Show me the money...

What are typical network engineer salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

Salaries range from $55,000 yr. to $125,000 yr. for Senior positions.
The more time and Certs the more $$$.
Some Govt. jobs do pay well, but usually need a Security Clearance already.
Certs you need at a Min. A+, MSCE, CCNA !
All the other CCNX"s are even better!!!
Good Luck!

I am CCNA and a CCDA with 2.5 years of working experience in ISP. How much would the typical salary wages?

The problem is that you get what you are willing to accept to do the job ! Job's don't come with a fixed price tag.

I understand this is frustrating as you don't know what to ask for --- well, don't ask. My rule here is that no matter what presure they put on you simply say " I'd be looking at you to make me a resonable offer at market rate", never tell them what you minimum requirement is. Often I've had an offer around what I was expecting but once I got an offer that was $20K more ! If I'd said what I was looking for before they made and offer I'd have lost $20K !

With CCNA and CCDA I'd ball park you at around $70 - 75K but you could get more depending on who the job is with and how well you do at the interview. What you're lacking is experience although you have some. I'd target jobs that are going to give you lots of hands on access and time. Make sure at the interview that the job comes with priv access to the network and that they're happy to help you with CCNP. If you get the right job they'll want to mold you into a Senior Network Engineer and with a CCNP and experience you can start looking at $100K +

Hope this helps

Ambition is Critical in Round Rock, Texas said: The problem is that you get what you are willing to accept to do the job ! Job's don't come with a fixed price tag.

I understand this is frustrating as you don't know what to ask for --- well, don't ask. My rule here is that no matter what presure they put on you simply say " I'd be looking at you to make me a resonable offer at market rate", never tell them what you minimum requirement is. Often I've had an offer around what I was expecting but once I got an offer that was $20K more ! If I'd said what I was looking for before they made and offer I'd have lost $20K !

With CCNA and CCDA I'd ball park you at around $70 - 75K but you could get more depending on who the job is with and how well you do at the interview. What you're lacking is experience although you have some. I'd target jobs that are going to give you lots of hands on access and time. Make sure at the interview that the job comes with priv access to the network and that they're happy to help you with CCNP. If you get the right job they'll want to mold you into a Senior Network Engineer and with a CCNP and experience you can start looking at $100K +

Hope this helps

I'm now holding CCNA and have a big ambition with networking. I've been looking for an opportunity for 6 months with a hope that someone will see my potential, but it seems like no one is willing to give a novice a chance. It likes a vicious circle: To get a job I need experience. To have experience I need a job... etc

Does anyone know some network consultant company that willing to consider a novice but a hardworker, and diligent reader ?

The only Network Engineers making $80k+ are the mid to upper level guys, with 5 years of solid experience behind them and a degree.

The CCNA is a great cert, but keep working at it and get your CCNP. If you have a Degree, CCNP, and ~5 years under your belt, you can expect $80k+

Anh Nguyen in Houston, Texas said: I'm now holding CCNA and have a big ambition with networking. I've been looking for an opportunity for 6 months with a hope that someone will see my potential, but it seems like no one is willing to give a novice a chance. It likes a vicious circle: To get a job I need experience. To have experience I need a job... etc

Does anyone know some network consultant company that willing to consider a novice but a hardworker, and diligent reader ?

Just go to manpower.com or careerbuilders.com, they have paid intern position for entry level

When you say degree, do you mean a degree in computer science or something related to computers or can it be a business degree in marketing?

I have been in the bounty hunting game and excutive protection for a while. I decided to get into the networking game. I know what will work to get anyone a job. Get your assocaites in Networking Specialist or Adminstration. Then get your bachelors in Information Systems Security. I went a step over that and went with dual bachelors in Information Systems Security and Networking Comunication Managment and I was told that I was over quilified.

Good Luck.

How much money would someone with an associate’s degree in Computer Systems Administration, a certificate in Computer Systems Administration, and a CCNA make a year?
I would probably rate my work experience somewhere around a year to 6 months in the Computer Systems Administration side of things (desktop/laptop break-fix work) but professional networking experience is almost nonexistent.

in this economy? in a city like Chicago where the cost of living is high.. I would say around $35-40k/year with no experience.

