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The differences between network designers and network managers 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 manager. Additionally, a network manager has an average salary of $97,578, which is higher than the $84,818 average annual salary of a network designer.
The top three skills for a network designer include network design, PC and OSPF. The most important skills for a network manager are customer service, fault management, and network infrastructure.
| Network Designer | Network Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $84,818 | $97,578 |
| Hourly rate | $40.78 | $46.91 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 66,415 | 36,831 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| 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 manager is responsible for monitoring the efficient network connection of the company's technology systems, analyzing system designs, and overseeing installation processes and programs. Network managers inspect the efficiency of existing network management systems, upgrading network data to boost optimal performance and communication transportation. A network manager must have excellent knowledge of technology disciplines and should always be updated with the recent technology trends, guiding the network staff on their tasks and immediately resolving system defects and discrepancies.
Network designers and network managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Designer | Network Manager | |
| Average salary | $84,818 | $97,578 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $115,000 | Between $71,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | AT&T | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a network designer and a network manager in terms of educational background:
| Network Designer | Network Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between network designers' and network managers' demographics:
| Network Designer | Network Manager | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0% | Male, 83.3% Female, 16.7% |
| 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, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |