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The differences between senior data center 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 senior data center engineer and a network technician. Additionally, a senior data center engineer has an average salary of $103,215, which is higher than the $68,938 average annual salary of a network technician.
The top three skills for a senior data center engineer include windows, vmware esxi and nexus. The most important skills for a network technician are customer service, switches, and troubleshoot.
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Network Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $103,215 | $68,938 |
| Hourly rate | $49.62 | $33.14 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 139,255 | 79,712 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| 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 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.
Senior data center engineers and network technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Network Technician | |
| Average salary | $103,215 | $68,938 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $140,000 | Between $51,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | CDW | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior data center engineer and a network technician in terms of educational background:
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Network Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior data center engineers' and network technicians' demographics:
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Network Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 97.9% Female, 2.1% | Male, 87.3% Female, 12.7% |
| 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, 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% |