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The differences between network infrastructure 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 infrastructure engineer and a network administrator. Additionally, a network infrastructure engineer has an average salary of $82,895, which is higher than the $71,357 average annual salary of a network administrator.
The top three skills for a network infrastructure engineer include network infrastructure, switches and cloud. The most important skills for a network administrator are switches, windows server, and troubleshoot.
| Network Infrastructure Engineer | Network Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $82,895 | $71,357 |
| Hourly rate | $39.85 | $34.31 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 67,606 | 106,886 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A network infrastructure engineer designs, deploy, and secures the network of the organization. In this position, you will be required to perform site surveys and audits, ensure the company's network site meets set standards, ensure the networks function with minimum downtime, come up with strategies that help minimize operational costs, and helps the organization streamline the operations by ensuring the different systems work effectively.
A network administrator is responsible for managing an organization's computer systems, ensuring its smooth operations and highest efficiency. Network administrators' duties include inspecting network malfunctions, troubleshooting unresponsive programs, improving system processes, analyzing client's specifications, upgrading existing applications, coordinating with the technology department, and creating a report of network issues resolutions. A network administrator should display a strong command of programming languages. Extensive knowledge in the technology industry and analytical and problem-solving skills to manage network problems immediately is also necessary.
Network infrastructure engineers and network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Infrastructure Engineer | Network Administrator | |
| Average salary | $82,895 | $71,357 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $119,000 | Between $56,000 And $90,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a network infrastructure engineer and a network administrator in terms of educational background:
| Network Infrastructure Engineer | Network Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between network infrastructure engineers' and network administrators' demographics:
| Network Infrastructure Engineer | Network Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.4% Female, 7.6% | Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 12.0% White, 61.6% 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |