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The differences between core network engineers and network consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a core network engineer and a network consultant. Additionally, a core network engineer has an average salary of $103,964, which is higher than the $89,303 average annual salary of a network consultant.
The top three skills for a core network engineer include IP, java and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a network consultant are appeals, firewall, and windows server.
| Core Network Engineer | Network Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $103,964 | $89,303 |
| Hourly rate | $49.98 | $42.93 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 34,068 | 58,194 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Core Network Engineer designs and develops the backbone of an establishment's computer network, facilitating connections from one system to another. They conduct research and assessments to identify project requirements, install and maintain networks, establish guidelines and protocols, develop test structures to identify bugs, troubleshoot errors, and provide technical support as needed. It is also their responsibility to implement security systems and policies, all while maintaining records. A Core Engineer often works together with other engineers to strengthen the workflow and quality of networks.
Network consultants are information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for designing, setting up, and maintaining computer networks for an organization or at a client location. These consultants are required to meet with the manager of an organization and network engineers to discuss their networking requirements. By supervising a team of IT professionals, these consultants must administer technical issues and fix infrastructure issues onsite. Network consultants must also maintain documentation for IT infrastructure as well as coordinate network documentation with account managers.
Core network engineers and network consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Core Network Engineer | Network Consultant | |
| Average salary | $103,964 | $89,303 |
| Salary range | Between $78,000 And $137,000 | Between $60,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Mountain View, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Dell | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a core network engineer and a network consultant in terms of educational background:
| Core Network Engineer | Network Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between core network engineers' and network consultants' demographics:
| Core Network Engineer | Network Consultant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.7% Female, 14.3% | Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.9% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 11.3% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |