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The differences between wireless network engineers and network consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a wireless network engineer and a network consultant. Additionally, a wireless network engineer has an average salary of $101,117, which is higher than the $89,303 average annual salary of a network consultant.
The top three skills for a wireless network engineer include RF, wireless network and switches. The most important skills for a network consultant are appeals, firewall, and windows server.
| Wireless Network Engineer | Network Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $101,117 | $89,303 |
| Hourly rate | $48.61 | $42.93 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 43,368 | 58,194 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Wireless Network Engineer specializes in designing and developing wireless telecommunication systems and networks. They are responsible for understanding the client or company's needs, performing installations and upgrades, configuring wireless equipment, conducting assessments and inspections, troubleshooting problems, and performing corrective measures and adjustments as necessary. They must also create strategies to optimize local wireless networks, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Wireless Network Engineers must manage and lead staff to reach goals, all while promoting and implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Network consultants are information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for designing, setting up, and maintaining computer networks for an organization or at a client location. These consultants are required to meet with the manager of an organization and network engineers to discuss their networking requirements. By supervising a team of IT professionals, these consultants must administer technical issues and fix infrastructure issues onsite. Network consultants must also maintain documentation for IT infrastructure as well as coordinate network documentation with account managers.
Wireless network engineers and network consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Wireless Network Engineer | Network Consultant | |
| Average salary | $101,117 | $89,303 |
| Salary range | Between $77,000 And $132,000 | Between $60,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Mountain View, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a wireless network engineer and a network consultant in terms of educational background:
| Wireless Network Engineer | Network Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between wireless network engineers' and network consultants' demographics:
| Wireless Network Engineer | Network Consultant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.7% Female, 10.3% | Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.8% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 11.3% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |