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The differences between network engineers and senior 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 engineer and a senior network engineer. Additionally, a senior network engineer has an average salary of $111,707, which is higher than the $83,557 average annual salary of a network engineer.
The top three skills for a network engineer include switches, troubleshoot and network infrastructure. The most important skills for a senior network engineer are switches, BGP, and OSPF.
| Network Engineer | Senior Network Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $83,557 | $111,707 |
| Hourly rate | $40.17 | $53.71 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 72,346 | 35,428 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
A senior network engineer is responsible for managing the organization's network infrastructure, handling advanced network issues, upgrading the system's design for optimization, configuring network features, and ensuring the network's highest security measures to avoid unauthorized access and suspicious activities. Senior network engineers work with network architects to implement network designs, run diagnostic tests, and create network solution reports for review and recovery reference. A senior network engineer must have excellent communication and organization skills and broad knowledge of the technology industry, programming languages, and system codes.
Network engineers and senior network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Engineer | Senior Network Engineer | |
| Average salary | $83,557 | $111,707 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $111,000 | Between $85,000 And $145,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a network engineer and a senior network engineer in terms of educational background:
| Network Engineer | Senior Network Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | - |
Here are the differences between network engineers' and senior network engineers' demographics:
| Network Engineer | Senior Network Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% | Male, 93.2% Female, 6.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 13.5% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |