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The differences between infrastructure engineers and systems engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an infrastructure engineer and a systems engineer. Additionally, an infrastructure engineer has an average salary of $106,438, which is higher than the $82,834 average annual salary of a systems engineer.
The top three skills for an infrastructure engineer include python, cloud and linux. The most important skills for a systems engineer are python, linux, and C++.
| Infrastructure Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $106,438 | $82,834 |
| Hourly rate | $51.17 | $39.82 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 91,845 | 145,936 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
As an infrastructure engineer, they're responsible for designing, deploying, and maintaining the IT infrastructure using the newest technology and ensure all the systems within an organization function seamlessly. They ensure all the IT systems are updated to support the business to function effectively. It is also their job to maintain internet connections, cabling, virtualization platforms, and storage area networks. Moreover, they oversee the IT infrastructure engineer system administration middleware application servers, like Oracle Weblogic server, IBM WebSphere server, and automated workflow tools.
Systems engineers are responsible for creating and overseeing systems related to the overall operations of the organization. They are in charge of assessing the organization's needs in terms of systems and creating plans to address these needs. These systems are usually related to the production or manufacturing of company products. Systems engineers create end-to-end processes that ensure efficiency and effectiveness. They make sure that the processes they put in place adhere to safety and security policies and guidelines. They also do routine checks and continuously find ways to further improve production and other systems.
Infrastructure engineers and systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Infrastructure Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $106,438 | $82,834 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $148,000 | Between $62,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Credit Karma | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Automotive |
There are a few differences between an infrastructure engineer and a systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Infrastructure Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between infrastructure engineers' and systems engineers' demographics:
| Infrastructure Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 13.0% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |