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The differences between noc engineers and network 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 noc engineer and a network administrator. Additionally, a network administrator has an average salary of $71,357, which is higher than the $64,721 average annual salary of a noc engineer.
The top three skills for a noc engineer include customer service, troubleshoot and network operations. The most important skills for a network administrator are switches, windows server, and troubleshoot.
| NOC Engineer | Network Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $64,721 | $71,357 |
| Hourly rate | $31.12 | $34.31 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 64,038 | 106,886 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A network operation center engineer or NOC engineer is an individual who is responsible for managing and monitoring a network from any centralized location. Working with other IT professionals, NOC engineers must enhance the route performance by resolving any issues concerning the network and by using standard procedures to troubleshoot. They are required to maintain communication with vendors and the team to ensure that they remain updated on any issues. NOC engineers should also be knowledgeable in hardware configuration, including firewalls and routers.
A network administrator is responsible for managing an organization's computer systems, ensuring its smooth operations and highest efficiency. Network administrators' duties include inspecting network malfunctions, troubleshooting unresponsive programs, improving system processes, analyzing client's specifications, upgrading existing applications, coordinating with the technology department, and creating a report of network issues resolutions. A network administrator should display a strong command of programming languages. Extensive knowledge in the technology industry and analytical and problem-solving skills to manage network problems immediately is also necessary.
Noc engineers and network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| NOC Engineer | Network Administrator | |
| Average salary | $64,721 | $71,357 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $92,000 | Between $56,000 And $90,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | PayPal | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a noc engineer and a network administrator in terms of educational background:
| NOC Engineer | Network Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between noc engineers' and network administrators' demographics:
| NOC Engineer | Network Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% | Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 12.5% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |