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The differences between network contractors 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 contractor and a network consultant. Additionally, a network consultant has an average salary of $89,303, which is higher than the $55,845 average annual salary of a network contractor.
The top three skills for a network contractor include customer service, service calls and provider network. The most important skills for a network consultant are appeals, firewall, and windows server.
| Network Contractor | Network Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $55,845 | $89,303 |
| Hourly rate | $26.85 | $42.93 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 45,116 | 58,194 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Network contractors are information technology (IT) professionals who accept contracts from clients to provide materials and labor to perform tasks related to installing and maintaining network systems. These contractors must coordinate network security systems to deliver the efficiency of their clients' network systems. They must develop and maintain business relationships with providers to ensure proper network composition. They need to provide end-user training on network systems to maximize operator efficiency and increase speed. Network contractors should also assist their clients in the operation, restoration, and configuration of computer systems.
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 contractors and network consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Contractor | Network Consultant | |
| Average salary | $55,845 | $89,303 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $79,000 | Between $60,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Mountain View, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Dell |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a network contractor and a network consultant in terms of educational background:
| Network Contractor | Network Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between network contractors' and network consultants' demographics:
| Network Contractor | Network Consultant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.5% Female, 24.5% | Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 8.7% White, 63.8% 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% |