Careers in Networking
Exploring Salaries, Qualifications and Skills in Network Roles
With an average salary of $107,000 to $130,000pa, network architects lead the networking fields in take home pay and are amongst the best paid IT professional careers. But this job is just one of many telecommunications related streams that cater from beginners to experienced consultants.
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When it comes to entry level positions networks may be one of the hardest fields to enter without experience. Our research investigating over 150 positions advertised throughout 2011-2012 showed that fewer than 1% of roles in this field are advertised as junior or graduate roles. Employers seem reluctant to have such vital infrastructure administered by inexperienced hands and as a result many networking professionals enter the field via other related areas such as systems administrator or desktop support where basic network skills can be developed along with experience.
But modern network careers often require more than the traditional routing and switching skills. 31% of jobs also requested VOIP skills, 20% also requested wireless skills, 7% requested video skills and a massive 61% indicated security or firewall skills would be desirable.
From a qualifications viewpoint employers seeking degree qualifications featured prominently. Jobs seeking CCIE qualified candidates were sought after by a whopping 12% of analyzed roles. This may not seem like a high number at first glance until you consider that fewer than 1% of candidates in the field are CCIE qualified.
An analysis of salaries did not highlight any significant trends until a comparison was made between jobs that requested design skills versus those that did not. Design related jobs paid $95 - $122k on average compared to $83 - $100k for support related roles.
Another interesting statistic was the word count from the 150 analyzed jobs. It in itself tells a tale about modern skills requirements in this field. As usual in all IT jobs, the word 'experience' leads the count. Browsing down the list, the vendor Cisco features prominently at number 3 followed by more experience based keywords in years, skills, knowledge and ability.
Top 10 Keywords found in Network Job Advertisements
| No. | Keyword | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | experience | 520 |
| 2 | network | 294 |
| 3 | cisco | 200 |
| 4 | years | 197 |
| 5 | skills | 157 |
| 6 | knowledge | 147 |
| 7 | ability | 126 |
| 8 | security | 97 |
| 9 | work | 90 |
| 10 | degree | 88 |
Network Career Data
| Network Administrator | |
|---|---|
| Attribute | Value |
| Description | Support data communications infrastructure such as switches and routers. |
| Average Salary | Good - Compare Salaries |
| Certifications Demand | Low - Certs are generally listed as desirable, not mandatory requirements. |
| Qualifications Demand | Low - Browse Qualifications |
| Previous Experience Demand | Low - Generally 1 - 3 years |
| Skills | Cisco Routers, Cisco Switches, VMWare, Windows Servers |
| Network Engineer | |
|---|---|
| Attribute | Value |
| Description | Design and implement data communications network solutions. |
| Average Salary | Very Good to Excellent - Compare Salaries |
| Certifications Demand | Medium - A high percentage of jobs request certifications such as CCNP and CCIE. A very high percentage of jobs specify demonstrated network vendor experience or knowledge, the predominant vendor is Cisco Systems and is mentioned in over 76% of network engineer job advertisements. |
| Qualifications Demand | Medium - A significant percentage of jobs require qualifications. Browse Qualifications |
| Previous Experience Demand | High - These positions are suited to experienced candidates with many job advertisements requesting previous design experience. |
| Skills | Cisco Routers, Cisco Switches, Firewalls, VOIP |
| Network Architect | |
|---|---|
| Attribute | Value |
| Description | Oversee the development of network solutions. |
| Average Salary | Very Good to Excellent - Compare Salaries |
| Certifications Demand | High - A high percentage of jobs request high level certifications such as CCIE or equivalent experience. A significant level of experience is often requested for individual technologies. For example 6+ years of Routing Protocol experienc. |
| Qualifications Demand | High - A high percentage of jobs require a degree and/or expert qualifications such as CCIE or JCIE. Browse Qualifications |
| Previous Experience Demand | High - Research indicates that employers seek approximately 10+ years of experience. |
| Skills | Cisco Routers, Cisco Switches, Firewalls, VOIP |