AI exposure: Network and Computer Systems Administrators
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.
Reading this score
computed52.5% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Network and Computer Systems Administrators at the 90th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 3.0 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 20 tasks it averages 1.74 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Operate master consoles to monitor the performance of computer systems and networks and to..., at 80.0%. The least is Load computer tapes and disks, and install software and printer paper or forms, at 0.0%. A gap of 80.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within computer and mathematical occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 57.8% across the group's 36 roles, with 24 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 20 tasks, 18 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 1 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take systems being given deeper access to the organisation's own records and history, which is already happening. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
20 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operate master consoles to monitor the performance of computer systems and networks and to coordinate computer network access and use. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.73 | exposed |
| Monitor network performance to determine whether adjustments are needed and where changes will be needed in the future. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.57 | exposed |
| Analyze equipment performance records to determine the need for repair or replacement. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.28 | exposed |
| Maintain logs related to network functions, as well as maintenance and repair records. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.65 | exposed |
| Gather data pertaining to customer needs, and use the information to identify, predict, interpret, and evaluate system and network requirements. | 59.3% | 24.1% | 16.7% | 3.29 | exposed |
| Perform routine network startup and shutdown procedures, and maintain control records. | 58.3% | 29.2% | 12.5% | 3.35 | exposed |
| Recommend changes to improve systems and network configurations, and determine hardware or software requirements related to such changes. | 57.4% | 25.9% | 16.7% | 3.32 | exposed |
| Perform data backups and disaster recovery operations. | 55.4% | 32.1% | 12.5% | 4.35 | exposed |
| Train people in computer system use. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.23 | exposed |
| Research new technologies by attending seminars, reading trade articles, or taking classes, and implement or recommend the implementation of new technologies. | 53.3% | 21.7% | 25.0% | 3.04 | exposed |
| Confer with network users about solutions to existing system problems. | 47.5% | 27.5% | 25.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Design, configure, and test computer hardware, networking software and operating system software. | 45.9% | 20.7% | 33.3% | 3.48 | exposed |
| Maintain and administer computer networks and related computing environments, including computer hardware, systems software, applications software, and all configurations. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.08 | exposed |
| Coordinate with vendors and with company personnel to facilitate purchases. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.32 | exposed |
| Implement and provide technical support for voice services and equipment, such as private branch exchange, voice mail system, and telecom system. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 2.94 | exposed |
| Plan, coordinate, and implement network security measures to protect data, software, and hardware. | 42.5% | 32.5% | 25.0% | 4.56 | exposed |
| Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve hardware, software, or other network and system problems, and replace defective components when necessary. | 41.5% | 25.2% | 33.3% | 4.12 | exposed |
| Configure, monitor, and maintain email applications or virus protection software. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 3.92 | assisted |
| Maintain an inventory of parts for emergency repairs. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.44 | exposed |
| Load computer tapes and disks, and install software and printer paper or forms. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.79 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 3.05 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.67 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.32 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.92 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.74 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.42 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.