Occupation
Systems administrator
Systems administrators keep an organisation's servers, operating systems, and core services running. The work is a mix of planned maintenance and unplanned problem solving, and it often includes the accounts, backups, and permissions everyone else depends on.
Also known as: Sysadmin · IT systems administrator · Server administrator
Occupation content
Part of Information technology, data and cybersecurity
What the work involves
- Install, patch, and configure servers and operating systems
- Manage user accounts, groups, and access permissions
- Run and verify backups, and test that restores actually work
- Monitor system health and respond to alerts and outages
- Document configurations and maintenance procedures
How people commonly enter
- A college diploma or certificate in computer systems or network administration
- A degree in information technology, computer science, or information systems
- Vendor certifications in operating systems, virtualisation, or cloud platforms
- Progression from an IT support or help desk role
- A technology apprenticeship with an employer
Typical training: Certificate or college diploma
Licensing: Certification common, not usually required
Typical work context
Team based · Desk based · High responsibility · Varied work · Shift work · Hybrid office
Related interests
Realistic (hands-on) · Conventional (organizing) · Investigative (analytical)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
- Technical reasoning
- Problem solving
- Attention and concentration
- Logical reasoning
- Multitasking and monitoring
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Information technology, data and cybersecurity.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook: Network and Computer Systems Administrators · United States
Link checked
- O*NET OnLine — Network and Computer Systems Administrators (15-1244.00) · International
Link checked
- Canada Job Bank — Job profile search: computer network and web technicians · Canada
Link checked
Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Information technology, data and cybersecurity in Canada, not a figure for Systems administrator. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Information technology, data and cybersecurity family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Information technology, data and cybersecurity: education pathways
Some roles in Information technology, data and cybersecurity may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Information technology, data and cybersecurity: licensing
Find jobs
These are live, user-controlled searches on each source's own site for “ Systems administrator”. Novus Learn does not fetch, store, or rank these results, and job availability never changes your exploration match score.
- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)