Data storage specialist vs network engineer

The differences between data storage specialists and network engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a data storage specialist and a network engineer. Additionally, a network engineer has an average salary of $83,557, which is higher than the $64,094 average annual salary of a data storage specialist.

The top three skills for a data storage specialist include data storage, architecture and performance issues. The most important skills for a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.

Data storage specialist vs network engineer overview

	Data Storage Specialist	Network Engineer
Yearly salary	$64,094	$83,557
Hourly rate	$30.81	$40.17
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	70,296	72,346
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Data storage specialist vs network engineer salary

Data storage specialists and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Data Storage Specialist	Network Engineer
Average salary	$64,094	$83,557
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $125,000	Between $62,000 And $111,000
Highest paying City	-	Menlo Park, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	The Citadel
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between data storage specialist and network engineer education

There are a few differences between a data storage specialist and a network engineer in terms of educational background:

	Data Storage Specialist	Network Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	-	California State University - Long Beach

Data storage specialist vs network engineer demographics

Here are the differences between data storage specialists' and network engineers' demographics:

	Data Storage Specialist	Network Engineer
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 79.6% Female, 20.4%	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 11.1% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.7% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between data storage specialist and network engineer duties and responsibilities

Data storage specialist example responsibilities.

Deploy and manage EMC CLARiiON storage system.
Engage in managing SnapMirror performance management, fine-tuning.
Live host migrations (HP-UX / AIX / Linux) across arrays and switches.
Work with storage provisioning on VMAX, DMX-3, DMX-4 using SYMCLI, SMC, CLARiiON CX4-960 storage arrays using Unisphere.
Configure and allocate storage on EMC VMAX, DMX-4 / DMX-3, using SYMCLI, Unisphere.
Verify iscsi group and check the authentication.

Network engineer example responsibilities.

Manage UCCE deployments which include CUCM, IPIVR, CVP , 3rd party reporting and CUIC.
Manage UNIX's projects to meet project dateline while solving daily network crisis.
Perform the tasks of designing, implementing, supporting, and managing networking and telecommunication infrastructure.
Manage all domain registrations, SSL certificate management.
Create locally manage and centrally manage gateways on checkpoint firewall.
Manage and administrate security policy and procedures for all VPN network connectivity and accounts.

Data storage specialist vs network engineer skills

Common data storage specialist skills

Data Storage, 16%
Architecture, 10%
Performance Issues, 9%
EMC, 9%
Capacity Planning, 8%
Provisioning, 7%

Common network engineer skills

Switches, 7%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Network Infrastructure, 4%
BGP, 4%
OSPF, 4%
Lan Wan, 4%

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Data Storage Specialist vs Network Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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