Anh Nguyen in Houston, Texas said: I'm now holding CCNA and have a big ambition with networking. I've been looking for an opportunity for 6 months with a hope that someone will see my potential, but it seems like no one is willing to give a novice a chance. It likes a vicious circle: To get a job I need experience. To have experience I need a job... etc

Does anyone know some network consultant company that willing to consider a novice but a hardworker, and diligent reader ?

RACKSPACE!

Manley in North Little Rock, Arkansas said: It is sad to say a lot of this depends on your GPA there is a lot of jobs out there in this field I will have my associates in one semester in computer science, so I have been looking at the jobs most of this info on this page is way off unless you live in a very small town or just trying to get your certs although few are right on; like the Detective I was told not to go for my Masters in CST because most people would not hire me because I would have more education then they have unfortunately people see others with a higher education as a threat, also I found there are some big companies that do have internships that start around 100k a year just as a intern, but those companies want a 3.2 GPA or higher with your Associates and BAS/BS. I am just glad that right now I have a 3.9GPA and I am willing to relocate to anywhere in the world to make that cash. IT Admins with 5 years exp I have found make around 300k+ a year with the BS degree in computer science and all your certs most jobs I have seen want A+, Security+, CCNA or better, and MCSE. It is all about what your willing to do to make it.

This guy has no idea what he is talking about. Does not even have an Associates Degree and doubt he has an Information Technology position.

I am prior military, 6 years military experience as a network technician with a TS/SCI security clearance. Got out and spent the last 2 years as a Network Engineer for contracting companies to the military. I have no degree and only my security+. Working toward my CCNA, but with all my real world experience of hands on, a piece of paper doesn't really mean too much. Paper only gets you in the door at most places. Currently I'm making 70K.

It all depends about the company you work for. Some smaller company's wont pay what the larger ones will. Starting out with a CCNA and at least 2 years experience, start looking at 50K. CCNA with 5 or more hands on, Looking at 60K. If you get lucky and get a Lead spot like I did, 65-75 is likely. If you are the manager of infrastructure with CCNP, probably 85. If you have your CCIE in any field, just say 100K+. I have never heard of anyone making over 125K, unless you go to Iraq or Afghanistan as a contractor. The only reason that is, you work 72 hour weeks and get a bit more for hazard environment.

You can say that you have years of experience and a masters. But after the first 2 month normal probation time, if you dont really know anything and are too far away from being able to be work on your own, you may get fired. I worked with 1 guy that had an associates and a ccna, I told the company to fire him cause he had a terrible work ethic and NO infrastructure real world knowledge. If you dont know what you're doing, your gone by the end of the probation.

If the real word of a network engineer doesn't answer you question, I dont know what would.

maximus in San Antonio, Texas said: I am prior military, 6 years military experience as a network technician with a TS/SCI security clearance. Got out and spent the last 2 years as a Network Engineer for contracting companies to the military. I have no degree and only my security+. Working toward my CCNA, but with all my real world experience of hands on, a piece of paper doesn't really mean too much. Paper only gets you in the door at most places. Currently I'm making 70K.

It all depends about the company you work for. Some smaller company's wont pay what the larger ones will. Starting out with a CCNA and at least 2 years experience, start looking at 50K. CCNA with 5 or more hands on, Looking at 60K. If you get lucky and get a Lead spot like I did, 65-75 is likely. If you are the manager of infrastructure with CCNP, probably 85. If you have your CCIE in any field, just say 100K+. I have never heard of anyone making over 125K, unless you go to Iraq or Afghanistan as a contractor. The only reason that is, you work 72 hour weeks and get a bit more for hazard environment.

You can say that you have years of experience and a masters. But after the first 2 month normal probation time, if you dont really know anything and are too far away from being able to be work on your own, you may get fired. I worked with 1 guy that had an associates and a ccna, I told the company to fire him cause he had a terrible work ethic and NO infrastructure real world knowledge. If you dont know what you're doing, your gone by the end of the probation.

If the real word of a network engineer doesn't answer you question, I dont know what would.

That suck that you did not give the guy a chance. Maybe you need to be fired?

That is what the 2 month probation period is for. If you hire someone that cant do the job, your company is wasting its time and money. If you're new to the field, you need to do a few things. Go to classes, boot camps, and maybe an intern position. If the company you want to work for doesn't have an intern position, there is a reason for that. They don't have time to train someone. If that doesn't sound like any fun, join the military. They will train you and even send you to classes to learn the job.

Don't forget, without infrastructure, a stand alone computer really can't do anything these days. The most secure network is one that is turned off. And your network would be the most secure in the world until you actually hire people like me that can actually do the job they are being hired on for. Most businesses in the real world already have ongoing projects and don't have a whole lot of time to teach users how to become admins.

how much money would a ccna guy make in a year in pune and that too an undergraduate.

maximus in San Antonio, Texas said: I am prior military, 6 years military experience as a network technician with a TS/SCI security clearance. Got out and spent the last 2 years as a Network Engineer for contracting companies to the military. I have no degree and only my security+. Working toward my CCNA, but with all my real world experience of hands on, a piece of paper doesn't really mean too much. Paper only gets you in the door at most places. Currently I'm making 70K.

It all depends about the company you work for. Some smaller company's wont pay what the larger ones will. Starting out with a CCNA and at least 2 years experience, start looking at 50K. CCNA with 5 or more hands on, Looking at 60K. If you get lucky and get a Lead spot like I did, 65-75 is likely. If you are the manager of infrastructure with CCNP, probably 85. If you have your CCIE in any field, just say 100K+. I have never heard of anyone making over 125K, unless you go to Iraq or Afghanistan as a contractor. The only reason that is, you work 72 hour weeks and get a bit more for hazard environment.

You can say that you have years of experience and a masters. But after the first 2 month normal probation time, if you dont really know anything and are too far away from being able to be work on your own, you may get fired. I worked with 1 guy that had an associates and a ccna, I told the company to fire him cause he had a terrible work ethic and NO infrastructure real world knowledge. If you dont know what you're doing, your gone by the end of the probation.

If the real word of a network engineer doesn't answer you question, I dont know what would.

Hey I am currently in the military looking for job options in the IT Networking field and need some pointers for how to make myself look competitive when I get out. If you could email me @ lukedbrodland@gmail.com your insight would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Maximus, are you interested in working at Hanscom AFB, MA? I need a network engineer.

I am currently pursuing engineering in computer science, would just want to know when would be the right time to do my CCNA??

" I have never heard of anyone making over 125K, unless you go to Iraq or Afghanistan as a contractor. The only reason that is, you work 72 hour weeks and get a bit more for hazard environment."

Not true. My best friend is a CCIE making 165k and works from home. Has about 10 years experience.

Please email your resume to jyothi.mudunuri@smartims.com

Location – Can be Remote 90% of time.It would be ideal if a resource were located near Plano, TX. Alternately, any of these major facility locations: Auburn Hills, MI; Sacramento, CA; Tulsa, OK; Herndon, VA; Houston, TX would work easily, due to proximity to the HP facility.

Level: Intermediate

The Network Security will be covering EMEA hours (7 hours ahead of EST)
9am EMEA is 3 am in US.
Shift is 3 am – 12 pm EST with one hour lunch break on EST time. If the consultant is on PST, the difference would apply.

Must have Checkpoint firewall expertise
-Requirement gathering.
-Initiate engineering documents to support install, change, add, move.
-Coordinate changes with appropriate resources.
-Network Security Design / documentation / delivery
• Firewall Configurations
• Engineering Work Orders
• Firewall Rule Change/Add/Delete
• Asset Management Database Updates / Loads
• As-built drawings
• Acceptance Testing
• Turn-Over to Production
-End-to-end network security engineering services
-Meet objectives related to the Utility Services network security deployment project activity (deploy, test, turn-over).
-Effectively communicate status

Skills Required
-Experience deploying (installing, configuring, testing, troubleshooting and turn-over to production) firewalls
-Prefer above experience with one or more of the following vendors:
o Checkpoint
o Cisco
-Ability to interact with all support and deployment staff for Network, Server, Storage, operating systems etc...

