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The differences between telecom engineers and network engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a telecom engineer, becoming a network engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a network engineer has an average salary of $83,557, which is higher than the $81,384 average annual salary of a telecom engineer.
The top three skills for a telecom engineer include voip, telephony and telecommunication. The most important skills for a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.
| Telecom Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $81,384 | $83,557 |
| Hourly rate | $39.13 | $40.17 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 33,530 | 72,346 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 45 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
Telecom engineers are engineering experts who design and install telecommunication equipment to ensure the transmission of high-quality data over wired or wireless communication. Due to their in-depth understanding of emerging technologies, these engineers are required to create solution designs such as drawings and design documents as well as offer guidance to reduce complexity and costs. They must identify and resolve any issues related to fiber optics and copper cables while setting up system monitoring to reduce equipment failure and incident response time. Telecom engineers are also required to operate and improve the telephony systems.
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.
Telecom engineers and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Telecom Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Average salary | $81,384 | $83,557 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $104,000 | Between $62,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | Hayward, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | PayPal | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a telecom engineer and a network engineer in terms of educational background:
| Telecom Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between telecom engineers' and network engineers' demographics:
| Telecom Engineer | Network Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.6% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 6% | 9% |