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How to become an IT Operations Administrator

Also called: Server administrator, System administrator, Operations monitoring operator, System operations operator, System operations manager, System maintenance worker, Network administrator

Runs and manages servers and other information systems so they work steadily without stopping because of problems or faults.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university, high school, or vocational college (senmon gakko) is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualification is required to start, but few people join straight from high school, and most are graduates of computing senmon gakko (vocational colleges) or universities. Holding the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer, Applied Information Technology Engineer or IT Passport qualification helps when looking for a job. Mid-career hires usually need experience. You need wide knowledge of servers and networks. Good qualifications to gain while building experience after joining include the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA)'s Fundamental Information Technology Engineer, Applied Information Technology Engineer and IT Service Manager. There are also ITIL Foundation (an international qualification showing knowledge of IT operations and management), LPIC (Linux engineer certification) and CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate, a certification for network engineers). After joining, you learn the full range of work, such as backing up information systems, monitoring system operation and log files, and restoring service after failures, mainly through on-the-job training. Depending on the work and the size of the company, operations may be shared within a team or left to one person. After that, some build experience and become team leaders on site, then regional leaders or managers at head office, while others gain the qualifications above and work as specialists in operations such as building networks and servers. Some also move to roles such as programmer through internal transfers. People who leave this job may move to companies of a different size in the same industry, to IT departments in other industries, or to other IT jobs such as programmer. Teamwork and communication with supervisors, co-workers and clients are essential, and you need to explain things clearly to share the situation and solve problems. You also need to be able to update operating procedures and solve problems quickly when failures occur.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become an IT Operations Administrator?

No particular education or qualification is required to start, but few people join straight from high school, and most are graduates of computing senmon gakko (vocational colleges) or universities. Holding the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer, Applied Information Technology Engineer or IT Passport qualification helps when looking for a job. Mid-career hires usually need experience. You need wide knowledge of servers and networks. Good qualifications to gain while building experience after joining include the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA)'s Fundamental Information Technology Engineer, Applied Information Technology Engineer and IT Service Manager. There are also ITIL Foundation (an international qualification showing knowledge of IT operations and management), LPIC (Linux engineer certification) and CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate, a certification for network engineers). After joining, you learn the full range of work, such as backing up information systems, monitoring system operation and log files, and restoring service after failures, mainly through on-the-job training. Depending on the work and the size of the company, operations may be shared within a team or left to one person. After that, some build experience and become team leaders on site, then regional leaders or managers at head office, while others gain the qualifications above and work as specialists in operations such as building networks and servers. Some also move to roles such as programmer through internal transfers. People who leave this job may move to companies of a different size in the same industry, to IT departments in other industries, or to other IT jobs such as programmer. Teamwork and communication with supervisors, co-workers and clients are essential, and you need to explain things clearly to share the situation and solve problems. You also need to be able to update operating procedures and solve problems quickly when failures occur.

How much does an IT Operations Administrator earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥6,097,600 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other data processing and communication engineers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an IT Operations Administrator?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 61% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of an IT Operations Administrator?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026