What Does a Network Engineer Do?

The importance of Networking for Career Development

Career development is the continuous progression of your professional life. It depends on a variety of factors, including the positions you hold, the experiences you have both within and outside of the workplace, the success and progress you experience at each stage of your career, the official education and training you receive and the feedback you get along the way.

What does a Network Engineer Do?

It used to be a simple question with a clear response, "What does a network engineer do?" Network engineers set up routers, switches and firewalls to provide staff with bandwidth, enable them access to servers and protect on-site data. 

These days, network engineers are highly skilled professionals with a wide range of technical networking abilities, including programming knowledge and cybersecurity competence. They must also be multi-talented on top of everything else. 

These days, a lot of businesses rely on a patchwork of virtual and software-defined networks, as well as physical computing equipment, or are in the process of switching to cloud networks.

The perplexing assortment of names used in network engineering just makes things more complicated. Employers may interchangeably utilise job titles like "network administrator," "network engineer," and "network architect" due to the field's ongoing evolution of the relationship between position and responsibility.

But it's undeniable that network engineers are no longer only technicians. They are professionals in programming, systems design, data mining and automation. They are also administrators, managers and leaders because networking in a world where firms have millions of connected devices requires competent management. 

This article explains what it's like to work as a network engineer in the coming years, the rise of more top roles in the industry and why graduate programs are now essential for networking career advancement.

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What is a Network Engineer? What Does a Network Engineer Do?

Network engineers are IT professionals who design, develop and configure new network infrastructure as well as manage and update current network systems, which frequently include VPNs, wireless networks and classic local area networks. They could also function with cloud networks, unified communications and software-defined wide-area networks.

One networking specialist, who performs the roles of a network administrator, network engineer and network architect, may be employed by smaller businesses. But for large and mid-sized companies, network engineering positions are frequently more specialised. 

At an enterprise-level company, a single engineer might be assigned only to hardware maintenance, virtualization, communication performance monitoring, systems engineering and modifications and administration.

Network Engineer roles and responsibilities include

• Must Create technology-based budgets
• Must have the ability to Design network structures
• Must know handling, planning and scaling
• Installing and setup servers
• Modernizing networks with new technology
• Identifying network vulnerabilities and inefficiencies
• Meeting the needs of the network's hardware
• Keeping an eye on and improving network performance
• Preparing planned upgrades
• Purchasing network hardware
• Testing the functioning and capacity of a network
• Identifying and fixing network issues
• Updating hardware with the most recent firmware

There are numerous ways that network engineering can be lucrative. The salary is high, however, obviously, not everyone is motivated only by income. Some networking experts take pleasure in knowing that their efforts have resulted in a system that functions effectively and without major problems. 

Others find their work interesting because it never gets boring. A network engineer will always face different difficulties from day to day. Others are lured to this line of work by the intensity of the chase. The world's network engineers have a responsibility to determine why networks aren't operating as they should, quickly because unplanned downtime can cost thousands or millions of dollars.

What does a Network Engineer Do and Where Do Network Engineers Work?

Network engineers operate in a variety of sectors. They are employed by organizations, governments and enterprises both inside and outside the technology industry. 

Even though many network engineers work in industries such as retail, entertainment, healthcare, finance and even design, people typically identify networking with telecommunications, computer systems engineering and cloud computing.

 While it's true that organisations like Amazon, Google, NVIDIA and Verizon are among the top employers of network engineers, some of the best-paying organisations with a reputation for hiring networking specialists include VISA and Lockheed Martin. To perform at their best, network engineers in various businesses may need industry-specific domain knowledge. 

Nevertheless, there aren't many differences between industries in the average job description for networking engineers.

The need for networking exists in all types of businesses, from the smallest startup to the most renowned international corporations, thus there are more roles in this industry than most people believe. Understanding the different types of network engineering job vacancies and the requirements for each one can help you determine where you fit in the networking hierarchy.

The field's requirements are changing as a result of companies' increasing dependency on networked devices and cutting-edge computer technology. MSNE is required to become a network programmer or director of network engineering even if network administrators normally don't have master's degrees. 

However, it goes beyond merely including a new qualification on your résumé. You can advance into more senior jobs and work with the evolving technologies that are reshaping the networking environment by developing the skills you'll learn in a master's programme in network engineering.

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What Skills Do Network Engineers Need?

Network engineers employ a wide variety of cross-functional abilities. Along with interacting with technology because their profession requires interacting with people. Although networking is a highly technical industry, it also requires good communication, analytical and problem-solving skills.

It is no longer acceptable to portray network engineers as introverts who spend their days working alone at computers in their cubicles or server closets. Working directly with CEOs and other stakeholders, vendors and coworkers from other departments, networking specialists at smaller businesses. They collaborate in teams at big businesses with people like administrators, network administrators, developers and IT help desk staff.

Network engineers increasingly need a long array of technical abilities. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, Domain Name System, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, switching, routing, firewalls, network security, VPNs and wireless networking are among the standard network protocols that network engineers must be knowledgeable about. 

In most of the top companies, employers are looking for network engineers with Python, Java and SQL expertise more frequently, which suggests that networking is transitioning to a DevOps paradigm that emphasises automation and Infrastructure as Code/Network as Code. So, the candidate with programming languages and networking skills has wider career opportunities like administrators, network operations personnel and developers. If you are interested in learning DevOps concepts, you can Devops Course In Pune and explore the career opportunities.

The competencies networking engineers need to excel along with networking technology changes. These distinctive abilities will give you a clear advantage when looking for work today and will probably be required in the future:

• Ansible and Puppet
• API
• Cloud architecture
• NetDevOps
• Network automation
• Programming
• Software-defined networking
• Virtualization

By enrolling in the CCNA Course In Chennai you will have a betterchance to learn well about networking and its features. For example, you may better prepare yourself for the future of networking and increase your chances of landing one of the higher-paying jobs listed below.

Job roles in Networking and How Much they Pay

Although there are no set roles in the field of network engineering, titles can sometimes represent level and everyday duties. While some businesses demand engineers to also be architects and administrators, others segregate networking jobs into network programmer, NetDevOps engineer, etc. 

When beginning a career in networking, it is wisest to be ready to continue learning. The talents related to the titles below will undoubtedly evolve.

Chief Network Architect

One of the highest-paying executive positions in networking is the Chief Infrastructure Architect, also known as Chief Network Engineer. 

The strategic direction of network infrastructure, including architecture, planning, engineering, implementation, installation and access control are the responsibility of chief network architects, who make an average salary of $145,000. The majority of individuals in this position have ten years or more of experience managing projects, designing technological policy and working with physical systems. 

They might also have some working knowledge of desktop as a service (DaaS), OS virtualization, VDI and software-defined services. A master's degree in a related discipline, ideally an MSNE and various professional certifications are required to become a Chief Network Architect.

Cloud Network Engineer

For cloud engineers with master's degrees, this title is relatively new and is often connected with wages of roughly $107,000 or more. Engineers working on cloud networks set up and support cloud-based systems and services operationally. 

They also manage admin, remote monitoring, enable access, updating, efficiency, scaling, security protocols and backups. Engineers with experience managing cross-platform cloud deployment and migration, resolving cloud security concerns and working with cloud management platforms like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services are in demand by employers (AWS). 

Cloud network engineers frequently have expertise in hyper-converged infrastructure, cloud-native PCoIP technologies and virtualization in addition to three to five years of experience working in an enterprise-level network engineering role and cloud networking-specific professional certifications.

Network Analyst

Network analysts, also known as systems architects, develop and implement technical networking solutions to aid organisations in operating as efficiently and effectively as feasible. They make roughly $96,000 a year, though the pay may vary depending on whether the company views them as middle-level engineers or as managerial positions. 

For network analysts to bridge the gap between IT and the departments that use technology to achieve business objectives, employers typically expect them to have the sophisticated knowledge of networked systems in addition to domain-specific business knowledge. 

Although doctorate degrees are not always necessary for analysts, they might be useful in settings where network analysts collaborate closely with managers from other departments.

Director of Network Engineering / Network Manager

Since some businesses view network engineering directors as the highest networking position, these senior networking specialists make as much money as Chief Network Architects.

The teams of administrators, engineers and architects who create, configure, install, maintain, optimise and troubleshoot both physical and cloud-based network infrastructure are under the direction of directors and managers in network engineering. 

To design protocol, offer overall strategic direction and direct the course of networking projects, they must possess a thorough understanding of controlled sub-functions of networking and enterprise networking foundations. So, join CCNA Course In Bangalore and learn core concepts of networking and its architecture. 

Employers frequently seek out directors with at least 10 years of experience in challenging international situations, at least five of which must be in managing positions. 

They may favour hiring candidates with advanced degrees, like the MSNE.

Network Security Analyst

Network security analysts with experience can earn more than $90,000. This position's responsibilities include developing security protocols, identifying and reducing vulnerabilities, keeping an eye on network traffic for odd activity, installing and maintaining security-focused software and, if a security breach occurs, looking into it. 

The majority of network security analysts hold bachelor's degrees in addition to IT certifications like the CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+ and CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) credentials. Some employers favour hiring security experts with graduate degrees.

