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The differences between senior data center engineers and senior infrastructure 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 senior infrastructure engineer. Additionally, a senior infrastructure engineer has an average salary of $117,765, which is higher than the $103,215 average annual salary of a senior data center engineer.
The top three skills for a senior data center engineer include windows, vmware esxi and nexus. The most important skills for a senior infrastructure engineer are cloud, AWS, and linux.
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $103,215 | $117,765 |
| Hourly rate | $49.62 | $56.62 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 139,255 | 78,855 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| 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 senior infrastructure engineer specializes in designing and developing systems and infrastructures based on client preferences and industry standards. They have the duty to identify and understand the project's needs, streamline project requirements, produce drafts, create prototypes and models, and establish tests to identify potential issues and ensure the projects' quality. Additionally, a senior infrastructure engineer has the authority to make decisions, train and supervise junior engineers, establish goals and timelines, provide technical support, and implement policies and guidelines.
Senior data center engineers and senior infrastructure engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Average salary | $103,215 | $117,765 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $140,000 | Between $87,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | Washington |
| Best paying company | CDW | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a senior data center engineer and a senior infrastructure engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior data center engineers' and senior infrastructure engineers' demographics:
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 97.9% Female, 2.1% | Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7% |
| 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, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 10.7% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |