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What is an infrastructure engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Andrea Welker Ph.D.

An infrastructure engineer designs, builds, and maintains the systems that support an organization's technology infrastructure. They work with servers, networks, databases, and storage systems to ensure they are secure and scalable. Infrastructure engineers collaborate with other teams to ensure that the technology’s infrastructure meets the organization's needs. Their responsibilities include installing and configuring hardware and software, monitoring system performance, troubleshooting issues, and implementing new technologies.

What general advice would you give to an infrastructure engineer?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.Andrea Welker Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.
ScoreInfrastructure EngineerUS Average
Salary
7.8

Avg. Salary $106,438

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
5.7

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.6
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 12.97%

Black or African American 8.30%

Hispanic or Latino 12.01%

Unknown 5.03%

White 61.38%

Gender

female 7.80%

male 92.20%

Age - 42
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42
Stress level
5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
6.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being an infrastructure engineer?

Pros

  • Good salary, benefits, and job security

  • Opportunity for remote work

  • Opportunity to build and maintain critical systems

  • Potential for career growth within the company

  • Chance to work on large-scale projects

Cons

  • Long hours and potential for on-call work

  • High pressure to ensure system availability

  • Can be stressful when dealing with system failures

  • May require working outside of regular business hours

  • Can be physically demanding at times

Infrastructure engineer career paths

Key steps to become an infrastructure engineer

  1. Explore infrastructure engineer education requirements

    Most common infrastructure engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    63.5 %

    Associate

    16.9 %

    Master's

    12.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific infrastructure engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Python10.42%
    Cloud8.42%
    Linux7.57%
    AWS6.94%
    Java6.30%
  3. Complete relevant infrastructure engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New infrastructure engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an infrastructure engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real infrastructure engineer resumes.
  4. Research infrastructure engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Manage public and private DNS records and servers.
    • Manage IIs web servers and IBM WebSphere application servers.
    • Manage Netapp FAS2240 NAS device by configuring multiple shares.
    • Work with python Boto3 SDK to automate backups to S3.
  5. Prepare your infrastructure engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your infrastructure engineer resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an infrastructure engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable infrastructure engineer resume templates

    Build a professional infrastructure engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your infrastructure engineer resume.
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
    Infrastructure Engineer Resume
  6. Apply for infrastructure engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an infrastructure engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first infrastructure engineer job

Zippi

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Average infrastructure engineer salary

The average infrastructure engineer salary in the United States is $106,438 per year or $51 per hour. Infrastructure engineer salaries range between $76,000 and $148,000 per year.

Average infrastructure engineer salary
$106,438 Yearly
$51.17 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do infrastructure engineers rate their job?

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Infrastructure engineer reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019
Pros

talking to people

Cons

outside weather, I work as a network technician and the main problem I always encounter is the cold weather.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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