Infrastructure lead vs network engineer

The differences between infrastructure leads 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 an infrastructure lead and a network engineer. Additionally, an infrastructure lead has an average salary of $118,378, which is higher than the $83,557 average annual salary of a network engineer.

The top three skills for an infrastructure lead include cloud, architecture and AWS. The most important skills for a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.

Infrastructure lead vs network engineer overview

	Infrastructure Lead	Network Engineer
Yearly salary	$118,378	$83,557
Hourly rate	$56.91	$40.17
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	50,358	72,346
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Infrastructure lead vs network engineer salary

Infrastructure leads and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Infrastructure Lead	Network Engineer
Average salary	$118,378	$83,557
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $163,000	Between $62,000 And $111,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Menlo Park, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Thumbtack	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Insurance	Technology

Differences between infrastructure lead and network engineer education

There are a few differences between an infrastructure lead and a network engineer in terms of educational background:

	Infrastructure Lead	Network Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Computer Science	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Stanford University	California State University - Long Beach

Infrastructure lead vs network engineer demographics

Here are the differences between infrastructure leads' and network engineers' demographics:

	Infrastructure Lead	Network Engineer
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7%	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.7% White, 61.6% 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 infrastructure lead and network engineer duties and responsibilities

Infrastructure lead example responsibilities.

Manage and justify VDI with VMware view.
Manage vendor engagement for vmware consultation, design, and implementation.
Verse in configuring and managing Cisco routers, switches and VoIP networks.
Manage VPN solution (both appliance and Cisco router) with PKI for Verizon.
Manage security management system (SMS) integration projects for SPAWAR / DoD intelligence agencies.
Manage the successful delivery of new campus EMC storage, migrate from existing/older EMC hardware to newer hardware.

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.

Infrastructure lead vs network engineer skills

Common infrastructure lead skills

Cloud, 10%
Architecture, 8%
AWS, 5%
Linux, 5%
Project Management, 5%
Amazon Web Services, 5%

Common network engineer skills

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