Useful Qualifications
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Network engineers, sometimes known as network administrators, design, install and maintain computer communication systems within an organisation or between companies. Networks allow employees to share files and resources such as printers and other peripherals, access the internet/email, and collect, process and store data for later use.

Network engineers deal with four systems:

• Local area networks (LANs) - connecting workstations within an office, building or limited area.
• Metropolitan area networks (MANs) - linking networks citywide or across a region.
• Wide area networks (WANs) - linking national or international networks.
• Global area networks (GANs) - combining networks over an unlimited geographical area.

Network engineers' key responsibilities are to make sure that an organisation's computer system has the capacity to meet its business needs and is secure. Typical duties include:

• Installing new software and hardware.
• Setting up user-accounts, permissions and passwords.
• Maintaining adequate security, especially where networks link to the internet.
• Finding and fixing faults.
• Implementing preventative maintenance schedules.
• Giving technical support for end-users
• Providing training on new systems.
• Carrying out day-to-day administration and monitoring network use.
• Planning and implementing future developments.

Examples of their work can include installing a new computer-based call handling system or servicing a bank's ATM network.

Increasingly, employers seek industry-recognised certification from vendor specific programmes such as CompTIA, Cisco & Microsoft, for example:

• CompTIA N+ Certification covers: installation, configuring and upgrading, Network transmission, protocols, topologies, troubleshooting networks, firewalls, operating systems etc.
• Vendor-specific training, such as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) or Cisco certification (CCNA/CCNP) may be an option. These are higher level qualifications for those who have already achieved a foundation qualification such as N+.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Salaries start between £16,500 and £22,500 a year.
With experience, earnings can rise to between £24,000 and £35,000.
Senior network engineers can earn over £37,500 a year.

Network engineers normally work 37 to 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday and possibly weekends too. They may need to work outside office hours when installing systems to minimise disruption to a client's service. Engineers are often 'on-call' to cover any problems that occur outside normal working hours.

As a network engineer, your work could be office-based either on one site or, if working on a large network operation, between sites.

As a network engineer, you need:

• Excellent IT skills.
• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• The ability to prioritise tasks.
• The ability to explain technical issues clearly.
• The ability to work within a team.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• A commitment to keep up to date with the latest developments.

Recent employer surveys suggest a long term upward trend in demand for networking engineers. Opportunities exist in a variety of sectors including finance, retail, local and national government, the health service and utility companies. You can also work for IT firms, dealing with their own systems or working in their contract services divisions.

With experience, you can progress to network management jobs or, with additional training, move into other areas of IT like project management or information security. See the profiles for IT Project Manager and IT Security Coordinator.

A popular progression route is consultancy work as a network analyst, either with an IT consultancy firm or on a self-employed basis.