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The differences between network designers and network 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 designer and a network technician. Additionally, a network designer has an average salary of $84,818, which is higher than the $68,938 average annual salary of a network technician.
The top three skills for a network designer include network design, PC and OSPF. The most important skills for a network technician are customer service, switches, and troubleshoot.
| Network Designer | Network Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $84,818 | $68,938 |
| Hourly rate | $40.78 | $33.14 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 66,415 | 79,712 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| 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 technician is responsible for system malfunction diagnosis and troubleshooting operations. Network technicians duties' include repairing damaged system components, analyzing computer systems and blueprints, installing network connections, and upgrading accessories for efficient operations. Other duties include assisting customers with technical issues, ensuring computer systems' privacy, creating documents of network issues and resolutions, and suggesting alternative equipment for network backups. A network technician must have a broad knowledge of the technology industry and mechanical processes, plus the ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision.
Network designers and network technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Designer | Network Technician | |
| Average salary | $84,818 | $68,938 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $115,000 | Between $51,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | AT&T | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Finance |
There are a few differences between a network designer and a network technician in terms of educational background:
| Network Designer | Network Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between network designers' and network technicians' demographics:
| Network Designer | Network Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0% | Male, 87.3% Female, 12.7% |
| 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, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.4% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |