Senior network architect vs senior network administrator

The differences between senior network architects and senior 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 senior network architect and a senior network administrator. Additionally, a senior network architect has an average salary of $114,322, which is higher than the $89,169 average annual salary of a senior network administrator.

The top three skills for a senior network architect include cloud, azure and OSPF. The most important skills for a senior network administrator are switches, routers, and troubleshoot.

Senior network architect vs senior network administrator overview

	Senior Network Architect	Senior Network Administrator
Yearly salary	$114,322	$89,169
Hourly rate	$54.96	$42.87
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	95,327	110,027
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a senior network architect do?

A senior network architect specializes in designing and establishing networks and systems in a company. It is their responsibility to determine the network and communication needs of a company, conduct research and analysis, gather and analyze data from various operations, develop strategies to optimize operations, and oversee procedures from planning to execution, ensuring accuracy and smooth workflow. Moreover, as a senior network architect, they must lead and serve as a role model to junior architects, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

What does a senior network administrator do?

Senior Network Administrators provide system and network solutions for their organizations. They supervise the functioning of networking equipment and follow strict maintenance standards.

Senior network architect vs senior network administrator salary

Senior network architects and senior network administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Network Architect	Senior Network Administrator
Average salary	$114,322	$89,169
Salary range	Between $82,000 And $158,000	Between $68,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	Redwood City, CA	San Mateo, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	NVIDIA	Tesoro
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between senior network architect and senior network administrator education

There are a few differences between a senior network architect and a senior network administrator in terms of educational background:

	Senior Network Architect	Senior Network Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Computer Science
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Senior network architect vs senior network administrator demographics

Here are the differences between senior network architects' and senior network administrators' demographics:

	Senior Network Architect	Senior Network Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 96.5% Female, 3.5%	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 10.9% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 10.1% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between senior network architect and senior network administrator duties and responsibilities

Senior network architect example responsibilities.

Control fully mesh MPLS network and relationship with manage services tie to the service.
Experience implementing and managing Cisco power networks, including QOS, IBGP and BGP.
Manage all application network impact studies, high availability needs and QoS traffic controls.
Manage Visio drawing for Aviva HQ as well as Aviva data center and remote branches.
Configure, install and manage enterprise network infrastructure (various Cisco routers switches, IPS and ASA firewalls).
Redesign and modernize the campus infrastructure as well manage and maintain the current LAN while implementing the new network.

Senior network administrator example responsibilities.

Lead IP management specialist and assist with management of DHCP scopes and reservations.
Establish and manage SharePoint base intranet for departmental and interdepartmental support.
Configure and manage SQL database archival requests for automate timely data submissions.
Configure and manage multiple data and application servers and maintain SQL relational databases.
Prioritize and manage servicing of customer trouble calls in locally develop tracking database.
Configure and manage company routers and switches in addition to VPN configuration and policy enforcement.

Senior network architect vs senior network administrator skills

Common senior network architect skills

Cloud, 9%
Azure, 7%
OSPF, 6%
EIGRP, 5%
Emerging Technologies, 5%
VMware, 4%

Common senior network administrator skills

Switches, 8%
Routers, 5%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Windows Server, 4%
Network Infrastructure, 4%
Lan Wan, 4%

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Senior Network Architect vs Senior Network Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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