LAN administrators maintain a company’s local area network (LAN) for intra-office communication, and they make sure that all the parts of the network, like workstations, hubs, servers, routers, and switches, work. They may also create, maintain, and troubleshoot user accounts and perform scheduled and emergency maintenance on all network related equipment.

Computer jobs in general are expected to be among the fastest growing jobs. With the increase in networks, there should be many jobs for LAN administrators.

LAN administrators should enjoy technical challenges and have strong and creative technical problem-solving skills.

Exceptional interpersonal and written and oral communication skills are also important. They should be able to work well as part of a technical team, yet follow through independently when required.

LAN administrators need a solid understanding of PC and server-based computer hardware, knowledge of network and architecture design, and good troubleshooting skills.

Like many networking jobs, experience counts. While many employers prefer a college degree and/or certification, hands-on experience is required.

LAN administrators should have at least 2 to 4 years experience supporting multiple local area networks, including data, telecommunications, and messaging, and have experience with common systems.

Their experience should also include performance tuning, RAID configuration and maintenance, backup and disaster recovery, and network storage solutions.

LAN administrators normally work in comfortable offices or laboratories. They usually work about 40 hours a week but may work some evenings or weekends to meet deadlines or solve specific problems.