Network Support Specialist vs Systems Administrator
Chapters
Disclosure: this site is owned and operated by XL.net, a Chicago MSP that is itself ranked here. How we handle that conflict.
How does BLS define each job?
BLS treats them as two occupations under its Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. One is built around existing network systems, and the other around installing and maintaining networks, operating systems and servers.
BLS defines Computer Network Support Specialists, SOC 15-1231, around analyzing, testing, troubleshooting and evaluating existing network systems.
BLS's wording continues with examples of those systems: local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), cloud networks, servers, and other data communications networks.
For Network and Computer Systems Administrators, SOC 15-1244, BLS's definition reads: install, configure, and maintain an organization's local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), data communications network, operating systems, and physical and virtual servers.
Read side by side, the first definition centers on evaluating and troubleshooting systems that already exist. The second adds installing, configuring and maintaining them, and names operating systems and physical and virtual servers explicitly. A job title at a particular employer is a separate matter from a BLS occupation, so when you compare a posting or a proposal to these rows, check the listed duties against BLS's wording rather than the title.
TL;DR
In BLS data, network support specialist vs systems administrator is a comparison of two separately defined jobs. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) built the first around analyzing, testing, troubleshooting and evaluating existing network systems, and the second around installing, configuring and maintaining networks, operating systems and servers. For the Chicago metro, BLS's May 2025 estimates, read on 2026-10-21, are 4,740 jobs and a $73,340 median annual wage for the first, and 6,950 jobs and a $103,170 median annual wage for the second.
- BLS defines Computer Network Support Specialists (15-1231) and Network and Computer Systems Administrators (15-1244) as different jobs, so the two wage rows describe different work.
- Each figure is a BLS survey estimate across every employer in the Chicago metro, not a figure about IT providers.
- A wage is not the fully loaded cost of an employee, and we never set either wage beside a provider's price.
- We compute no difference or ratio between the two rows; every number is printed as BLS published it.
BLS May 2025 estimates for the Chicago metro
BLS estimates 4,740 Chicago-metro jobs for Computer Network Support Specialists, read through the BLS Application Programming Interface (API) on 2026-10-21.
For that job, the mean hourly wage is $37.48, the mean annual wage is $77,960 and the median annual wage is $73,340.
For Network and Computer Systems Administrators in the same metro and reference period, BLS estimates 6,950 jobs. The mean hourly wage estimate is $52.34, the mean annual wage is $108,870 and the median annual wage is $103,170.
Both rows cover the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area (16980) for the reference period May 2025. BLS released them on 2026-05-15 in news release USDL-26-0725, published on the BLS release page. We print each figure as BLS published it. BLS footnoted neither row, and we have derived no difference or ratio between them.
| Occupation (SOC code) | Employment | Mean hourly wage | Mean annual wage | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Network Support Specialists (15-1231) | 4,740 | $37.48 | $77,960 | $73,340 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators (15-1244) | 6,950 | $52.34 | $108,870 | $103,170 |
What do these figures leave out?
They leave out the fully loaded cost of an employee, and they say nothing about IT providers.
Each BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) figure is a survey estimate across every employer in the metro area.
Because the rows pool every employer, they are not a count we made and not a measure of any Managed Service Provider (MSP). Benefits, payroll taxes, overhead, training, turnover and management time all come on top of a wage. A wage is also not a price for a managed IT service, so we do not set either wage beside a provider's price, and we do not work out an in-house versus outsourced saving from them.
The same discipline we apply to per-user pricing applies here: a number quoted without its scope misleads. For how to read a managed IT price against what it includes, see our guide to comparing managed IT costs in Chicago. Mean and median are BLS's own estimates, printed as BLS published them. For how those two measures behave across six occupations, see our reading of Chicago IT wages, mean vs median.
How can a Chicago buyer use these two rows?
Use them as dated reference points for what BLS counts under each definition, not as a budget, a quote or a benchmark for a provider's price.
If you are writing a job description, hold your duty list against both BLS definitions and note which one it resembles. If you are reading a proposal, ask the provider to state in writing which of these tasks sit inside the scope: troubleshooting existing networks, installing and configuring networks, operating system upkeep, and physical and virtual server maintenance. Scope, not job title, should decide how you compare.
The BLS Public Data API serves each figure through a published series identifier, such as OEUM001698000000015123101 for Computer Network Support Specialists employment.
Anyone can re-read these series and check our dated figures against BLS directly. The series identifiers for both rows are below. For the other occupations on the same read, including how employment counts differ by role, see Chicago IT jobs by role.
| Occupation (SOC code) | Employment series | Mean hourly wage series | Mean annual wage series | Median annual wage series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Network Support Specialists (15-1231) | OEUM001698000000015123101 | OEUM001698000000015123103 | OEUM001698000000015123104 | OEUM001698000000015123113 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators (15-1244) | OEUM001698000000015124401 | OEUM001698000000015124403 | OEUM001698000000015124404 | OEUM001698000000015124413 |
Frequently asked questions
Are network support specialists and systems administrators the same BLS job?
No. BLS lists Computer Network Support Specialists under SOC 15-1231 and Network and Computer Systems Administrators under SOC 15-1244, with different definitions. The first centers on analyzing, testing, troubleshooting and evaluating existing network systems; the second adds installing, configuring and maintaining networks, operating systems and servers.
What are the Chicago median annual wages for the two jobs?
BLS's May 2025 median annual wage estimates for the Chicago metro are $73,340 for Computer Network Support Specialists and $103,170 for Network and Computer Systems Administrators, as read through the BLS API on 2026-10-21. We compute no difference between them.
Can I use these wages to compare hiring in-house with outsourcing?
No. A BLS wage excludes benefits, payroll taxes, overhead, training, turnover and management time, and it is not a price for a managed IT service. We do not set either wage beside a provider's price or work out a saving from it.
Do these figures describe IT providers?
No. They are BLS survey estimates across every employer in the Chicago metro area, so they describe the occupations as a whole, not any provider or its staff.