Network Engineer
Design and operate enterprise and service-provider networks
Job titles
Network Engineer, Network Administrator +
UK salary range
£40,000–£75,000
US salary range
$65,000–$115,000
Time to first role
6–18 months from scratch
About this role
Network engineers build and maintain the routing, switching, and security infrastructure that everything else runs on. Despite the cloud shift, network engineers remain in high demand — cloud networking, SD-WAN, and zero-trust architecture have added new specialisms rather than eliminating the role.
Key skills employers look for
Certification roadmap
Foundation
Vendor-neutral basics before committing to a vendor track
N10-009CompTIA Network+
Vendor-neutral networking fundamentals — OSI, TCP/IP, subnetting, wireless, and troubleshooting methodology. Recognised by US DoD and government contractors. Good first cert if Cisco feels too deep to start with.
Cisco Core
The industry standard — CCNA is required or strongly preferred for most network roles
200-301Cisco CCNA
The most recognised networking cert in the world. Covers routing, switching, VLANs, OSPF, ACLs, NAT, wireless, and automation basics. Required or preferred in the majority of network engineer job postings globally.
Specialist Track
Deepen in one area — or add a second vendor
350-401Cisco ENCOR (CCNP Core)
The CCNP Enterprise core exam — dual-stack, SD-WAN, virtualisation, and enterprise infrastructure. The stepping stone to CCNP Enterprise and the most impactful upgrade from CCNA.
JN0-104Juniper JNCIA-Junos
Valuable in telco and ISP environments where Junos OS is prevalent. Second vendor cert that differentiates candidates applying for carrier or SP roles.
Frequently asked questions
Should I do Network+ before CCNA?
Only if you have zero networking background. If you already understand OSI, TCP/IP, and basic subnetting, skip Network+ and go straight to CCNA. Network+ is useful as a DoD 8570 baseline cert or if you want vendor-neutral credentials alongside Cisco.
Is CCNA enough to get a network engineer job?
Yes at junior level in most markets. Pair it with hands-on lab experience (using Packet Tracer or GNS3) and solid subnetting speed. Employers expect CCNA candidates to be interview-ready on OSPF, VLANs, STP, ACLs, and NAT without looking anything up.
Key terms for this career path
These concepts underpin the certifications in this roadmap and appear regularly in exam questions.
Dynamic route
A route that is automatically learned and updated by a router using a routing protocol, rather than being manually configured.
Security pillar
The Security pillar is a set of best practices for designing and operating cloud systems that protect data, systems, and assets through confidentiality, integrity, and availability controls.
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer files between a client and a server over a TCP/IP network.
Public IP address
A globally unique IP address assigned to a device that allows it to communicate directly over the internet.
Persistent Disk
Persistent Disk is a durable, high-performance block storage service for Google Cloud virtual machines that retains data even after the VM is shut down or deleted.
Extensible Authentication Protocol
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is a flexible authentication framework used in network access control, particularly in wireless and point-to-point connections, that supports multiple authentication methods without requiring changes to the underlying protocol.