Education Requirements
 3+ years of network firewall experience and a Bachelor of Arts/Science or equivalent degree in computer science or related area of study.
 Without a degree, three additional years of relevant professional experience (6+ years in total).

does anyone know what wiil be the entry-level pay of an associate degree in network engineering with A+,CNE,PLUS,MCSE, and CISCO certifications with no experience?

nik_52046@yahoo.com in Hyderabad, India said: I am currently pursuing engineering in computer science, would just want to know when would be the right time to do my CCNA??

You should probably get it semi close to the time you think you are going to be done with school and looking for a job. Unless you want to get into the situation one of my friends is in, where he has his CCNA but will be in school for about 3 more years...by the time he is trying to get a job he will need to re certify.
I guess it comes down to personal preference though.

cal8 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana said: does anyone know what wiil be the entry-level pay of an associate degree in network engineering with A+,CNE,PLUS,MCSE, and CISCO certifications with no experience?

I got a part time Network Support job for $15 with a AA + CCNA.... But I also live somewhere were the cost of living is pretty high.

A good way to cut your teeth in this industry is to take a temp job through Compucom or Netview... get on a project and work your butt off. The cream always rises to the top. There are desktop support and field technician jobs that you can find for $15-20 / hour... I believe the desktop is on the lower end of the spectrum.
Work your tail off and gain recognition. Within a couple of years you can migrate your way over to networking positions that offer higher pay.

You may only start at $35-40K / year. But if you volunteer to work overtime and weekends, you can make a decent living at what you love to do.

nik_52046@yahoo.com in Hyderabad, India said: I am currently pursuing engineering in computer science, would just want to know when would be the right time to do my CCNA??

don't think of doing any courses in networking field just go for s/w because
1. very very less job in networking field
2. lowest salary than any other field
3. no career growth
4.s/w and networking job ratio is 100:1 respectively

what can i expect to make straight out of college with a bs in network managment with all certs and no exp. just college. and how hard would you say getting a job will be.

Hello guys!
I am looking for some words of wisdom, encouragement and experience.

I finished school 1 year ago..
I got A+ , N+, S+, MCITP, CCNA and other self study stuff.
I can not get a job..Even in a call center.

I posted in my resume that I have "CCNP in progress"
Somebody call me up.. They ask me how advance I am in my CCNP..I said I was studying routing.
He told me got 60 applications for a simple position

Should I go for an extra mile for CCNP.. and If I do , do you think that would make a difference?
What do you think?
If anybody got experience in this topic please reply..

Thanks.. Victor at alty69@hotmail.com

Your salary is going to be largely dependent on your location and your experience, and by experience, the type of experience is just as important as the length of experience.

I am in the Washington, DC metro area, and pay and demand for experienced network engineers is quite high. Those with experience architecting MPLS service provider networks or Cisco NEXUS data center architectures don't have any trouble finding high paying jobs. I don't have any certifications, but have over 15 years of experience architecting service provider networks with an MPLS and BGP focus and make more than 160K a year. I have friends and colleauges with similiar levels of experience, and all of them make 160K+ as network engineers. I also have friends that work as independent contractors, taking corp-to-corp or hourly W2 work commanding rates of 100+ per hour. As a CCIE, my cousin has no problem getting $100 per hour contracts on 6 mo to year long contracts with tons of overtime, which has been consistently netting him 250K+ over the past several years.

In summary, depending on where you live and what kind of experience you have, the pay can be more than reasonable. The key is getting the right type of experience and then capitalizing on it by moving to area's where the demand for that experience is high, yet the supply of qualified engineers is low.

We are currently having the most difficult time finding quality engineers in our area and that in turn translates into high salary figures to attract that talent. I have had 3 positions open on our team (two engineers and one network admin) for the last 4 months. I have interviewed ONE individual that has his CCNP and he was sub par at best - it is frustrating.

Realm of experience (Nexus, Cisco based MPLS infrastructures, VOIP, Network Security, Juniper [multi-vendor is a HUGE plus]), length of experience, and your geographical region are determining factors that will determine your worth.

In MN, you're looking at making anywhere between $90K - $125K as a Sr. Network Engineer. Architects are looking at $125K - $140K/year.

Like the post above me I have absolutely zero certifications, but back my credentials up based on experience - 13 years.