Network planner vs network planning engineer

The differences between network planners and network planning engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a network planning engineer has an average salary of $94,120, which is higher than the $80,488 average annual salary of a network planner.

The top three skills for a network planner include IP, switches and project management. The most important skills for a network planning engineer are network planning, capacity planning, and OSPF.

Network planner vs network planning engineer overview

	Network Planner	Network Planning Engineer
Yearly salary	$80,488	$94,120
Hourly rate	$38.70	$45.25
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	36,482	40,398
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	45	43
Years of experience	-	2

Network planner vs network planning engineer salary

Network planners and network planning engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Network Planner	Network Planning Engineer
Average salary	$80,488	$94,120
Salary range	Between $52,000 And $124,000	Between $71,000 And $123,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Bothell, WA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Meta	Superior Group
Best paying industry	Technology	Telecommunication

Differences between network planner and network planning engineer education

There are a few differences between a network planner and a network planning engineer in terms of educational background:

	Network Planner	Network Planning Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Business	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Network planner vs network planning engineer demographics

Here are the differences between network planners' and network planning engineers' demographics:

	Network Planner	Network Planning Engineer
Average age	45	43
Gender ratio	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%	Male, 80.9% Female, 19.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.3% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 14.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	7%	9%

Differences between network planner and network planning engineer duties and responsibilities

Network planner example responsibilities.

Manage Ethernet LANs in high profile company buildings.
Manage and analyze traffic backhaul for Ethernet and SONET circuits in between central offices.
Develop and manage the plan for new technology deployment that convert network backbone to IP.
Manage projects responsible for the customer turn ups of domestic and international customers on all BSLD switches in the network.
Coordinate marketing brainstorming meetings, prepare minutes, manage project follow-up, and create summary PowerPoint presentations.
Create and maintain broadband network trunk diagrams as switches and trunks are add and remove from the network.

Network planning engineer example responsibilities.

Manage SunOS UNIX base network systems.
Excele at managing major network-wide upgrades; improve speed and predictability of multicast and order-routing data.
Evaluate KPI ad adjust parameters base in MRR and statistics.
Track and forecast minutes of use for voice switches across the country.
Perform node-swapping (BSC, HLR etc) in a live network.
Conduct functional tests by creating different test scenarios of control message exchanges within LTE NMS.

Network planner vs network planning engineer skills

Common network planner skills

IP, 11%
Switches, 7%
Project Management, 7%
Network Operations, 7%
Ethernet, 5%
Network Infrastructure, 5%

Common network planning engineer skills

Network Planning, 9%
Capacity Planning, 5%
OSPF, 4%
Ethernet, 4%
RF, 4%
Network Design, 4%

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Network Planner vs Network Planning Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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