Network communications technician vs data center technician

The differences between network communications technicians and data center technicians 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 communications technician and a data center technician. Additionally, a network communications technician has an average salary of $51,650, which is higher than the $46,560 average annual salary of a data center technician.

The top three skills for a network communications technician include regular monitoring, routers and switches. The most important skills for a data center technician are patients, customer service, and CLIA.

Network communications technician vs data center technician overview

	Network Communications Technician	Data Center Technician
Yearly salary	$51,650	$46,560
Hourly rate	$24.83	$22.38
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	52,657	139,177
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Network communications technician vs data center technician salary

Network communications technicians and data center technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Network Communications Technician	Data Center Technician
Average salary	$51,650	$46,560
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $72,000	Between $28,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	-	Piscataway, NJ
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between network communications technician and data center technician education

There are a few differences between a network communications technician and a data center technician in terms of educational background:

	Network Communications Technician	Data Center Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Network communications technician vs data center technician demographics

Here are the differences between network communications technicians' and data center technicians' demographics:

	Network Communications Technician	Data Center Technician
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between network communications technician and data center technician duties and responsibilities

Network communications technician example responsibilities.

Maintain and manage office-wide LAN.
Engineer and manage creation of co-registration Java modules for integration with Akamai streaming servers.
Help identify customer issues with their switches and routers and provide on solutions.
Perform trouble correlation for voice, voip, data and video network problems using ViryNet ticketing system.
Install, operate and maintain LAN terminals and cabling.
Verify network routers perform and meet engineering standards prior to field installation.

Data center technician example responsibilities.

Manage job schedules via Autosys, Tivoli, & Zeke.
Utilize remedy ticketing system to track and manage trouble tickets and changes.
Manage the daily operation of the NOC which includes provisioning servers, ticket handling and resolution and internal escalations.
Manage data center power, space and infrastructure planning for mainframe, distribute, storage and network equipment technologies.
Manage proactive network monitoring, repair, and maintenance for TDM, SS7, VoIP, and DWDM platforms.
Job responsibilities include monitoring network equipment and network performance in support of Net2Phones manage PacketCable VOIP solution.

Network communications technician vs data center technician skills

Common network communications technician skills

Regular Monitoring, 8%
Routers, 8%
Switches, 8%
Windows, 7%
Network Equipment, 6%
Network Communications, 6%

Common data center technician skills

Patients, 12%
Customer Service, 10%
CLIA, 9%
OSHA, 8%
Standard Operating Procedure, 8%
Center Management, 8%

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Network Communications Technician vs Data Center Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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