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Network engineer

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Network engineers set up, develop and maintain physical and wireless computer networks within an organisation or between organisations

As a network engineer, your aim is to ensure the integrity of high availability network infrastructure to provide maximum performance and security for your users. You will do this by configuring and monitoring the network, testing and analysing network performance, and looking for ways to improve the network infrastructure. In some cases, this may involve designing new networks.

You'll offer support to users, who can be staff, clients, customers and suppliers, and troubleshoot any problems.

You may work internally as part of an organisation's IT support team, or externally as part of an outsourced IT networking consultancy firm working with several clients.

Other job titles used for this area of work include:

  • network architect/computer network architect
  • network/helpdesk support
  • support/security/systems engineer
  • IT/systems support engineer
  • network administrator
  • first/second-line support
  • VoIP/Cisco engineer.

Types of network

You can work with a variety of network types, such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). A LAN links devices on a small scale within a limited geographical area such as a home, office or a small group of buildings. A WAN, however, links multiple locations nationally or internationally. The network becomes more complex, the larger the organisation.

Responsibilities

As a network engineer, you'll need to:

  • establish the networking environment by designing system configuration, directing system installation and defining, documenting and enforcing system standards
  • design and implement new solutions and improve resilience of the current environment
  • maximise network performance by monitoring performance, troubleshooting network problems and outages, scheduling upgrades and collaborating with network architects on network optimisation
  • undertake data network fault investigations in local and wide area environments using information from multiple sources
  • secure network systems by establishing and enforcing policies, and defining and monitoring access
  • support and administer firewall environments in line with IT security policy
  • report network operational status by gathering and prioritising information and managing projects
  • upgrade data network equipment to the latest stable firmware releases
  • configure routing and switching equipment, hosted IP voice services and firewalls
  • provide remote support to on-site engineers and end users/customers during installation
  • provide remote troubleshooting and fault finding if issues occur upon initial installation
  • undertake capacity management and audit of IP addressing and hosted devices within data centres
  • liaise with project management teams, third-line engineers and service desk engineers on a regular basis
  • speak to customers via email and phone for initial requirement capture.

Salary

  • Salaries at entry level range from £19,000 to £23,000 depending on the type of employer you work for, your qualifications and experience.
  • With experience, you can expect to earn £35,000 to £55,000+.
  • Senior network engineers can earn £50,000 to in excess of £70,000. Salaries for experienced contract workers may be higher and rates can vary from £150 to in excess of £500 per day.

Salaries vary depending on a range of factors, such as the size, type and sector of the organisation you work for and the size and scope of the computer and network installations. Other factors that influence salary include your location and your skillset.

The value of the IT infrastructure also affects salary, so network engineers in the City of London, for example, may be paid considerably more.

Benefits can include a pension, car allowance, private health insurance and a bonus scheme.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll typically work a standard week. However, you may be on call outside office hours, at weekends or in the evenings, and need to be flexible in case of major technical problems occurring. There may be opportunities for hybrid working.

Self-employment and freelance contract work are possible with experience.

What to expect

  • The work is office-based and involves sitting and working at a computer for long periods of time.
  • Jobs are available throughout the UK in organisations with large, sophisticated IT systems or with consultancies providing support to clients.
  • The job can be challenging, particularly when things go wrong, as companies are dependent on their computer networks.
  • Although more companies are addressing the gender imbalance in the IT sector, women are still underrepresented. This is a recognised issue, and steps are being taken to redress the balance. See Women in Tech and BCSWomen for more information and job vacancies.
  • Travel during the working day depends largely on the size of the organisation and its network. For example, if you're working for a large organisation, you may need to work across different sites. More frequent travel may be involved if you work as a consultant.

Qualifications

You'll usually need a degree in a subject such as:

  • computer network engineering
  • computer networks and security
  • computer science
  • computer software/computer systems engineering
  • electrical/electronic engineering
  • maths
  • physics.

