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The differences between senior data center engineers 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 senior data center engineer and a network engineer. Additionally, a senior data center engineer has an average salary of $103,215, which is higher than the $83,557 average annual salary of a network engineer.
The top three skills for a senior data center engineer include windows, vmware esxi and nexus. The most important skills for a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $103,215 | $83,557 |
| Hourly rate | $49.62 | $40.17 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 139,255 | 72,346 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A senior data center engineer specializes in designing and developing systems and networks to optimize data center operations. It is their responsibility to set guidelines and objectives, identify and understand the needs of facilities, conduct research and analyses, develop prototypes and test structures, troubleshoot problems, perform installations and repairs, and conduct regular maintenance checks on systems. Moreover, a senior data center engineer oversees projects and leads junior engineers to reach goals, all while implementing the company's data security policies and regulations.
A network engineer is responsible for managing a network system, monitoring its performance, and upgrading its features to optimize performance and boost efficiency. Network engineers also create new systems, designing them based on clients' specifications and business needs. They also check network defects, perform troubleshooting, improve data security systems, and install security updates. A network engineer must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, as well as a broad understanding of system codes, programming languages, and network configurations.
Senior data center engineers and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Average salary | $103,215 | $83,557 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $140,000 | Between $62,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | California |
| Best paying company | CDW | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior data center engineer and a network engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between senior data center engineers' and network engineers' demographics:
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 97.9% Female, 2.1% | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 11.0% White, 62.2% 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |