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Senior network technician vs network engineer

The differences between senior network technicians 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 network technician and a network engineer. Additionally, a network engineer has an average salary of $83,557, which is higher than the $49,896 average annual salary of a senior network technician.

The top three skills for a senior network technician include switches, troubleshoot and routers. The most important skills for a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.

Senior network technician vs network engineer overview

Senior Network TechnicianNetwork Engineer
Yearly salary$49,896$83,557
Hourly rate$23.99$40.17
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs39,28872,346
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4343
Years of experience22

Senior network technician vs network engineer salary

Senior network technicians and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Network TechnicianNetwork Engineer
Average salary$49,896$83,557
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $78,000Between $62,000 And $111,000
Highest paying CityRedmond, WAMenlo Park, CA
Highest paying stateHawaiiCalifornia
Best paying companyMicrosoftThe Citadel
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between senior network technician and network engineer education

There are a few differences between a senior network technician and a network engineer in terms of educational background:

Senior Network TechnicianNetwork Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorComputer ScienceElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Senior network technician vs network engineer demographics

Here are the differences between senior network technicians' and network engineers' demographics:

Senior Network TechnicianNetwork Engineer
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 85.5% Female, 14.5%Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.5% 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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between senior network technician and network engineer duties and responsibilities

Senior network technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage 10 servers , 2 UNIX , 6 Win2k3 and 2 Win2k.
  • Set up and manage firewall and content base web filtering.
  • Recommend, engineer and manage office systems, including centralize productivity and communication systems such as e-mail and centralize desktop environments.
  • Connect and configure LAN and WLAN networks and perform security updates on network devices and routers.
  • Train customer s employees on network protocols such as TCP/IP EGIRP, BGP, SNA, OSPF.
  • Implement wide area network solution using VPN and MPLS technologies to interconnect remote offices.
  • Show more

Network engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage UCCE deployments which include CUCM, IPIVR, CVP , 3rd party reporting and CUIC.
  • Manage UNIX's projects to meet project dateline while solving daily network crisis.
  • Perform the tasks of designing, implementing, supporting, and managing networking and telecommunication infrastructure.
  • Manage all domain registrations, SSL certificate management.
  • Create locally manage and centrally manage gateways on checkpoint firewall.
  • Manage and administrate security policy and procedures for all VPN network connectivity and accounts.
  • Show more

Senior network technician vs network engineer skills

Common senior network technician skills
  • Switches, 9%
  • Troubleshoot, 8%
  • Routers, 5%
  • Network Hardware, 4%
  • Windows Server, 4%
  • Network Security, 3%
Common network engineer skills
  • Switches, 7%
  • Troubleshoot, 5%
  • Network Infrastructure, 4%
  • BGP, 4%
  • OSPF, 4%
  • Lan Wan, 4%

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