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Network consultant vs network support analyst

The differences between network consultants and network support analysts 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 consultant and a network support analyst. Additionally, a network consultant has an average salary of $89,303, which is higher than the $83,921 average annual salary of a network support analyst.

The top three skills for a network consultant include appeals, firewall and windows server. The most important skills for a network support analyst are troubleshoot, switches, and routers.

Network consultant vs network support analyst overview

Network ConsultantNetwork Support Analyst
Yearly salary$89,303$83,921
Hourly rate$42.93$40.35
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs58,194118,825
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age4343
Years of experience22

What does a network consultant do?

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.

What does a network support analyst do?

Network support analysts are professionals who provide technical support as well as maintain various network components for an organization's network system. These analysts are responsible for installing and configuring local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), internet systems, and other components of network systems. They are required to monitor the performance of networks and systems and align network use and access by using master consoles. Network support analysts must also organize and deploy security measures for the network so that they can safeguard software, hardware, and data.

Network consultant vs network support analyst salary

Network consultants and network support analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

Network ConsultantNetwork Support Analyst
Average salary$89,303$83,921
Salary rangeBetween $60,000 And $132,000Between $54,000 And $128,000
Highest paying CityMountain View, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyDellMeta
Best paying industryManufacturingTechnology

Differences between network consultant and network support analyst education

There are a few differences between a network consultant and a network support analyst in terms of educational background:

Network ConsultantNetwork Support Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeStanford UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Network consultant vs network support analyst demographics

Here are the differences between network consultants' and network support analysts' demographics:

Network ConsultantNetwork Support Analyst
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 87.0% Female, 13.0%Male, 84.3% Female, 15.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.9% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between network consultant and network support analyst duties and responsibilities

Network consultant example responsibilities.

  • Support and manage Linux base firewalls for client.
  • Manage FTP servers, AD/DNS, wireless access points and load balancers.
  • Manage and configure VoIP devices which include gateway and gatekeeper.
  • Lead architecture and design sessions with customers; initiate technical meetings with customer engineers to further engage and identify additional opportunities.
  • Create an optimize network to separate voice and data with QOS, MPLS BGP OSPF.
  • Configure route redistribution to between OSPF and EIGRP.
  • Show more

Network support analyst example responsibilities.

  • Manage and maintain the internal network (LAN/WAN) hardware for end user computers and VoIP phones.
  • Manage project to maximize available bandwidth and throughput by implementing QOS technologies including compression, traffic shaping and priority/custom queuing.
  • Analyze logs and collect data to produce reports using LINUX operating system relate to IP TV viewing.
  • Support configuration/programming of routers, switches and other complex network equipment.
  • Provide support during data center consolidation by decommissioning routers, switches and servers.
  • Network integration using TCP/IP and IPX protocols.
  • Show more

Network consultant vs network support analyst skills

Common network consultant skills
  • Appeals, 10%
  • Firewall, 5%
  • Windows Server, 5%
  • Switches, 4%
  • Network Infrastructure, 4%
  • Network Hardware, 4%
Common network support analyst skills
  • Troubleshoot, 6%
  • Switches, 5%
  • Routers, 4%
  • Problem Resolution, 4%
  • Firewall, 4%
  • Network Support, 4%

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