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The differences between network designers 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 a network designer and a network engineer. Additionally, a network designer has an average salary of $84,818, which is higher than the $83,557 average annual salary of a network engineer.
The top three skills for a network designer include network design, PC and OSPF. The most important skills for a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.
| Network Designer | Network Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $84,818 | $83,557 |
| Hourly rate | $40.78 | $40.17 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 66,415 | 72,346 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Network designers are the people in an organization who assess a company's network requirements and design a network that meets the needs. The responsibilities of this position are designing and submitting plans for the network to management, making updates and upgrading the software and hardware where needed, incorporating security features into the design, configuring multiple types of connections, e.g., printers, servers and supporting specialized services like specific point virtualization through cloud computing.
A network engineer is responsible for managing a network system, monitoring its performance, and upgrading its features to optimize performance and boost efficiency. Network engineers also create new systems, designing them based on clients' specifications and business needs. They also check network defects, perform troubleshooting, improve data security systems, and install security updates. A network engineer must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, as well as a broad understanding of system codes, programming languages, and network configurations.
Network designers and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Designer | Network Engineer | |
| Average salary | $84,818 | $83,557 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $115,000 | Between $62,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | AT&T | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a network designer and a network engineer in terms of educational background:
| Network Designer | Network Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between network designers' and network engineers' demographics:
| Network Designer | Network Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0% | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 13.7% White, 61.2% 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% |