Will AI replace Network and Computer Systems Administrators?
Computer and Mathematical · O*NET 15-1244.00
Task exposure index for this occupation
Averaged across the week, this work sits at the high end of the exposure scale. O*NET breaks Network and Computer Systems Administrators into 26 distinct work activities. Weighted by how much of the week each one takes, 69% of the job sits at or above the threshold where current systems can do the task end to end. The single largest contributor is "Implement security measures for computer or information systems", which scores 90 and takes roughly 12% of the week. That is the average for the job title. It is not a measurement of any particular person’s week, and the difference between the two is usually larger than the difference between job titles.
Model v1.2 · activity indices last updated 18 August 2026
What this occupation does
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. Perform system monitoring and verify the integrity and availability of hardware, network, and server resources and systems. Review system and application logs and verify completion of scheduled jobs, including system backups. Analyze network and server resource consumption and control user access. Install and upgrade software and maintain software licenses. May assist in network modeling, analysis, planning, and coordination between network and data communications hardware and software.
The most exposed parts of the job
Scored 0–100 on how completely a current system could perform the activity.
- Document operational activities.95
About 2% of a typical week
- Document network-related activities or tasks.95
About 4% of a typical week
- Implement security measures for computer or information systems.90
About 12% of a typical week
- Resolve computer network problems.90
About 2% of a typical week
- Troubleshoot issues with computer applications or systems.90
About 2% of a typical week
The least exposed parts
The same scale. These are the activities current systems handle worst.
- Coordinate resource procurement activities.26
About 4% of a typical week
- Collaborate with others to resolve information technology issues.36
About 3% of a typical week
- Maintain computer networks to enhance performance and user access.36
About 10% of a typical week
- Test software performance.42
About 2% of a typical week
- Identify information technology project resource requirements.48
About 3% of a typical week
How far off the rest is
Of those 26 activities, 14 can be performed by systems available today and 1 are outside what current approaches do at all. The remaining 11 sit in between — demonstrated in research or in narrow products, but not something you can hand over whole. We do not put dates on that middle group, because nobody can.
Compared with similar occupations
The nearest scoring roles in Computer and Mathematical.
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators (this page)67
- Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians68
- Information Security Analysts68
- Operations Research Analysts66
Why your own number is different
Two people with the title "Network and Computer Systems Administrators" can spend their weeks on almost entirely different parts of this list, and the parts they choose move the number far more than the title does. Who signs off when the work is wrong, whether the job needs you physically present, and how fast you have picked up the tools all change it again — and none of that is in an occupation average.
The assessment asks you to divide your own week across these activities and answer fourteen questions about the parts of the job an occupation average cannot see. It takes six to nine minutes.
Score my own roleFree to take. The full report is a paid subscription — the price and its terms are on the pricing section, before you start.
Questions
Will AI replace Network and Computer Systems Administrators?
We do not answer that, because nobody can. What is measurable is how much of the work is already doable by machine: for Network and Computer Systems Administrators, about 69% of a typical week, across 26 activities. The other 31% is not, and what happens to the job depends on things this index does not contain — cost, regulation, who carries the liability, and what the people doing it decide to do next.
What part of this job is most exposed?
"Document operational activities" — it scores 95 out of 100 on task automatability and takes roughly 2% of the week.
What part is least exposed?
"Coordinate resource procurement activities", at 26 out of 100. Work like that is where the hours you protect tend to be worth the most.
Where do these numbers come from?
The activity list and the time weights come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupational database. The exposure score for each activity is ours, from a published model — the weights, the priors and the limitations are all on the methodology page. No language model is involved in the arithmetic.
Does this apply to my job?
Only roughly. This is the average for the title, and the number that matters is the one for the week you actually work. The assessment asks you to divide your own time across these activities and answer fourteen questions about accountability, the parts of the job that need you specifically, and how fast you have adapted. That produces a different number, and usually a more useful one.
The full model — the weights, the priors and what it cannot see — is on the methodology page.