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The differences between network planning engineers and data center 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 planning engineer and a data center engineer. Additionally, a data center engineer has an average salary of $102,788, which is higher than the $94,120 average annual salary of a network planning engineer.
The top three skills for a network planning engineer include network planning, capacity planning and OSPF. The most important skills for a data center engineer are data centers, troubleshoot, and HVAC.
| Network Planning Engineer | Data Center Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,120 | $102,788 |
| Hourly rate | $45.25 | $49.42 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 40,398 | 178,277 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Network Planning Engineer is a person who has a significant role in maintaining the internal and external network of an organization. Their responsibilities include:
Offering support to critical teams within the organization as needed.
Engineering designs.
Communicating new strategies for new projects from deployment to maintenance and upgrades.
Completing the setup of a network in a manner that satisfies the organization and generally design and improves networks.
A data center engineer is responsible for managing the efficiency and optimal performance of the network data systems of an organization. Data center engineers ensure the safety and security of the database to prevent unauthorized access and suspicious activities within the network that may pose risks for the business. They assess the navigation of the servers, conduct regular maintenance, and perform immediate troubleshooting for glitches to avoid any delays in the operation. A data center engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in writing data resolution for reference and configuration.
Network planning engineers and data center engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Planning Engineer | Data Center Engineer | |
| Average salary | $94,120 | $102,788 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $123,000 | Between $71,000 And $147,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bothell, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Superior Group | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a network planning engineer and a data center engineer in terms of educational background:
| Network Planning Engineer | Data Center Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between network planning engineers' and data center engineers' demographics:
| Network Planning Engineer | Data Center Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.9% Female, 19.1% | Male, 94.2% Female, 5.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 11.0% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |