning for and responding to service outages or other… 17% 53%
Ensuring security for Internet connectivity 16% 61%
Procurement of new hardware, rolling out new software installs 15% 72%
Checking for security breaches and poor data management… 10% 39%
Maintaining standards for server installations and applications 9% 49%
Maintaining the disk images for new computer installs 8% 38% SA NA
Designing and/or Installing networks 6% 37%
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

28. Number of hours spent on various tasks:
Systems Admins
More than 2% 2% 1% 2%
4% 5% 3%
4% 5% 6% 3% 3% 3% 3%
20 hours 9% 9% 10% 9%
11 to 20 34% 30% 35%
hours 44% 39% 38% 37% 43% 43%
2 to 10 hours
60% 63% 59%
Less than 1 49% 53% 50% 51% 45%
hour
44%
• SA’s spend up to 10 hours on most of the tasks that were evaluated.
• The tasks that seem to take the least amount of time are back-ups/restores, patching systems and software and upgrading systems and
software.
• Those that appear to take the longest time are: designing or planning new solutions, troubleshooting system problems and monitoring
applications and systems.
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) 28

29. Number of hours spent on various tasks:
Network Admins (Page 1 of 2)
More than
20 hours
1% 1% 6% 1% 4%
9% 11% 11%
9%
11 to 20 12%
hours
27%
2 to 10 48% 45% 49%
hours
49%
Less than 1
hour
63%
39% 41% 39%
36%
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.
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) 29

30. Number of hours spent on various tasks:
Network Admins (Page 2 of 2)
More than
20 hours
2% 1% 4% 4%
12% 6%
14% 10% 11%
11 to 20
hours 11%
2 to 10
hours
43% 49% 49%
55% 42%
Less than 1
hour
41% 38% 36% 41%
31%
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.
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

31. How much sway do sysadmins have?
I have some influence in at least some IT matters 52%
I have very little influence in the decision making 19%
process for any IT matters
I have a strong influence in at least some IT Make at Least Some
11% Decisions: 75%
decisions
9% Make No Decisions:
I make the final decisions for all IT matters
25%
I have no involvement at all in the decision making 7%
process for any IT matters
I make the final decisions for at least some IT 3%
matters
• Despite their limited role descriptions, three-quarters of SA’s have at least some influence in IT decisions. However, the
decision making capacity is limited primarily to having just some influence in at least some IT matters. So in essence, they have
very limited decision-making power.
Q4: Which of the following best describes your overall role in the IT decision
making process? (Please select only one response.) 31

32. How much sway do netadmins have?
I make the final decisions for all IT matters 49%
I make the final decisions for at least some IT 20%
matters
I have a strong influence in at least some IT 32%
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.)
32

33. SOCIAL LIFE
33

34. How they spend free time
Unwind at home 77% 77% Do something athletic 28% 40%
Spending time with 68% 75% Alternative tech. 24% 33%
family/friends interests
Surf the Web 60% 66% Team 21% 31%
sports/competitive…
Watch a movie 48% 53% Go out to a bar 20% 31%
Enjoy the great 49% 52% Charity/volunteer work 19% 29%
outdoors
Reading 49% 57% Collecting 17% 23%
Cooking 40% 50% Dancing 16% 21%
Watch a sporting 32% 46% Yoga 14% 21%
event
Play video games 24% 31% SA NA Programming 13% 23%
• Unwinding at home, spending time with family or friends, surfing the web, reading , watching movies and enjoying the great
outdoors are the most popular ways for both SA’s and NA’s to spend their free time.
• NA’s are more active and have more interests in general. They tend to spend more time with family and friends, and are more
engaged in reading, cooking, watching or participating in sports, playing video games, having alternative tech. interests, going
out to bars, volunteering, collecting, yoga and programming.
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
34
activities in this type of situation?

35. Mobile gadget of choice
43%
41%
36% SA NA
33%
13%
8% 9%
7%
5% 4%
iPhone Android Other Windows mobile Blackberry
• iPhones and Androids dominate as the gadgets of choice.
• SA’s prefer iPhones, while NA’s prefer Androids and Blackberrys.
Q24: For my personal Smartphone, I use a(n):
35

36. Are you a PC or a Mac?
85%
77%
SA NA
17%
9%
5% 4%
1% 2%
PC Mac Open source Other
• PCs dominate across the profession; however, there is a preference for them among NA’s and a preference for Macs among
SA’s.
Q25: I’m a…
36

37. What’s the all-time best gaming platform?
I’m not a gamer 33% 32%
PlayStation 16% 17%
Xbox 12% 15%
Wii 12% 12%
My PC 10% 11% SA NA
Nintendo 10% 8%
• Surprisingly, one-third of both groups are not gamers.
• Of those that are, PlayStation, Xbox and Wii share the spotlight.
Q26: What is the best video game platform of all time? 37

38. What video game rules over all?
Super Mario Bros. 25% 22%
Other 24% 28%
Call of Duty 20% 22%
Tetris 19% 14%
Space Invaders 16% 19%
Wii 14% 15%
PacMan/Ms. PacMan 11% 8%
The Sims 11% 8%
Grand Theft Auto 10% 15%
SA NA
World of Warcraft 10% 11%
Pokemon 8% 7%
Streetfighter 8% 8%
• Super Mario Bros. tops the list of preferred video games, followed closely by Call of Duty. Tetris, Space Invaders and Wii follow
with very similar preference levels.
• Notably, “other” video games in general fall in second place.
• NA’s tend to prefer Grand Theft Auto.
Q27: Please select your top 3 favorite games of all time. (Those above 10% shown.)
38

39. Best sci-fi/fantasy movie?
Lord of the Rings 24% 19%
Star Wars 16% 16%
The Terminator 14% 14%
Matrix 11% 11%
None of the above 11% 13%
Star Trek 10% 14%
SA NA
Alien 10% 9%
Other 3% 4%
• The epic Lord of the Rings leads as the best sci-fi/fantasy film, followed by Star Wars and The Terminator.
• Both groups have similar preferences.
Q29: What is your favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy movie franchise? 39

40. Favorite geek/sci-fi TV show
The Big Bang Theory 26% 23%
None of the above 15% 11%
Star Trek 12% 17%
The X-Files 12% 10%
Family Guy 8% 5%
The Simpsons 8% 10%
Lost in Space 6% 10%
Battlestar Galactica 4% 5% SA NA
ALF 4% 4%
Other 4% 6%
• The Big Bang Theory leads as the favorite geek/sci-fi TV show., followed by Star Trek and the X-Files.
• Notably, “none” of the shows are favored by 15% of SA’s and 11% of NA’s. These proportions exceed the levels seen for
most of the shows measured.
• SA’s and NA’s have very similar preferences.
Q31: What is your favorite all-time geek or sci-fi TV show?
40

41. The most badass superhero?
Don’t know 18% 21%
Wolverine 15% 14%
Batman 13% 14%
Superman 8% 7%
The Hulk 7% 7%
Wonder Woman 6% 4%
None of the above 6% 7%
Spiderman 5% 4% SA NA
Iron Man 4% 6%
Catwoman 4% 1%
• About two in ten “don’t know” who their favorite superhero is.
• Of those who do, Wolverine and Batman share the top spots.
Q28: Who is the most ‘badass’ superhero of all time? (Top 10 answers
shown.) 41

42. What’s in their cup when off duty?
Beer, Craft Beer or Beer with a Chaser Beer (any type) 21% 23%
Coffee 21% 19%
Wine 19% 19%
Water 7% 4%
Straight spirits 7% 5%
(Vodka, rum, scotch, whiskey, Tequila, etc.)
SA NA
Soda 6% 6%
Mixed drink 5% 8%
• The top drinks of choice for both SA’s and NA’s are beer, coffee and wine, when relaxing.
• Both groups favor the same types of beverages.
Q30: What is your usual beverage of choice when you’re relaxing? 42

43. How they spend their vacations...
Spending time with family 19% 23%
Cruising 16% 13%
Hitting the beach 11% 10%
Cultural destination 10% 14%
Spa/spa resort 10% 7%
Hiking/camping destination 8% 4%
City vacation 5% 8%
Other 4% 8%
SA NA
Staycation 3% 2%
Adrenaline sports 3% 2%
Retreating to my man/woman cave 3% 6%
• Spending time with family tops the list as the favorite type of vacation among both groups.
Q32: What is your ideal vacation? (Top 10 shown.)
43

44. What wheels they’re driving
Compact car 27% 28%
Classic car 19% 16%
SUV 18% 17%
Sports car 9% 8%
Minivan or station wagon 4% 8%
Motorcycle 2%4%
SA NA
Bicycle 2%
2%
1%1%
Truck
• SA’s and NA’s cruise around in compact or classic cars and SUVs.
Q36: What class of vehicle you most drive on a regular basis? (3% or more)
44

45. Top tunes
22%
17%
16%
15%
SA NA
10% 10%
9% 9% 9% 9%
8% 8% 8%
6% 6% 6%
5% 5%
4% 4%
3% 3% 3%
2% 2%
1% 1% 1%
• Pop and Rock music are the most liked type of music, the latter preferred by NA’s.
• Most other types have very low scores, especially Funk, Techno, House, New Age and Heavy Metal.
Q33: What is your favorite type of music? 45

46. What kind of person are you? (Page 1 of 3)
SA NA
59% 57%
55%
49% 48%
44% 45% 43% 43%
38% 39% 39%
34% 33% 35% 34%
31% 31%
25% 27%
Hard-working Friendly Compassionate Fun-loving Intellectual Funny Homebody Smart Leader Meticulous
• Sysadmins and Netadmins see themselves as hardworking and friendly.
• NA’s perceive themselves quite differently than do SA’s on many personality traits:
• Friendly • Upbeat
• Funny • Joker
• Smart • Average Jo/Jane
• A leader • Tough, rugged
• Adventurous • Thrill-seeker
• Outgoing • Life of the party
• Serious • Off-center
• Cynical
(Please see following two charts for supporting data).
Q39. Please rate each of the following personality traits in terms of how well each
describes you. (Results based on “Describes me completely.”) 46

47. What kind of person are you? (Page 2 of 3)
SA NA
29% 29%
26%
24%
22% 22%
21% 21% 21%
20% 20%
18%
17% 17% 17%
16% 16% 16%
15% 15%
Q39 Please rate each of the following personality traits in terms of how well each
describes you. (Results based on “Describes me completely.”) 47

48. What kind of person are you? (Page 3 of 3)
22% SA NA
20%
19% 19%
18%
16%
15% 15% 15%
14%
12%
11%
10% 10% 10%
9% 9% 9%
8% 8%
7% 7%
Q39 Please rate each of the following personality traits in terms of how well each
describes you. (Results based on “Describes me completely.”)
48

49. DEMOGRAPHICS OF
SURVEY RESPONDANTS
49

50. Gender
63%
53% SA NA
47%
37%
Male Female
• NA’s are more likely to be males, while SA’s are more likely to be females.
50

51. Number of employees
55% SA NA
45%
13%
11%
8% 9% 9% 8% 8%
6% 5% 6% 6% 6%
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
• Most of the companies in Australia who agreed to participate work in small companies, especially NA’s.
• SA’s are more likely to work in companies with between 100 and 200 employees and very large companies with
more than 4,000 employees.
51

52. Company revenue
38%
SA NA
24%
18%
15%
14%
13%
9% 9% 9%
7% 7% 7%
6%
4%
3%
2%
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
• NA’s are more likely to have company revenues of less than 1 million Australian dollars (US$ 1,500,000), or between 50
million (US$ 52,500,000) and 100 million Australian dollars (US$ 105,000,000).
• SA’s are much more likely to be unaware of the company revenue.
52

53. Age
32% SA NA
27%
26% 26%
24%
23%
22% 22%
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.
53

54. Marital status
58% 58%
SA NA
16% 16%
11% 13% 12%
10%
3% 2%
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
54

55. Years in technology field
SA NA
44%
40%
36%
31%
24% 25%
Up to 5 years Between 5 and 10 years Over 10 years
• About four in ten have over 10 years of experience.
• SA’s are less experienced overall. About one-third are in their roles 5 years or less.
55

56. Highest level of education
SA NA
55% 54%
25%
22% 23%
21%
Some college or less College graduate Post graduate studies (with or without
degree)
• The majority are college graduates.
56

57. Years as a sysadmin/netadmin
SA NA
33%
23%
22% 22%
21%
19%
15%
13%
10%
8%
7%
6%
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, NA’s have been in their roles longer than SA’s.
• In fact, almost the majority of SA’s are in their roles 3 years or less.
57

58. Annual income
28% 28%
SA NA
25% 25% 25%
22%
16%
12%
10%
9%
Up so 55,000 Aus$ 56,000 to 85,000 Aus$ 86,000 to 120,000 Aus$ 121,000 AUS$ or more Refused
• Average Income: System admins: 82K Aus$ (US$ 86K) Network admins: 89K Aus$ (US$ 93K)*
Conversion rate used: 1 AUSD to $ 1.05 US
58

59. Visit www.solarwinds.com for
more information
59

60. Additional Analysis
60

61. 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, gardening, exercising walking or simply relaxing/sleeping.
Q22: Total: What is the one activity that you most like to do in your free time
for fun? (Open end) 61

62. Website visited most frequently for job-related issues
Spontaneous responses
• 34% of both groups use Google to seek information for work-related issues. However, we have excluded it from this wordle
in order for other popular websites to be viewed.
Q34. Website visit most for job
62

63. Website visited most frequently in free time
Spontaneous responses
• SA’s and NA’s consistently visit a handful of websites in their free time. The most popular ones are:
Facebook,, Google, EBay, Yahoo and YouTube.
Q35. Website visited most in free time
63

64. Most prized possession
Spontaneous responses
• SA’s and NA’s feel that their most prized possessions are their families , cars and their homes.
Q40. Most prized possession
64

65. Job title
Spontaneous responses
• Spontaneously, titles were consistent to the descriptions for the survey qualification criteria. System Administrator and
Network Administrator were frequently mentioned as specific titles. IT Manager was mentioned quite often, as was Manager.
• Other titles mentioned with some degree of frequency were: IT Consultant, Director, Administrator and Owner.
Q45. Job title
65