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The differences between network planning engineers and network technicians 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 network technician. Additionally, a network planning engineer has an average salary of $94,120, which is higher than the $68,938 average annual salary of a network technician.
The top three skills for a network planning engineer include network planning, capacity planning and OSPF. The most important skills for a network technician are customer service, switches, and troubleshoot.
| Network Planning Engineer | Network Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $94,120 | $68,938 |
| Hourly rate | $45.25 | $33.14 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 40,398 | 79,712 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| 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 network technician is responsible for system malfunction diagnosis and troubleshooting operations. Network technicians duties' include repairing damaged system components, analyzing computer systems and blueprints, installing network connections, and upgrading accessories for efficient operations. Other duties include assisting customers with technical issues, ensuring computer systems' privacy, creating documents of network issues and resolutions, and suggesting alternative equipment for network backups. A network technician must have a broad knowledge of the technology industry and mechanical processes, plus the ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision.
Network planning engineers and network technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Planning Engineer | Network Technician | |
| Average salary | $94,120 | $68,938 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $123,000 | Between $51,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bothell, WA | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Superior Group | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Finance |
There are a few differences between a network planning engineer and a network technician in terms of educational background:
| Network Planning Engineer | Network Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between network planning engineers' and network technicians' demographics:
| Network Planning Engineer | Network Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.9% Female, 19.1% | Male, 87.3% Female, 12.7% |
| 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, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.4% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |