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The differences between network infrastructure engineers and senior infrastructure 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 infrastructure engineer and a senior infrastructure engineer. Additionally, a senior infrastructure engineer has an average salary of $117,765, which is higher than the $82,895 average annual salary of a network infrastructure engineer.
The top three skills for a network infrastructure engineer include network infrastructure, switches and cloud. The most important skills for a senior infrastructure engineer are cloud, AWS, and linux.
| Network Infrastructure Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,895 | $117,765 |
| Hourly rate | $39.85 | $56.62 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 67,606 | 78,855 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| 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 senior infrastructure engineer specializes in designing and developing systems and infrastructures based on client preferences and industry standards. They have the duty to identify and understand the project's needs, streamline project requirements, produce drafts, create prototypes and models, and establish tests to identify potential issues and ensure the projects' quality. Additionally, a senior infrastructure engineer has the authority to make decisions, train and supervise junior engineers, establish goals and timelines, provide technical support, and implement policies and guidelines.
Network infrastructure engineers and senior infrastructure engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Infrastructure Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Average salary | $82,895 | $117,765 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $119,000 | Between $87,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a network infrastructure engineer and a senior infrastructure engineer in terms of educational background:
| Network Infrastructure Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between network infrastructure engineers' and senior infrastructure engineers' demographics:
| Network Infrastructure Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.4% Female, 7.6% | Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7% |
| 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, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 10.7% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |