Network Administrator Jobs in Los Angeles, CA
Network administrators in Los Angeles keep hospital, campus and office networks online, and the 2025 median here is about $106,000 a year. Postings run from hourly roles at the USC Credit Union to six-figure Cisco engineering jobs at UCLA Health. Here are the current openings, then who is hiring and how to qualify.
Current network administrator Openings in Los Angeles, CA
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Network Administrator Work in Los Angeles
Los Angeles network jobs follow the city's biggest institutions. Health systems run the largest networks: UCLA Health's network team runs core, distribution, wired and wireless networks across the health system and keeps a 24x7 on-call rotation, and Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Grove staffs a telecommunications team for its voice network. USC adds roles at University Park, including network engineers for the USC Credit Union. On the Westside and in the Valley, professional firms such as Gursey Schneider, with offices in Century City and Encino, hire network engineers to manage Palo Alto firewalls across several sites.
The South Bay is the other cluster. Defense technology companies around Hawthorne and El Segundo, such as CHAOS Industries, pay the top of the market for network administrators who can work in classified environments, but those roles require a Department of Defense security clearance. Firewall, VPN and cloud networking skills come up again and again in current Los Angeles postings.
Top Los Angeles Employers Hiring Network Administrators
These employers have posted network administration and engineering roles in the Los Angeles area on their own career sites:
- UCLA Health - hires senior network engineers with CCNP certification to run its Cisco enterprise network, with rotating on-call.
- USC - the USC Credit Union at University Park hires network engineers with 2 or more years of network administration experience.
- Gursey Schneider - the accounting firm hires network engineers for its Century City and Encino offices to manage Palo Alto firewalls and security patching.
- CHAOS Industries - the defense technology company hires senior network administrators in Hawthorne for classified Palo Alto and Aruba networks.
- Cedars-Sinai - the Beverly Grove medical center hires telecommunication operations analysts to manage its voice network, phone numbering and cellular accounts.
Network Administrator Salaries in Los Angeles
- Entry level: about $34 to $41 per hour, or roughly $70,000 to $86,000 a year, for administrators with 2 or so years of experience.
- Experienced: about $95,000 to $130,000 a year for engineers who run firewalls, switching and VPNs on their own.
- Senior: $130,000 to $190,000 or more for senior engineers at large health systems and cleared defense roles.
These are estimates. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the 2025 median for network and computer systems administrators in the Los Angeles metro at $106,290, with the top tenth above $159,000. Pay climbs with Cisco and Palo Alto certifications, cloud networking experience, on-call duty and a security clearance, and current postings run from $35.77 an hour at the USC Credit Union to $246,000 at the top of UCLA Health's senior range.
How to Become a Network Administrator in Los Angeles
California does not license network administrators; employers set the requirements. Most Los Angeles postings ask for a bachelor's degree in IT, computer science or a related field, or equivalent experience, plus 2 to 5 years in network administration and a current network certification such as CCNA, with CCNP or PCNSE for senior roles. Local routes in include the Information Technology program at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, which builds toward Cisco CCNA, the Computer Network Management certificates and Network+ and Security+ prep at West Los Angeles College, and the Information Systems degree at Cal State LA, which offers a Cybersecurity option. Defense roles in the South Bay also require a security clearance.
What the Job Involves
Network administrators install, configure and monitor the routers, switches, firewalls, wireless access points and VPNs that connect an organization. Daily work includes troubleshooting connectivity problems, applying security patches and firmware updates, managing DNS and DHCP, watching performance dashboards, documenting the network, and working with carriers and vendors when circuits fail. Many roles share an on-call rotation for outages after hours.
Skills Employers Look For
- TCP/IP, routing, switching, VLANs, DNS and DHCP
- Cisco switching and routing, with CCNA or CCNP
- Palo Alto or other enterprise firewall and VPN administration
- Wireless networking and network access control
- Cloud networking in AWS or Azure
- Clear documentation and vendor coordination
- Willingness to take on-call shifts
Career Path and Advancement
Many Los Angeles network administrators start on a help desk or in desktop support, earn a CCNA, then move into a junior network role at a university, credit union or health system. From there the path runs to senior network engineer, firewall or security engineer, network architect, and infrastructure manager. Large health systems such as UCLA Health and cleared defense employers in the South Bay offer the highest ceilings.
Related Careers in Los Angeles
If network administration interests you, these related Los Angeles roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to be a network administrator in Los Angeles?
No. California has no state license for network administrators. Employers ask for certifications instead, most often CCNA for mid-level roles and CCNP or PCNSE for senior ones.
How much do network administrators make in Los Angeles?
The 2025 median in the Los Angeles metro is $106,290 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Entry roles start around $70,000, and senior engineers at large health systems or cleared defense firms can earn $130,000 to $190,000 or more.
Which certification should I get first for network jobs in Los Angeles?
CompTIA Network+ is a common first step, and Cisco's CCNA is the usual next credential for network roles. Firewall credentials such as Palo Alto's PCNSE matter for security-heavy roles at firms like Gursey Schneider and CHAOS Industries.
Do network administrators in Los Angeles work nights or weekends?
Usually on a rotation. Hospitals such as UCLA Health require 24x7 on-call coverage, and most employers schedule upgrades and maintenance after hours to avoid outages during the workday.
Do I need a security clearance for network jobs in Los Angeles?
Only for some. Defense technology employers in Hawthorne and El Segundo can require an active Department of Defense Secret clearance, but hospital, university and professional-firm network roles in Los Angeles generally do not.
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