What is A Network Engineer? Career Path and Overview

Your salary as a network engineer will depend on a number of factors, such as your experience, qualifications, and location. In general, however, an entry level network engineer salary is approximately $64,000. The national average salary for a network engineer is estimated to be $72,000, so it doesn’t take long for your experience to equate to higher earnings. However, you will need to gain experience in order to showcase your skills before becoming a fully-fledged network engineer.

Regardless of the topic you choose to focus on, our experts have carefully designed the information to ensure clarity and an engaging experience. If there are issues with the system, a network manager’s responsibility is to have a recovery plan in place to limit any disturbance to the business. As most businesses are dependent on technology, this is a key component to a smoothly running business. Also, depending upon the size of the company a network manager may have more than one sort of network to oversee. A network administrator is responsible for keeping a company’s computer network up-to-date and running easily. Any company that uses multiple PCs or software platforms needs a network administrator to coordinate the different systems.

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Yes, if you’re interested in networking, becoming a network engineer is a good career choice. Please note that GL Academy provides only a small part of the learning content of Great Learning.

• Performance—monitoring and troubleshooting network systems for new ways to improve performance.
• You might also decide to branch into network support with the goal of becoming a lead network controller.
• They support clients and staff using the network babies, which may function internally within an organization or link to separate ones.
• When a network acts up, calls are dropped and potential business is lost.
• If you don’t want to move up the ladder at a small company, you can attempt a lateral move to a networking giant like IBM, Juniper, Intel, Microsoft, or Cisco.

At NexGenT, our network engineering program can take you from zero experience to career-ready in 24 weeks. Often, you’ll see requirements for network engineers to have bachelor’s degrees. While that was — and in many cases still is — the norm, that trend is changing. Many companies are dropping degree requirements to focus more on relevant skills.

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Security—performing data backups, updating virus protection software, and implementing new network data security systems. Performance—monitoring and troubleshooting network systems for new ways to improve performance. After graduation, and once you begin working, you will receive even more critical on-the-job training. This training will help you gain more skills and insight and advance your career. The qualifications you need to be a network engineer are typically a postsecondary education and relevant experience.

You might also decide to branch into network support with the goal of becoming a lead network controller. In addition to overseeing technical support-related decisions, your duties as a network controller will linux network engineer include staff management and network strategy. Organizations depend on their computer networks, so administrators may need to work overtime to ensure that the networks are operating properly around the clock.

Network Analyst

Starting as an intern, apprentice, or network support specialist is important groundwork for any network engineer’s career development. According to PayScale, the average annual salary for a network engineer is $76,961. After one or more years of working as a technician, you’d have gained enough experience to decide your ideal career path. Network Engineering can go in different directions depending on the technology or experience. For instance, you can decide to become a network analyst or network administrator. You can also make the move towards becoming a network manager or network solutions architect.

• If you’re happy doing the technical work involved with network engineering, it can be a great career.
• They have a background in information technology and security and understand the latest software and hardware trends.
• As of mid-2019, network engineer salaries ranged from $60,000 to $180,000 a year.
• Computer Hardware Engineers Computer hardware engineers research, design, develop, and test computer systems and components.
• Computer Systems Analysts Computer systems analysts study an organization’s current computer systems and design ways to improve efficiency.
• It is also worth mentioning that computer science certifications are common qualifications if you want to pursue a network engineering role and become a network specialist.

This makes it possible for aspiring engineers to break into the field faster, if they can demonstrate they have the right skills. Salaries will of course vary depending on variables like experience, location, industry, company, and even your ability to negotiate. Nonetheless, average salaries give us a good measuring stick between careers. According to Indeed, the average salary for a network engineer in the US is $86,923. That’s in line with the Bureau of Labor Statistics median of $84,810/year in the broader Network and Computer Systems Administrators category we’d put network engineers in. Cloud Networking Engineers are responsible for designing, planning, and implementing client-specific cloud solutions and scaling them to serve growing businesses. Cloud Computing has grown exponentially in recent years, increasing the demand for the Cloud Network Engineer career path.

Network Engineer Career Path

However, the best approach is to complete a degree in programs that cover networking. Good options include computer systems management, electrical engineering, physics or computer science. Beyond the benefits of early exposure, college programs offer an invaluable balance of theoretical and practical coursework. They also include courses in core areas like software, network architecture, web fundamentals, computer security and server administration. What lays the best foundation for becoming a professional Network Engineer with a good grip on the skills required to suit the job role is a systematic curriculum.

• The network engineer’s salary also varies based on geographical location.
• An IT director is an advisor at the management level, providing guidance on technical needs and issues that arise within all company departments.
• IT directors are responsible for ensuring effective data and network services by coordinating the IT personnel.
• Our in-depth solutions give you a chance to try out your network automation skills before you need to execute in business critical scenarios.
• The median annual wage for network and computer systems administrators was $80,600 in May 2021.