Network Architect 

In comparison to admins and engineers, network architects make roughly $123,000 and devote less time to system deployment and upkeep. 

Technical planning, architecture design, network optimization, integrating interdependent technologies and supervising technical migration are the main duties attached to this title. 

Working collaboratively with managers and executives, network architects frequently develop networking and IT solutions based on functional user needs, technology standards driven by corporate goals and long-term upgrade initiatives. 

An extensive knowledge of everything from network topography and segmentation to network function virtualization and automation, as well as a Master of Science in Network Engineering, are prerequisites for becoming a network architect.

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Network Automation Engineer

Network automation engineers collaborate with enterprises to automate network tasks including network testing, network mapping and resource and security provisioning to constantly improve network performance and efficiency. They operate in manual, command-line environments like those found in data centres and the cloud, substituting scripts and API-based instructions for those found there. 

Network automation engineers make roughly $116,000 because they have additional knowledge and expertise in Python, asynchronous coding, database programming language, cloud automation, cloud security, Ansible and Restful APIs. 

Master's degrees and specialised certificates are widespread among these networking experts. Employers prefer candidates with both practical experience and two years of experience in automation engineering.

Principal Network Engineer

The top network engineers are known as principal engineers and more than 25% of these networking experts hold master's degrees. Although principal network engineers in administrative positions can make more money, the typical compensation for this job is roughly $122,000. 

Technical principal engineers sometimes deal with big data centres, intricate networks, or specialised cutting-edge technologies. Projects connected to developing new networking environments or substantial migrations are managed by those in administrative or supervisory roles. 

An M.S. in Network Engineering from an esteemed university like SMU can be a huge advantage in both situations.

Principal Network Architect

These networking specialists make over $160,000 because they have network design knowledge that relatively few engineers do. 

They direct teams that develop large-scale networks that can manage power grids and other public utilities, build worldwide production infrastructure and develop new networking standards. 

Principal network architects have in-depth knowledge of the developing technologies that may influence networking in the future, one such technology is machine learning. They also have expertise working in large enterprise systems. 

Many also possess a bachelor's or master's degree in a field-related topic, such as the MS in Network Engineering from SMU Lyle, along with at least five years of experience in network architect roles.

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Senior Network Engineer

What does a Network Engineer Do? Configure, maintain and update physical and cloud-based network infrastructure while supervising junior engineers in team-based work settings. 

They might also undertake various types of design work that network architects often handle and tackle complex support difficulties.

The average senior network engineer's salary is around $103,000, however, engineers might make more in businesses that see this as a managerial position. High-level leadership, project management and enterprise networking expertise are requirements for senior network engineers.

Senior Network Manager

These individuals may invest more time training and managing the teams that interact directly with important network resources rather than performing hands-on technical work. 

To make sure that system updates and deployments occur on schedule, they also cooperate closely with vendors, consultants and customers. 

When senior network managers handle technical issues, asset management, performance improvement and capacity tuning are more likely to be the focus than deployment. 

Senior network managers typically have five or more years of experience and make around $122,000 annually.

Virtualization Engineer

Virtualization Engineers are in charge of all network virtualization-related tasks. By utilising software to programmatically design, manage and maintain networks rather than hardware resources like switches and routers. 

They occasionally operate in hybrid environments, where some tasks are handled by software and others by hardware. Employers have high expectations for this position because it is so new. They are looking for engineers that have received significant education and have extensive, practical experience in the design, development and deployment of technology on virtual platforms.

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Wireless Network Engineer

By developing high-density WIFI solutions that go beyond the most fundamental WLAN and WWAN branch systems, these engineers can make $100,000 or more. Engineers that specialise in wireless networks must have practical knowledge of widely used wireless networking technology. 

They must also be conversant with the fundamentals of software-defined networking, 5G and 6G, LIFI and other cutting-edge networking developments.

Why Network Engineers Career is Evolving

Although there is a bright future for network engineers, business environments are quickly evolving. Networking specialists need to be knowledgeable about routing and switching firewalls and conventional LAN/WAN configuration, but they also need to be proficient in automation, virtualisation, the cloud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data-driven neoking and other areas. Rapid progress is being made in bridging the gaps between networking, information technology and computer science

Network engineer roles and responsibilities can be best summarised as "They learn and adapt," which is also the most direct response. Globally, the job of network engineers is developing alongside computer technology. In the last 20 years, the expectations of the industry have changed significantly and the demands placed on network engineers will likely alter similarly in the years to come.

Now that you have understood network engineer roles and responsibilities, what does a network engineer do and how to be a network engineer? So, If you want to become a field network engineer, you can join a CCNA Course in Pondicherryand learn the core concepts of networking concepts and networking roles.