How to Become a Systems Administrator in 2026: Skills, Certifications and Where the Role Is Heading

Every company that runs computers needs someone who keeps them working. Accounts get locked, servers fill up, backups fail, patches break things and new employees need laptops by Monday. The systems administrator is the person who makes all of that boring, in the best possible way.

The job is also changing fast. Much of what sysadmins used to do by hand, such as building servers and installing updates, is now handled by cloud services and automation scripts. That is good news if you learn the new skills, and a real risk if you don’t.

This guide covers what sysadmins do in 2026, the core skills to learn, which certifications help, and how to get your first role.

What a systems administrator does

A systems administrator (often “sysadmin”) installs, configures and maintains an organization’s servers, operating systems, networks and core services. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), typical duties include:

• Installing and configuring networks, operating systems and servers
• Maintaining security and applying updates
• Monitoring and optimizing performance
• Adding users and assigning permissions
• Diagnosing and fixing problems
• Training users on systems

In a small business, the sysadmin may also handle Wi-Fi, printers, Microsoft 365, phones and the occasional coffee machine. In a large company, the role is more specialized, such as Windows server administrator, Linux administrator, identity administrator or cloud administrator.

Is systems administration still a good career?

Yes, with an important caveat. BLS reports a median annual wage of $99,130 for network and computer systems administrators in May 2025, with about 323,600 jobs in 2025. However, it projects employment in the occupation to decline 4% from 2025 to 2035.

The reasons BLS gives explain where the role is heading:

• Some tasks are increasingly done by software developers focused on DevOps
• Some network work is being outsourced to providers offering networks as a service
• Administrators are automating more routine tasks

Even with that decline, BLS still projects about 13,400 openings each year on average, mostly from people retiring or moving to other jobs.

Key takeaway: Classic “click-through-the-console” sysadmin work is shrinking. Sysadmins who script, automate and manage cloud services are the ones moving into better-paid cloud, DevOps and security roles.

Core skills every sysadmin needs

These are the foundations. Most job posts for junior and mid-level sysadmins expect them.

Operating systems

• Windows Server: Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS and DHCP, file shares and permissions, and Windows updates
• Linux: the command line, users and groups, file permissions, package management, services with systemd, logs, and SSH
• Desktop support: Windows and macOS management, imaging and device enrollment

Networking

You don’t need to be a network engineer, but you should understand IP addressing and subnets, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, firewalls, VPNs and how to troubleshoot with tools such as ping, traceroute, nslookup and ipconfig or ip.

Identity and access

Modern sysadmin work is often identity work. Learn Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), single sign-on, multi-factor authentication and role-based access. Read how to secure Microsoft 365 and passkeys and the end of passwords for where identity is heading.

Backup, recovery and security

You should be able to set up backups, test a restore, patch systems on a schedule and follow security basics like least privilege. Knowing frameworks such as zero trust security helps you talk to security teams. Clean account removal is a classic sysadmin responsibility too; see our employee offboarding IT security checklist.

Virtualization

Most servers are virtual machines. Learn at least 1 hypervisor, such as Hyper-V, VMware or KVM, and understand snapshots, templates and resource allocation.

The new sysadmin skills: cloud and automation

This is where the role is evolving, and where your career growth comes from.

Scripting is the biggest single upgrade. If you run the same 10 clicks every week, write a script. PowerShell is essential in Windows and Microsoft 365 environments; Bash and Python matter for Linux and cloud work.

Cloud is the second. Microsoft’s Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) study guide shows what employers now expect: managing identities and governance, storage, compute, virtual networks, and monitoring and backup in Azure.

Infrastructure as code is the third. Defining servers and networks in code makes them repeatable and reviewable. Our guides to infrastructure as code and Terraform vs Ansible are good starting points.

Certifications worth considering

Certifications matter more in systems administration than in many tech fields, because they help you get past resume filters for your first jobs. BLS notes that employers may require administrators to be certified in the products they use.

You don’t need all of them. A common path is A+ or Network+ for your first job, then a Linux or Microsoft certification, then a cloud certification. See is CompTIA Security+ worth it and which AWS certification to take first for more detail. Exam versions and prices change, so check each vendor’s page before you book.

How to get your first sysadmin job

Very few people are hired straight into a sysadmin role. The usual path looks like this:

1. Help desk or IT support (0 to 2 years). You learn users, tickets, Active Directory, Microsoft 365 and troubleshooting under pressure. Our guide on how to get an entry-level IT job covers this step.
2. Desktop or junior systems role. You start touching servers, backups and group policies.
3. Systems administrator. You own servers, identity, patching and core services.
4. Specialize. Common next steps are cloud engineer, DevOps engineer, site reliability engineer or security engineer.

To speed up the climb from help desk:

• Volunteer for server work. Ask to help with patching, backups or migrations.
• Automate something. A PowerShell script that saves your team 2 hours a week is the best resume line a help desk tech can have.
• Document everything. Writing clear runbooks gets you noticed and trusted with more access.
• Build a home lab. Run a Windows Server domain controller, a Linux server and a small Azure or AWS environment on free tiers or old hardware.

Home lab projects that impress hiring managers

• Build an Active Directory domain with users, groups and Group Policy, then join a Windows client to it
• Set up a Linux web server with automatic backups and a tested restore
• Write a PowerShell script that creates new users from a CSV file and assigns licenses
• Deploy a small Azure or AWS environment with Terraform, then tear it down and rebuild it
• Set up monitoring and an alert that emails you when disk space runs low

Where the sysadmin role leads

Systems administration is one of the best launchpads in IT, because you learn how everything connects. From here, common moves include:

• Cloud engineer: see how to become a cloud engineer
• DevOps engineer: see how to become a DevOps engineer
• Site reliability engineer: see how to become a site reliability engineer
• Security analyst or engineer: see how to become a cybersecurity analyst

Each of those builds directly on sysadmin skills, plus more scripting and automation.

Where to start this month

1. Pick your first platform. Windows and Microsoft 365 if you are targeting small and mid-size businesses; Linux if you are aiming at web companies or cloud.
2. Learn the command line daily. 30 minutes of PowerShell or Bash practice each day adds up fast.
3. Set up a home lab with 1 Windows Server and 1 Linux virtual machine.
4. Book a foundation certification such as A+ or Network+ to give yourself a deadline.
5. Apply for help desk roles while you study, and tell interviewers you are aiming for systems work.

The bottom line

Systems administration is still a solid, well-paid entry into IT infrastructure, but the job is moving away from manual server care and toward scripting, identity and cloud. Learn Windows and Linux fundamentals, networking and security basics, then automate everything you can. That combination keeps you employable as a sysadmin and opens the door to cloud, DevOps and security roles later.

Sources

• US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Network and Computer Systems Administrators — duties, May 2025 median pay, 2025–2035 outlook and reasons for decline, certification note
• Microsoft Learn: Study guide for Exam AZ-104 — skills measured for Azure Administrator Associate
• Red Hat: RHCSA exam (EX200) — performance-based Linux administration exam
• AWS: Exam update and new name for cloud operations certification — SysOps Administrator renamed CloudOps Engineer – Associate