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Network field engineer vs network administrator

The differences between network field engineers and network administrators 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 field engineer and a network administrator. Additionally, a network administrator has an average salary of $71,357, which is higher than the $58,622 average annual salary of a network field engineer.

The top three skills for a network field engineer include lan wan, tcp ip and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a network administrator are switches, windows server, and troubleshoot.

Network field engineer vs network administrator overview

Network Field EngineerNetwork Administrator
Yearly salary$58,622$71,357
Hourly rate$28.18$34.31
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs97,677106,886
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4343
Years of experience22

Network field engineer vs network administrator salary

Network field engineers and network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Network Field EngineerNetwork Administrator
Average salary$58,622$71,357
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $87,000Between $56,000 And $90,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Washington
Best paying company-Google
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between network field engineer and network administrator education

There are a few differences between a network field engineer and a network administrator in terms of educational background:

Network Field EngineerNetwork Administrator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringComputer Science
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Network field engineer vs network administrator demographics

Here are the differences between network field engineers' and network administrators' demographics:

Network Field EngineerNetwork Administrator
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 94.0% Female, 6.0%Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between network field engineer and network administrator duties and responsibilities

Network field engineer example responsibilities.

  • Help to manage the network and broadband Internet connectivity.
  • Manage multiple SCO UNIX servers, including application hosting, and support.
  • Manage project to maximize available bandwidth and throughput by implementing QOS technologies including compression, traffic shaping and priority/custom queuing.
  • Rack, mount, cable and deploy initial configuration of new routers, switches, modems, and wireless access points.
  • Travel nationally to install, maintain, and repair wireless networking infrastructure, including routers, switches, and access points.
  • Provide full desktop support, LAN support and remote support.
  • Show more

Network administrator example responsibilities.

  • Lead and manage desktop standards project.
  • Manage backups using EMC Networker and Avamar.
  • Manage Solarwinds to monitor servers and networks for all locations.
  • Manage all provisioning and technical issues for new customer IP blocks.
  • Deploy and manage storage (windows file servers and NetApp NAS).
  • Manage all technology: Novell, Microsoft, Cisco, email, library, labs, dorms, programs
  • Show more

Network field engineer vs network administrator skills

Common network field engineer skills
  • Lan Wan, 11%
  • Tcp Ip, 10%
  • Troubleshoot, 8%
  • RF, 7%
  • Switches, 7%
  • Routers, 5%
Common network administrator skills
  • Switches, 7%
  • Windows Server, 6%
  • Troubleshoot, 5%
  • Network Hardware, 5%
  • Routers, 4%
  • Lan Wan, 4%

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