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The differences between senior operations 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 operations engineer and a network engineer. Additionally, a senior operations engineer has an average salary of $112,583, which is higher than the $83,557 average annual salary of a network engineer.
The top three skills for a senior operations engineer include python, AWS and cloud. The most important skills for a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.
| Senior Operations Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $112,583 | $83,557 |
| Hourly rate | $54.13 | $40.17 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 141,825 | 72,346 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Senior operations engineers are engineering professionals who ensure that the operations of an organization are working properly and meet both factory and management specifications. These engineers are required to create maintenance procedures that are adaptable to the existing maintenance management software for the newly installed facilities and equipment. They must provide technical support to the organization's operations, such as project design, plant optimization, project management, and startup. Senior operations engineers must also implement effective process improvements so that they can increase productivity and reduce production costs.
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 operations engineers and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Operations Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Average salary | $112,583 | $83,557 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $153,000 | Between $62,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior operations engineer and a network engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Operations Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between senior operations engineers' and network engineers' demographics:
| Senior Operations Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3% | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 12.4% White, 61.6% 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% |