Senior Sys Admin vs Senior Sys Engineer

Posted by NucknFutss@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 22 comments

What is the difference?

I've just accepted a new role as a Senior Sys Engineer, coming from a Lead ICT position and from the interviews etc it seems ill be doing alot of project work and working of Veeam/ VMWare upgrades.

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AdeelAutomates@reddit

Names in IT aren't standardized.

I used to believe Engineer meant you worked more on design especially through automation and scripting...

But then I see helpdesk level 1 called support engineers, so.... yeah, lol

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shitpoop6969@reddit

That drives me a little crazy when I see that. The MSP I worked for a couple years ago called all their techs System Engineers and I just thought it was silly

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GullibleDetective@reddit

We were network specialists as tier 1 msp dogs

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Forget even MSPs. Microsoft itself, if you need support in say Azure will send you to the orgs they picked to outsource their support staff to.... who if you have ever had the chance to get support have no clue how anything works, yet they are all labeled engineers as well.

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itboyband1433@reddit

Could be the difference between exempt vs non exempt.

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Bright_Arm8782@reddit

He's giving numbers in £, exempt / non-exempt is not a concept we engage in in the UK, at least not as a formal status.

Some jobs do pay overtime, some don't, some do by negotiation, i.e. half an hour here or there won't but a weekend long upgrade might well pay some overtime or time off in lieu.

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OregonTechHead@reddit

Title has nothing to do with that status.

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itboyband1433@reddit

At our company it does. Admins get paid for over time. Engineers don't but are eligible for bonuses

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darkstabley@reddit

As others have stated, it can vary depending on the company. The way I usually see it, an admin can take an already established environment and maintain it properly and even upgrade it as you go. An engineer, you could give them all the pieces of hardware and software and they could build that same environment from scratch as well as maintain and upgrade it.

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L30ne@reddit

This may vary between companies, but from where I've been, sys engies installed the lights while sys ads kept these on. Both roles had to understand how light bulbs work and how to keep those lit, but they had different responsibilities and objectives.

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xMcRaemanx@reddit

There will be a lot of overlap and as you said titles are made up but generally when there's a difference Engineers work more on design and implementation and Admins administer.

An Admin will often have to deploy the stuff they manage, but an Engineer may just be deploying stuff/upgrading stuff.

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canadian_sysadmin@reddit

In a lot of cases, there’s no difference.

Titles are entirely arbitrary, and every company defines things differently.

There’s people here who are IT Directors at one company who would be mid-level sysadmins at other companies.

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DueDisplay2185@reddit

Senior sys admin is extrovert and senior sys engineer is introvert? Totally job description based, titles mean nothing but could be the harmonious difference between art and science in the job

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BadSausageFactory@reddit

that's the difference, engineers cost more

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StuckinSuFu@reddit

They are the same. Titjes are completely made up in IT

Read the job description not title to know the role.

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Evilsmurfkiller@reddit

I got promoted from Sr Systems Admin to Sr Systems Engineer. The only thing that changed for me was my salary.

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Calm_House8714@reddit

It's all stupid and every company is different. Focus on actual job duties and COMPENSATION/BENEFITS frist and foremost.

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lost_signal@reddit

working of Veeam/ VMWare upgrades

Come join us over in r/vmware

I tend to see sysadmin used more for "in house, server OS/Applications/general person"
I tend to see systems engineer used for consulting companies, service providers, technology companies.

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NucknFutss@reddit (OP)

I’ll shall join now! Thank you

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