Alternatively, you can do a degree apprenticeship. The Level 6 Digital & Technology Solutions Professional degree apprenticeship, for example, combines study with paid work, allowing you to train on the job to become a network engineer. You can search for an apprenticeship using Find an apprenticeship.

It may be possible to enter this career without a degree, provided you have significant experience.

Level 4 network engineering higher apprenticeship opportunities are also available. With a Level 4 qualification it may be possible to get an entry-level networking job that requires a basic understanding of networking concepts and skills. You could then complete further training to become a network engineer.

Find out more about apprenticeships.

Employers will usually expect you to do further study to get professional qualifications if you don't already have them. For example, many colleges and private training organisations offer Cisco Networking Academy courses, which provide certification at several levels for students and network professionals. There are also a range of other equivalent technical qualifications available.

Skills

You will need to have:

  • an up-to-date knowledge and understanding of your employer's business and industry needs
  • relevant technical knowledge and skills
  • an understanding of the importance of customer focus and/or of serving the needs of the end user
  • excellent communication skills for communicating with staff who aren't technically trained
  • the time management and organisation skills needed to take on a variety of tasks and prioritise your workload
  • attention to detail
  • analytical and problem-solving skills
  • the ability to work well both on your own and in a team, collaborating with different teams, clients and groups of staff across an organisation or organisations
  • project management skills.

Work experience

Relevant work experience, for example through summer placements, is useful as recruiters often look for evidence of skills developed through project work and placements.

Experience in related areas such as IT support, service and repair can be useful if you want to move into network engineering.

Being on the user end of IT systems is also helpful as this will give you an idea of the types of problems that may arise.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

You can work for any private or public sector organisation with large, sophisticated IT systems. Typical employers include:

  • banks, building societies and other financial institutions
  • retail groups
  • large government departments
  • schools, colleges, higher education institutions
  • hospitals
  • local authorities
  • utility companies
  • transport providers
  • management consultancies.

Some organisations, including many local authorities and other public sector bodies, outsource all their IT systems to specialists, so these specialist companies often have vacancies for people with network engineering skills.

Network engineers can also be employed by large IT companies to manage the firm's own systems or work in their contract services.

Large companies, such as Microsoft, provide an extensive range of installation and customer support services and they recruit graduates and experienced staff into all areas of IT support, including network engineering.

There are also many small consultancies that set up and manage systems for organisations that are too small to warrant full-time IT support.

Look for job vacancies at:

Recruitment agencies specialising in IT, such as Hays, also have vacancies, although these are usually aimed at more experienced staff.

Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn also advertise vacancies.

While large companies usually have a structured graduate recruitment procedure, you can approach small businesses and IT consultancies on a speculative basis, ensuring your CV stresses your personal, as well as technical, abilities.

Contracting may be an option once you've gained substantial experience - visit Contractor UK for more information. Most job sites include contractor roles as well.

Professional development

Due to the rapidly changing nature of the industry and the skills needed, you'll need to make training a constant part of your career development.

Large companies may send you on training courses and will provide training as they introduce new systems or expand their IT facilities.

However, you'll often have to seek out appropriate training for yourself, especially if you're seeking a promotion, a career move or are self-employed.

Relevant qualifications include:

Courses can be expensive, and you may have to pay the fees yourself, so make sure they're relevant to your career development aims.

Career prospects

Your career path will depend, to a certain extent, on the size of the organisation you work for and the scope of its IT systems.

With experience, you can progress to senior network manager and network management positions. Some network engineers choose to broaden their careers into other IT, customer-related or management functions. Technical or infrastructure project management and network architecture are possibilities.

Those who start as help-desk technicians can sometimes progress to network engineer posts, then on to senior network support and finally network controller (mainly involved in decision-making, staff management and advice on future strategy). This may be the typical route in an organisation such as a large bank or a major government department.

If you work for a small company, you may be the sole network controller and may have other IT and technical support-related responsibilities.

There are also opportunities to move into IT contracting and self-employment.

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