What Does a System Administrator Do?

A system administrator is a supreme being who maintains and troubleshoots your computer systems. Depending on the size of your organization and the complexity of your technology, a system administrator's job can range from ten hours per week to full-time.
The basic responsibilities of a system administrator are:

• staff training and support
• software installation, maintenance, and upgrading
• hardware installation, maintenance, and upgrading
• research and troubleshooting
• routine network administration and maintenance
• network documentation
• database supervision

If your system administrator also manages your network, this person should have the following skills:

• knowledge and experience with the type of network you have
• knowledge and experience with your office applications
• knowledge and experience with network software installation
• knowledge and experience with hardware installation and upgrades
• ability to teach and train about network use and software skills
• knowledge and experience with network e-mail is helpful
• dedication to appropriate uses of computer technology, including the ability to use and adapt older equipment

Some of the day-to-day support tasks a system administrator should perform include:

• performing backups of your staff's computers and of the server, if you have one
• adding and deleting new network users
• making sure that virus protection software is up-to-date, and cleaning any viruses that infect staff computers
• training and assisting staff in using hardware and software efficiently
• troubleshooting any routine problems that staff cannot fix on their own, such as a problem with the printer or a computer that freezes repeatedly

A good systems administrator keeps things working smoothly day to day, but also tries to grow with the job and improve the way the organization uses technology. For instance, a systems administrator might take an interest in learning all about the organization's database and developing better ways to automate and integrate it into the work of the organization.
Bear in mind that a systems administrator cannot solve all of your technical problems. It is normal to bring in consultants for more specialized and complicated service and support. Think of it as the difference between a general contractor and a specialty contractor. Your systems administrator can take care of most needs, but for certain things you need a specialist. Read TechSoup's Finding a Consultant  article for information on how to find the right technical consultant.