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The differences between firewall engineers and network support 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 firewall engineer and a network support engineer. Additionally, a firewall engineer has an average salary of $99,357, which is higher than the $86,406 average annual salary of a network support engineer.
The top three skills for a firewall engineer include network security, cisco asa and azure. The most important skills for a network support engineer are switches, network support, and OSPF.
| Firewall Engineer | Network Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $99,357 | $86,406 |
| Hourly rate | $47.77 | $41.54 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 39,291 | 113,476 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A firewall engineer is concerned about the safety and security of company websites from online attacks. A firewall is a safety measure to help protect the company's information infrastructure or business connected to the internet. The firewall engineer creates, develops, and maintains the company's online security and regularly checks websites for breaches, flaws in the code, and other technical things required to protect a company from outside internet attacks and hacking.
A network support engineer is an information technology expert who designs and develops computer systems, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Among their responsibilities include performing installations and upgrades, configuring networks, troubleshooting issues, gathering and analyzing data to identify areas needing improvement, and recommending strategies to optimize network operations. They must also provide technical support to staff, address issues and concerns, conduct inspections, and perform repairs. Moreover, a network support engineer must regularly monitor networks while implementing the company's security and safety standards.
Firewall engineers and network support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Firewall Engineer | Network Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $99,357 | $86,406 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $128,000 | Between $66,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Clara, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Palo Alto Networks | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a firewall engineer and a network support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Firewall Engineer | Network Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between firewall engineers' and network support engineers' demographics:
| Firewall Engineer | Network Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.4% Female, 6.6% | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% |
| 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, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.9% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |