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Network technician lead vs network engineer

The differences between network technician leads and network 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 technician lead and a network engineer. Additionally, a network technician lead has an average salary of $106,974, which is higher than the $83,557 average annual salary of a network engineer.

The top three skills for a network technician lead include troubleshoot, switches and network operations. The most important skills for a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.

Network technician lead vs network engineer overview

Network Technician LeadNetwork Engineer
Yearly salary$106,974$83,557
Hourly rate$51.43$40.17
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs74,02172,346
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4343
Years of experience22

Network technician lead vs network engineer salary

Network technician leads and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Network Technician LeadNetwork Engineer
Average salary$106,974$83,557
Salary rangeBetween $74,000 And $153,000Between $62,000 And $111,000
Highest paying CitySacramento, CAMenlo Park, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaThe Citadel
Best paying industryRetailTechnology

Differences between network technician lead and network engineer education

There are a few differences between a network technician lead and a network engineer in terms of educational background:

Network Technician LeadNetwork Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorComputer ScienceElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Network technician lead vs network engineer demographics

Here are the differences between network technician leads' and network engineers' demographics:

Network Technician LeadNetwork Engineer
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 84.5% Female, 15.5%Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.7% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between network technician lead and network engineer duties and responsibilities

Network technician lead example responsibilities.

  • Manage everything from DNS to VPN and everything in between.
  • Install, configure and manage multiple VoIP phone systems for clients.
  • Recommend, engineer and manage office systems, including centralize productivity and communication systems such as e-mail and centralize desktop environments.
  • Install, setup, configure and maintain LAN routers, hubs, switches, network printers and peripherals.
  • Advance quickly to lead a technical crew in turnkey network implementations to include wiring, switches, routers and firewalls.
  • Support firewalls and routers (including Cisco), and various LAN/WAN setups.
  • Show more

Network engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage UCCE deployments which include CUCM, IPIVR, CVP , 3rd party reporting and CUIC.
  • Manage UNIX's projects to meet project dateline while solving daily network crisis.
  • Perform the tasks of designing, implementing, supporting, and managing networking and telecommunication infrastructure.
  • Manage all domain registrations, SSL certificate management.
  • Create locally manage and centrally manage gateways on checkpoint firewall.
  • Manage and administrate security policy and procedures for all VPN network connectivity and accounts.
  • Show more

Network technician lead vs network engineer skills

Common network technician lead skills
  • Troubleshoot, 6%
  • Switches, 5%
  • Network Operations, 4%
  • Customer Service, 4%
  • Technical Support, 4%
  • Routers, 3%
Common network engineer skills
  • Switches, 7%
  • Troubleshoot, 5%
  • Network Infrastructure, 4%
  • BGP, 4%
  • OSPF, 4%
  • Lan Wan, 4%

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