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The differences between network planning engineers and senior system 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 planning engineer and a senior system administrator. Additionally, a senior system administrator has an average salary of $98,146, 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 senior system administrator are linux, windows server, and troubleshoot.
| Network Planning Engineer | Senior System Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $94,120 | $98,146 |
| Hourly rate | $45.25 | $47.19 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 40,398 | 100,873 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| 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 senior system administrator specializes in overseeing the computer system operations in an organization. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around monitoring the performance of all software and hardware, installing servers, configuring systems, and making sure every technical aspect is running smoothly. Should there be any issues, they must take charge of troubleshooting and providing solutions. As someone with more experience, a senior system administrator leads and evaluates the performances of fellow skilled professionals in the department, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Network planning engineers and senior system administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Planning Engineer | Senior System Administrator | |
| Average salary | $94,120 | $98,146 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $123,000 | Between $75,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bothell, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Superior Group | Cambridge Associates |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Finance |
There are a few differences between a network planning engineer and a senior system administrator in terms of educational background:
| Network Planning Engineer | Senior System Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| 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 senior system administrators' demographics:
| Network Planning Engineer | Senior System Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.9% Female, 19.1% | Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0% |
| 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, 11.8% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |