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The differences between network designers and system 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 system technician. Additionally, a network designer has an average salary of $84,818, which is higher than the $43,410 average annual salary of a system technician.
The top three skills for a network designer include network design, PC and OSPF. The most important skills for a system technician are customer service, hand tools, and preventative maintenance.
| Network Designer | System Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $84,818 | $43,410 |
| Hourly rate | $40.78 | $20.87 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 66,415 | 137,121 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| 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 system technician is an individual responsible for supporting users with issues related to the computer system. System technicians conduct appropriate diagnostics on computer issues and must be able to explain technical issues to clients or team members. They should carry out tests on the system so that they can generate error reports to identify and fix any computer system problems. System technicians also can write and maintain computer programs and work with computers and electronics, including circuit boards, computer hardware and software, and computer processors.
Network designers and system technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Designer | System Technician | |
| Average salary | $84,818 | $43,410 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $115,000 | Between $27,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Washington |
| Best paying company | AT&T | Bristol-Myers Squibb |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Government |
There are a few differences between a network designer and a system technician in terms of educational background:
| Network Designer | System Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between network designers' and system technicians' demographics:
| Network Designer | System Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0% | Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0% |
| 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, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |