Network Consultant
The Network Consultant is an experienced and educated professional who certifies network functionality and performance. They are responsible for designing, setting up and maintaining computer networks at either an organization or client location.
Consultants meet with the organization’s manager, network engineers to discuss networking requirements. They next research the network’s performance and security. After careful analysis, they suggest changes, if any, for better functionality along with a cost-benefit analysis. Other consultants then review the installation and perform the testing of the new or existing network.
It is a broad title and includes a wide variety of work. A consultant might be a network architect, system administrator, security specialist or a related work specialist in the Telecom world. Many consultants are self-employed while others work full time. Consultants oversee the entire network to ensure the organization’s productivity. They also review the deployment of network firewalls and antivirus software.
Job Description
Many companies depend upon these consultants to guarantee network functionality and performance. Consultants research, recommend and deploy changes in network services either full time or on a freelance basis to an organization or client.
The job role might fluctuate based on the requirements or needs of a company, but they commonly include hardware/software installation, server planning, and availability, disaster recovery, network globalization, and Datacenter network setup. The following are job responsibilities common in this position:
- Manage and administer technical issues for customers in a team
- Identify and fix all onsite infrastructure issues
- Maintain IT infrastructure documentation
- Analyze and coordinate network documentation with account managers
- Propose and implement the latest technology for increased network productivity
Several system network consultants are independent, while others work for an organization that provides networking services. Most of these experts work full-time, and some extra time is common when the closing date is nearing of an organization.
Few network consultants have the options of work from home, but this work is usually done in an organizational environment. At times the travel is required to the client sites may be required as per the requirement. The Network consulting is associated with limited physical demands or risks; they perform the remote work as per the need of the client.
Types of Network
Network Consultants manage the following types of networks
- Wide Area Network (WAN)
- Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)
- Local Area Network (LAN)
- Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
- Global Area Network (GAN)
- Storage/System/Server/Small Area Network (SAN)
- Campus/Controller/Cluster Area Network (CAN)
- Personal Area Network (PAN)
- Desk Area Network (DAN)
- Voice Over Internet Protocol Network (VoIP)
Educational Requirement
According to Bureau of Labor statistics (BLS-USA), a degree is essential in the field of computer science, information technology, telecommunication engineering as well as experience in a related discipline. Proven management skills are also necessary to reach this advanced position.
Recommended certification is required to become a successful network consultant. Some of the applicable certifications include CCIE (Cisco), CCNP (Cisco), JNCIE-ENT (Juniper), Network+ (CompTIA) and WCNA (Wireshark). The specific certifications depend upon the position offered.
Skills
The Network consultants work with a computer network and coding languages hence they should know in what way work will be done with people as well as digital data. Organization and owners need network consultants to have these specific skills to ensure they can perform all aspects of this job:
- Troubleshoot nature– the network consultants find and fix the issue with particular systems, network servers, and different computer users
- Analytical expertise – Consultant should be able to think critically and analyze the data which becomes a strong characteristic.
Salary Outlook
As per Payscale, the average salary for a consultant ranges from $43,425 - $200,302 per annum in the United States. Working part-time can be a good choice. In the Telecom world, Top Freelance Marketplaces like FieldEngineer provide an exclusive platform for freelance Network Consultants.
What’s In It for you at Field Engineer?
Finally, if you are looking to get hired as a freelance consultant in an On-Demand Freelance Marketplace, stopover at FieldEngineer.com. The site assists candidates by linking them to employers seeking seasoned consultants with significant skills. