---
title: "Will AI Replace Network and Computer Systems Administrators?"
description: "BLS rates network and computer systems administrators' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-network-and-computer-systems-administrators"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Network and Computer Systems Administrators? (2026)

**Short answer:** This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places network and computer systems administrators in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to fall by 4.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 13,400 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 17/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | -4.1% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 13,400 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $99,130 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high (this job) | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Making decisions and solving problems: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Thinking creatively: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Working with computers: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Email: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Perform data backups and disaster recovery operations.
- Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve hardware, software, or other network and system problems, and replace defective components when necessary.
- Recommend changes to improve systems and network configurations, and determine hardware or software requirements related to such changes.
- Plan, coordinate, and implement network security measures to protect data, software, and hardware.
- Maintain and administer computer networks and related computing environments, including computer hardware, systems software, applications software, and all configurations.
- Configure, monitor, and maintain email applications or virus protection software.

## FAQ

**Will AI replace network and computer systems administrators?**

This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to fall by 4.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 13,400 openings a year.

**How exposed are network and computer systems administrators to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Network and Computer Systems Administrators are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a network and computer systems administrator's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, working with computers and documenting/recording information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, making decisions and solving problems and thinking creatively. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a network and computer systems administrator a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, network and computer systems administrators score 17 out of 100, higher than 9% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $99,130 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/network-and-computer-systems-administrator.

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This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology