Data communications technician vs data center technician

The differences between data communications technicians and data center technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a data communications technician, becoming a data center technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a data communications technician has an average salary of $51,843, which is higher than the $46,560 average annual salary of a data center technician.

The top three skills for a data communications technician include POS, computer screens and RF. The most important skills for a data center technician are patients, customer service, and CLIA.

Data communications technician vs data center technician overview

	Data Communications Technician	Data Center Technician
Yearly salary	$51,843	$46,560
Hourly rate	$24.92	$22.38
Growth rate	7%	5%
Number of jobs	111,703	139,177
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	38	43
Years of experience	12	2

Data communications technician vs data center technician salary

Data communications technicians and data center technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Data Communications Technician	Data Center Technician
Average salary	$51,843	$46,560
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $82,000	Between $28,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	-	Piscataway, NJ
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between data communications technician and data center technician education

There are a few differences between a data communications technician and a data center technician in terms of educational background:

	Data Communications Technician	Data Center Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	Northeastern University	-

Data communications technician vs data center technician demographics

Here are the differences between data communications technicians' and data center technicians' demographics:

	Data Communications Technician	Data Center Technician
Average age	38	43
Gender ratio	Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	8%	9%

Differences between data communications technician and data center technician duties and responsibilities

Data communications technician example responsibilities.

Manage DSL service to remote users through NAS.
Manage the day-to-day operations of telecommunication services utilize by DuPont.
Run cable, terminate cat5, cat6 and voice cable.
Install and label network cabling from cat5e, Cat6, fiber cable, and coaxial cabling (DS3).
Introduce BGP for connectivity to the corporate network.
Wire pots lines and T1 lines to main distribution frame.

Data center technician example responsibilities.

Manage job schedules via Autosys, Tivoli, & Zeke.
Utilize remedy ticketing system to track and manage trouble tickets and changes.
Manage the daily operation of the NOC which includes provisioning servers, ticket handling and resolution and internal escalations.
Manage data center power, space and infrastructure planning for mainframe, distribute, storage and network equipment technologies.
Manage proactive network monitoring, repair, and maintenance for TDM, SS7, VoIP, and DWDM platforms.
Job responsibilities include monitoring network equipment and network performance in support of Net2Phones manage PacketCable VOIP solution.

Data communications technician vs data center technician skills

Common data communications technician skills

POS, 12%
Computer Screens, 12%
RF, 11%
Test Equipment, 10%
Phone System, 10%
Technical Manuals, 9%

Common data center technician skills

Patients, 12%
Customer Service, 10%
CLIA, 9%
OSHA, 8%
Standard Operating Procedure, 8%
Center Management, 8%

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Data Communications Technician vs Data Center Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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