Network architects design LANs, WANs, and intranets.
Computer network architects design and build data communication networks, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and Intranets. These networks range from small connections between two offices to next-generation networking capabilities such as a cloud infrastructure that serves multiple customers. Network architects must have extensive knowledge of an organization’s business plan to design a network that can help the organization achieve its goals.
Duties
Computer network architects typically do the following:
Create plans and layouts for data communication networks
Present plans to management and explain why they are in the organization’s best interest to pursue them
Consider information security when designing networks
Upgrade hardware, such as routers or adaptors, and software, such as network drivers, as needed to support computer networks
Research new networking technologies to determine what would best support their organization in the future
Computer network architects, or network engineers, design and deploy computer and information networks. After deployment, they also may manage the networks and troubleshoot any issues as they arise. Network architects also predict future network needs by analyzing current data traffic and estimating how growth will affect the network.
Computer network architects held about 174,800 jobs in 2021. The largest employers of computer network architects were as follows:
Computer systems design and related services
27%
Telecommunications
9
Management of companies and enterprises
8
Insurance carriers and related activities
4
Educational services; state, local, and private
4
Computer network architects spend most of their time in offices, but occasionally work in server rooms where they have access to the hardware that make up an organization’s computer and information network.
Work Schedules
Most computer network architects work full time. Some work more than 40 hours per week.
Network architects often have several years of experience in a related occupation, such as a network administrator.
Computer network architects typically need a bachelor’s degree in a computer-related field and experience in a related occupation, such as network and computer systems administrators.
Education
Computer network architects typically need at least a bachelor’s degree in computer and information technology, engineering, or a related field. Degree programs in a computer-related field give prospective network architects hands-on experience in classes such as network security or database design. These programs prepare network architects to be able to work with the wide array of technologies used in networks.
Employers of network architects sometimes prefer applicants to have a master’s of business administration (MBA) in information systems. MBA programs generally require 2 years of study beyond the undergraduate level and include both business and computer-related courses.
Certification programs are generally offered by product vendors or software firms. Vendor-specific certification verifies a set of skills to ensure network architects are able to work in specific networking environments. Companies may require their network architects to be certified in the products they use.
Analytical skills. Computer network architects have to examine data networks and decide how to best connect the networks based on the needs and resources of the organization.
Detail oriented. Computer network architects create comprehensive plans of the networks they are creating with precise information describing how the network parts will work together.
Interpersonal skills. These workers must work with different types of employees to successfully design and implement computer and information networks.
Leadership skills. Many computer network architects direct teams of engineers, such as computer hardware engineers, who build the networks they have designed.
Organizational skills. Computer network architects who work for large firms must coordinate many different types of communication networks and make sure they work well together.
Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
The median annual wage for computer network architects was $120,520 in May 2021.
The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $63,240, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $168,890.
In May 2021, the median annual wages for computer network architects in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
Insurance carriers and related activities
$127,710
Computer systems design and related services
121,410
Management of companies and enterprises
120,710
Telecommunications
103,110
Educational services; state, local, and private
81,060
Most computer network architects work full time. Some work more than 40 hours per week.
Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program
Employment of computer network architects is projected to grow 4 percent from 2021 to 2031, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
About 11,800 openings for computer network architects are projected each year, on average, over the decade.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment
Demand for computer network architects will grow as firms continue to design and build new information technology (IT) networks and upgrade existing ones. Continued expansion of cloud computing will increase demand for these workers to ensure that networks are properly designed and that transition to the new network proceeds smoothly.
However, demand for computer network architects is expected to be limited over the projections decade. Some computer network tasks, such as monitoring systems and troubleshooting network problems, continue to be automated and consolidated. In addition, some businesses, especially smaller ones with minimal IT requirements, find it more cost effective to contract with outside firms for these services rather than to hire computer network architects directly.
Employment projections data for computer network architects, 2021-31
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Employment, 2021
Projected Employment, 2031
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SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program