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The differences between network administrators and network consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a network administrator and a network consultant. Additionally, a network consultant has an average salary of $89,303, which is higher than the $71,357 average annual salary of a network administrator.
The top three skills for a network administrator include switches, windows server and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a network consultant are appeals, firewall, and windows server.
| Network Administrator | Network Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $71,357 | $89,303 |
| Hourly rate | $34.31 | $42.93 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 106,886 | 58,194 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A network administrator is responsible for managing an organization's computer systems, ensuring its smooth operations and highest efficiency. Network administrators' duties include inspecting network malfunctions, troubleshooting unresponsive programs, improving system processes, analyzing client's specifications, upgrading existing applications, coordinating with the technology department, and creating a report of network issues resolutions. A network administrator should display a strong command of programming languages. Extensive knowledge in the technology industry and analytical and problem-solving skills to manage network problems immediately is also necessary.
Network consultants are information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for designing, setting up, and maintaining computer networks for an organization or at a client location. These consultants are required to meet with the manager of an organization and network engineers to discuss their networking requirements. By supervising a team of IT professionals, these consultants must administer technical issues and fix infrastructure issues onsite. Network consultants must also maintain documentation for IT infrastructure as well as coordinate network documentation with account managers.
Network administrators and network consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Administrator | Network Consultant | |
| Average salary | $71,357 | $89,303 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $90,000 | Between $60,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Mountain View, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Dell | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a network administrator and a network consultant in terms of educational background:
| Network Administrator | Network Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between network administrators' and network consultants' demographics:
| Network Administrator | Network Consultant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4% | Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 11.3% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |