System Administrator (Sysadmin)
UK

The median System Administrator (Sysadmin) salary in the UK is £40,400 per year according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months to 12 May 2024.

The first table below provides salary benchmarking and summary statistics including a comparison to same period in the previous 2 years.

6 months to
12 May 2024
Same period 2023 Same period 2022
Rank 444 545 663
Rank change year-on-year +101 +118 -170
Permanent jobs requiring a Systems Administrator 551 485 671
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 0.56% 0.48% 0.43%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.59% 0.52% 0.44%
Number of salaries quoted 442 375 496
10th Percentile £28,000 £28,750 £28,750
25th Percentile £33,500 £36,250 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £40,400 £48,000 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -15.83% +6.67% +8.43%
75th Percentile £50,938 £62,500 £55,000
90th Percentile £59,500 £75,000 £62,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £40,000 £40,000 £40,000

All Permanent IT Job Vacancies
UK

The following table is for comparison with the above and includes summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title 93,937 92,745 151,578
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 94.62% 91.52% 96.09%
Number of salaries quoted 67,282 58,546 84,308
10th Percentile £28,500 £32,500 £32,500
25th Percentile £38,500 £45,000 £42,604
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £60,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -12.50% - +9.09%
75th Percentile £71,250 £80,627 £78,750
90th Percentile £90,000 £100,000 £95,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £53,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -5.66% +6.00% +5.26%

Systems Administrator
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings that featured Systems Administrator in the job title as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for Systems Administrator in the UK

Systems Administrator
Salary Trend

3-month moving average salary quoted in jobs citing Systems Administrator.

Salary trend for Systems Administrator in the UK

Systems Administrator
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Systems Administrator over the 6 months to 12 May 2024.

Salary histogram for Systems Administrator in the UK

Systems Administrator
Top 16 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Systems Administrator within the UK over the 6 months to 12 May 2024. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
England +107 484 £40,400 -15.83% 104
UK excluding London +91 454 £40,000 - 84
Work from Home +58 140 £45,000 -14.29% 28
North of England +120 124 £35,000 +0.72% 16
South East +24 98 £40,000 - 20
Midlands +51 85 £40,000 +14.29% 17
London +35 75 £49,000 -18.33% 26
South West -38 74 £43,750 -2.78% 17
North West +30 63 £36,407 -23.35% 11
East Midlands +30 46 £40,000 +25.98% 11
Scotland -26 45 £36,000 +5.88% 4
Yorkshire +110 43 £35,000 +7.69% 4
West Midlands +39 39 £36,250 -9.38% 6
East of England +19 24 £30,000 -33.33% 9
North East +10 18 £44,500 +11.25% 1
Wales +18 4 £50,000 -13.04% 2

Systems Administrator Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities

For the 6 months to 12 May 2024, Systems Administrator job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads featuring Systems Administrator in the job title.

1 173 (31.40%) Windows
2 149 (27.04%) Problem-Solving
3 137 (24.86%) Azure
4 136 (24.68%) Microsoft
5 114 (20.69%) Linux
6 112 (20.33%) Social Skills
7 111 (20.15%) Active Directory
8 110 (19.96%) Microsoft 365
9 103 (18.69%) VMware
10 82 (14.88%) SQL
11 76 (13.79%) Windows Server
12 75 (13.61%) Finance
13 66 (11.98%) Firewall
14 65 (11.80%) PowerShell
15 63 (11.43%) DNS
16 60 (10.89%) VMware Infrastructure
17 58 (10.53%) Security Cleared
17 58 (10.53%) Degree
18 56 (10.16%) Entra ID
19 52 (9.44%) Analytical Skills
20 49 (8.89%) Cybersecurity
21 47 (8.53%) LAN
21 47 (8.53%) WAN
21 47 (8.53%) Python
22 45 (8.17%) TCP/IP
22 45 (8.17%) Customer Service
23 41 (7.44%) DHCP
23 41 (7.44%) Microsoft Exchange
24 40 (7.26%) ITIL
24 40 (7.26%) Hyper-V

Systems Administrator Skill Set
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 41 (7.44%) Microsoft Exchange
2 31 (5.63%) SharePoint
3 6 (1.09%) Apache
3 6 (1.09%) Confluence
3 6 (1.09%) Exchange Server 2013
4 3 (0.54%) Exchange Server 2010
4 3 (0.54%) IIS
4 3 (0.54%) Moodle
4 3 (0.54%) Site Server
5 1 (0.18%) CMS
5 1 (0.18%) OpenStack
5 1 (0.18%) Oracle Application Server
5 1 (0.18%) WebLogic
5 1 (0.18%) WordPress
Applications
1 25 (4.54%) Microsoft Office
2 14 (2.54%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.73%) Trello
4 1 (0.18%) 1Password
Business Applications
1 9 (1.63%) Oracle HRMS
2 4 (0.73%) BASE24
2 4 (0.73%) SAP Business One
3 3 (0.54%) iTrent
3 3 (0.54%) Magento
3 3 (0.54%) Unit4 Business World
4 2 (0.36%) Salesforce CRM
5 1 (0.18%) MetaTrader
Cloud Services
1 137 (24.86%) Azure
2 110 (19.96%) Microsoft 365
3 56 (10.16%) Entra ID
4 37 (6.72%) AWS
5 22 (3.99%) SaaS
6 14 (2.54%) Dynamics 365
6 14 (2.54%) Power Platform
7 11 (2.00%) GCP
8 9 (1.63%) Azure DevOps
8 9 (1.63%) Cloud Computing
8 9 (1.63%) OneDrive
8 9 (1.63%) WhatsApp
9 7 (1.27%) IaaS
10 6 (1.09%) Mimecast
11 4 (0.73%) Slack
12 3 (0.54%) OpenShift
12 3 (0.54%) PaaS
13 2 (0.36%) Azure App Service
13 2 (0.36%) PowerApps
13 2 (0.36%) SuccessFactors
Communications & Networking
1 66 (11.98%) Firewall
2 63 (11.43%) DNS
3 47 (8.53%) LAN
3 47 (8.53%) WAN
4 45 (8.17%) TCP/IP
5 41 (7.44%) DHCP
6 18 (3.27%) NAS
7 17 (3.09%) VLAN
7 17 (3.09%) VSAN
8 14 (2.54%) VPN
9 12 (2.18%) Intrusion Detection
10 11 (2.00%) SAN
11 10 (1.81%) Wireshark
12 8 (1.45%) 802.11
12 8 (1.45%) HTTPS
12 8 (1.45%) SSL
12 8 (1.45%) VoIP
13 7 (1.27%) Wi-Fi
13 7 (1.27%) Wireless
14 6 (1.09%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (4.17%) SQL Server
2 13 (2.36%) MySQL
2 13 (2.36%) Power BI
3 9 (1.63%) PostgreSQL
4 7 (1.27%) Crystal Reports
4 7 (1.27%) Ingres
4 7 (1.27%) NonStop SQL
5 3 (0.54%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 2 (0.36%) Amazon RDS
7 1 (0.18%) MariaDB
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle Database
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle Reports
7 1 (0.18%) RDBMS
7 1 (0.18%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 11 (2.00%) Git
2 8 (1.45%) Vagrant
3 6 (1.09%) AdminStudio
4 5 (0.91%) JIRA
5 1 (0.18%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.18%) Subversion
General
1 112 (20.33%) Social Skills
2 75 (13.61%) Finance
3 52 (9.44%) Analytical Skills
4 24 (4.36%) Manufacturing
5 19 (3.45%) Retail
6 14 (2.54%) Public Sector
6 14 (2.54%) Telecoms
7 12 (2.18%) Organisational Skills
8 11 (2.00%) Aerospace
9 10 (1.81%) Marketing
10 8 (1.45%) Law
11 7 (1.27%) Pharmaceutical
12 6 (1.09%) Automotive
12 6 (1.09%) Legal
13 5 (0.91%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 4 (0.73%) Local Government
15 3 (0.54%) Billing
15 3 (0.54%) French Language
15 3 (0.54%) Italian Language
15 3 (0.54%) Spanish Language
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (1.81%) EDI
2 8 (1.45%) 802.1X
2 8 (1.45%) Software Packaging
3 7 (1.27%) HTML
3 7 (1.27%) REST
4 5 (0.91%) CSS
5 4 (0.73%) Oracle GoldenGate
6 3 (0.54%) JSON
6 3 (0.54%) Web Services
6 3 (0.54%) XML
7 2 (0.36%) .NET
7 2 (0.36%) ASP.NET
7 2 (0.36%) ASP.NET MVC
7 2 (0.36%) Itk
7 2 (0.36%) LDAP
7 2 (0.36%) Oracle Fusion
7 2 (0.36%) SAML
7 2 (0.36%) SPFx
8 1 (0.18%) PHP-FPM
8 1 (0.18%) ServiceStack
Miscellaneous
1 35 (6.35%) Management Information System
2 22 (3.99%) Data Centre
3 20 (3.63%) PKI
3 20 (3.63%) Self-Motivation
4 12 (2.18%) Onboarding
4 12 (2.18%) Wiki
5 7 (1.27%) VAX
6 6 (1.09%) Client/Server
6 6 (1.09%) Cloud Native
6 6 (1.09%) Cyberattack
6 6 (1.09%) Learning Management System
6 6 (1.09%) Life Science
7 5 (0.91%) Cyber Security Posture
7 5 (0.91%) Security Posture
8 4 (0.73%) Clustering
8 4 (0.73%) Driving Licence
8 4 (0.73%) Replication
9 3 (0.54%) Enterprise Storage
9 3 (0.54%) Linux Command Line
9 3 (0.54%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 173 (31.40%) Windows
2 114 (20.69%) Linux
3 76 (13.79%) Windows Server
4 37 (6.72%) Windows 10
5 31 (5.63%) CentOS
5 31 (5.63%) Windows Server 2016
6 30 (5.44%) Windows Server 2019
7 29 (5.26%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 26 (4.72%) Unix
9 20 (3.63%) Ubuntu
10 18 (3.27%) Windows 7
11 15 (2.72%) Debian
11 15 (2.72%) Windows Server 2012
12 14 (2.54%) Mac OS
13 13 (2.36%) Android
13 13 (2.36%) Apple iOS
13 13 (2.36%) Windows Server 2008
14 11 (2.00%) SUSE
15 6 (1.09%) VMS
16 4 (0.73%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 149 (27.04%) Problem-Solving
2 49 (8.89%) Cybersecurity
3 45 (8.17%) Customer Service
4 40 (7.26%) ITIL
5 32 (5.81%) Computer Science
5 32 (5.81%) Patch Management
6 27 (4.90%) ERP
7 25 (4.54%) Agile
8 24 (4.36%) Collaborative Working
9 23 (4.17%) DevOps
10 22 (3.99%) Disaster Recovery
10 22 (3.99%) Project Management
11 20 (3.63%) Migration
12 19 (3.45%) Roadmaps
13 18 (3.27%) Time Management
14 17 (3.09%) Data Management
14 17 (3.09%) High Availability
14 17 (3.09%) Virtual Infrastructure
15 15 (2.72%) Business Transformation
15 15 (2.72%) Task Automation
Programming Languages
1 82 (14.88%) SQL
2 65 (11.80%) PowerShell
3 47 (8.53%) Python
4 35 (6.35%) Bash
5 21 (3.81%) Perl
