Network Engineer / Architect
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Network Engineer or Architect designs and builds computer network systems, including software and hardware. Runs program and system tests, solves technical problems and maintains the network system. Designs and analyzes computer network models.
Job Outlook
There were 1843 Network Engineer / Architect job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 51558 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Network Engineer / Architect industry, which includes the Network Engineer / Architect career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Network Engineer / Architect jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $140,852.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $134,200.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Network Engineer / Architect postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $128,305.
Education and Experience
Posted Network Engineer / Architect jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 60.45% |
| Master's Degree | 15.91% |
| Doctoral Degree | 4.24% |
| Other | 4.89% |
Posted Network Engineer / Architect jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 7.07% |
| 3 to 5 years | 41.34% |
| 6 to 8 years | 28.36% |
| 9+ years | 23.23% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Network Engineer / Architect positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (55.23%)
- Communication (42.46%)
- Operations (38.86%)
- Management (36.42%)
- Problem Solving (24.86%)
- Planning (24.46%)
- Leadership (17.99%)
- Information Technology (17.67%)
- Wireless Communications (15.51%)
- Customer Service (12.52%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- SolarWinds (7.97%)
- Fortinet (8%)
- Network Infrastructure (30.21%)
- Juniper Network Technologies (15.12%)
- Computer Science (31.36%)
- Border Gateway Protocol (32.1%)
- Complex Networks (12.33%)
- Firewall (47.51%)
- Multiprotocol Label Switching (16.31%)
- Internet Protocol Security (IP SEC) (9.35%)
- Network Troubleshooting (13.9%)
- Network Planning And Design (17.47%)
- Network Monitoring (13.33%)
- Network Performance Management (20.9%)
- Networking Hardware (23.05%)
- Virtual Private Networks (VPN) (28.25%)
- Network Protocols (13.7%)
- Network Security (28.79%)
- Local Area Networks (28.48%)
- Network Engineering (67.61%)
- Network Management (8.3%)
- Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) (12.71%)
- Wireless Networks (9.87%)
- Wide Area Networks (32.44%)
- Network Switches (36.08%)
- Network Architecture (18.37%)
- Network Routing (53.94%)
- Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) (8.14%)
- Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) (26.27%)
- Routing Protocols (16.27%)
- Software-Defined Networking Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) (11.15%)
- Network Quality Of Service (QoS) (11.17%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- IT Capacity Management (7.3%)
- Technical Support (8.37%)
- Agile Methodology (6.36%)
- Systems Engineering (8.93%)
- Telecommunications (9.89%)
- Automation (22.15%)
- Business Requirements (5.98%)
- Amazon Web Services (17.28%)
- Auditing (7.64%)
- Microsoft Azure (18.92%)
- Computer Networks (13.67%)
- Change Management (6.47%)
- Data Centers (8.45%)
- Linux (13.27%)
- Cyber Security (9.58%)
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) (12.35%)
- Operating Systems (14.46%)
- Python (Programming Language) (19.62%)
- Scalability (14.39%)
- Information Technology Infrastructure Library (5.01%)
- Project Management (14.62%)
- Microsoft Visio (6.89%)
- Scripting (16.37%)
- Ansible (11.91%)
- TCP/IP (20.46%)
- Virtualization (8.33%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Network Support (4.99%)
- Cisco Meraki (6.79%)
- Palo Alto Firewalls (6.13%)
- VxLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) (4.88%)
- Aruba (Network Management Software) (7.94%)
- Cisco Networking (6.71%)
- Software Defined Networking (SDN) (8.34%)
- Network Automation (6.88%)
- Cisco firePOWER (2.06%)
- Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) (4.38%)
- Wireless LAN (5.58%)
- Voice Over IP (4.94%)
- Spanning Tree Protocols (3.94%)
- Network Analysis (2.91%)
- Cisco Routers (5.94%)
- Cisco PIX (4.23%)
- Data Transmissions (2.98%)
- Network Address Translation (3.42%)
- Cisco IOS (4.69%)
- IPv6 (5.73%)
- IP Routing (3.24%)
- IP Address Management (IPAM) (4.02%)
- Subnetwork (5.29%)
- Network Topology (4.32%)
- Network Time Protocols (2.8%)
- IPv4 (4.5%)
- Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocols (11.43%)
- Network Configuration And Change Management (4.21%)
- Network Diagrams (4.6%)
- OSI Models (3.98%)
- Packet Analyzer (2.78%)
- IP Addressing (3.83%)
- Simple Network Management Protocols (5.28%)
- Internet Protocols Suite (4.93%)
- Hot Standby Router Protocol (3.55%)
- Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System (TACACS) (3.03%)
- Multicasting (4.46%)
- Network Access Control (4.62%)
- Network Layer (5.42%)
- Remote Access Systems (4.03%)
- Wireshark (5.91%)
- Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) (3.09%)
- Topology (4.45%)
- Load Balancing (8.83%)
- Virtual Router Redundancy Protocols (2.1%)
- Netscaler (1.42%)
- Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) (3.65%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- SolarWinds (8.31%)
- Network Support (5.2%)
- Cisco Meraki (7.09%)
- Network Quality Of Service (QoS) (11.65%)
- Cisco firePOWER (2.15%)
- Aruba (Network Management Software) (8.28%)
- VxLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) (5.09%)
- Cisco Networking (7.01%)
- Juniper Network Technologies (15.78%)
- Network Automation (7.18%)
- Software Defined Networking (SDN) (8.71%)
- Wireless LAN (5.83%)
- Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) (4.57%)
- Border Gateway Protocol (33.5%)
- Spanning Tree Protocols (4.11%)
- Voice Over IP (5.16%)
- Network Analysis (3.03%)
- Cisco PIX (4.42%)
- Cisco IOS (4.9%)
- Cisco Routers (6.2%)
- Complex Networks (12.87%)
- Computer Science (32.73%)
- Data Transmissions (3.11%)
- Network Address Translation (3.57%)
- Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocols (11.93%)
- Network Topology (4.51%)
- Internet Protocols Suite (5.14%)
- Networking Hardware (24.05%)
- IPv4 (4.7%)
- IPv6 (5.98%)
- IP Address Management (IPAM) (4.19%)
- IP Routing (3.38%)
- Subnetwork (5.52%)
- Virtual Private Networks (VPN) (29.49%)
- Multiprotocol Label Switching (17.02%)
- OSI Models (4.15%)
- Network Troubleshooting (14.5%)
- Network Layer (5.66%)
- Network Management (8.66%)
- Multicasting (4.65%)
- Network Architecture (19.17%)
- Network Planning And Design (18.23%)
- Network Engineering (70.56%)
- Network Monitoring (13.91%)
- Network Performance Management (21.81%)
- Packet Analyzer (2.9%)
- Network Protocols (14.3%)
- Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) (27.42%)
- Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) (3.22%)
- Routing Protocols (16.98%)
- Simple Network Management Protocols (5.51%)
- Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System (TACACS) (3.16%)
- Topology (4.65%)
- Wireshark (6.17%)
- Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) (13.27%)
- Virtual Router Redundancy Protocols (2.19%)
- Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) (3.81%)
- Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) (8.49%)
- Network Access Control (4.82%)
- Load Balancing (9.22%)
- Netscaler (1.49%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Network Engineer / Architect skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Network Engineer
- Network Architect
- Principal Network Engineer
- Cloud Network Engineer
- Network Systems Engineer
- Lead Network Engineer
- Network Infrastructure Engineer
- Network Software Engineer
- Core Network Engineer
- Cisco Network Engineer
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Network Analyst / Specialist
- Network Administrator
- Cisco Engineer
- IT Administrator
- Network / Systems Support Specialist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Network Engineer / Architect jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Lumen Technologies (1156)
- Leidos (992)
- Amazon (908)
- Insight Global (829)
- TEKsystems (790)
- The Judge Group (687)
- Allegis Group (633)
- Robert Half (611)
- GovCIO (595)
- Marriott International (514)
North Carolina
- Genesis10 (133)
- TEKsystems (66)
- Insight Global (57)
- General Dynamics (46)
- ASGN (46)
- BCforward (40)
- Allegis Group (36)
- Cisco (29)
- CACI International (28)
- Lumen Technologies (24)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Computer Networking Master's Degrees
- Cybersecurity Graduate Certificates
- Cybersecurity Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.