6 15 (2.72%) Shell Script
7 4 (0.73%) C#
8 3 (0.54%) AWK
8 3 (0.54%) JavaScript
8 3 (0.54%) sed
9 2 (0.36%) PHP
9 2 (0.36%) T-SQL
10 1 (0.18%) ActionScript
10 1 (0.18%) Java
10 1 (0.18%) Korn
10 1 (0.18%) tcsh
10 1 (0.18%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 58 (10.53%) Degree
1 58 (10.53%) Security Cleared
2 22 (3.99%) Computer Science Degree
3 21 (3.81%) DV Cleared
4 15 (2.72%) Microsoft Certification
5 12 (2.18%) CCNA
5 12 (2.18%) Cisco Certification
6 9 (1.63%) HNC
7 8 (1.45%) CCNP
8 7 (1.27%) MCSE
9 6 (1.09%) MCSA
9 6 (1.09%) RHCE
10 5 (0.91%) RHCSA
11 4 (0.73%) AWS Certification
11 4 (0.73%) SC Cleared
12 3 (0.54%) DBS Check
12 3 (0.54%) HND
12 3 (0.54%) Network+ Certification
13 2 (0.36%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
14 1 (0.18%) BPSS Clearance
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (3.09%) Cyber Essentials
2 12 (2.18%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 8 (1.45%) QA
4 5 (0.91%) GDPR
4 5 (0.91%) ISO 9001
5 4 (0.73%) Accessibility
6 3 (0.54%) PCI DSS
6 3 (0.54%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 2 (0.36%) SLA
8 1 (0.18%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
System Software
1 111 (20.15%) Active Directory
2 60 (10.89%) VMware Infrastructure
3 40 (7.26%) Hyper-V
4 23 (4.17%) vSphere
5 20 (3.63%) Docker
6 17 (3.09%) VMware ESXi
7 11 (2.00%) Virtual Servers
7 11 (2.00%) VMware NSX
8 7 (1.27%) XenApp
9 5 (0.91%) Virtual Desktop
10 4 (0.73%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 3 (0.54%) Virtual Machines
12 2 (0.36%) Microsoft App-V
12 2 (0.36%) Postfix
13 1 (0.18%) Dovecot
13 1 (0.18%) KVM
13 1 (0.18%) Lustre
13 1 (0.18%) NFS
13 1 (0.18%) Shibboleth
13 1 (0.18%) Slurm Workload Manager
Systems Management
1 25 (4.54%) Microsoft Intune
2 23 (4.17%) Ansible
3 20 (3.63%) SCCM
4 14 (2.54%) Single Sign-On
5 8 (1.45%) Failover Clustering
5 8 (1.45%) Puppet
6 7 (1.27%) EMC VPLEX
6 7 (1.27%) Nagios
6 7 (1.27%) WSUS
7 6 (1.09%) McAfee ePO
7 6 (1.09%) Progress Chef
7 6 (1.09%) SCVMM
8 4 (0.73%) Jamf Pro
9 3 (0.54%) Check_MK
9 3 (0.54%) HAProxy
9 3 (0.54%) Kubernetes
9 3 (0.54%) Microsoft Clustering
10 2 (0.36%) Grafana
10 2 (0.36%) systemd
10 2 (0.36%) Terraform
Vendors
1 136 (24.68%) Microsoft
2 103 (18.69%) VMware
3 26 (4.72%) Oracle
4 25 (4.54%) Red Hat
4 25 (4.54%) Veeam
5 19 (3.45%) Citrix
6 18 (3.27%) Cisco
7 10 (1.81%) Epicor
7 10 (1.81%) HP
8 9 (1.63%) Dell
8 9 (1.63%) SAP
9 7 (1.27%) Centreon
9 7 (1.27%) EMC
9 7 (1.27%) Sybase
10 6 (1.09%) Apple
10 6 (1.09%) McAfee
11 3 (0.54%) Autodesk
11 3 (0.54%) BT
11 3 (0.54%) Juniper
11 3 (0.54%) Salesforce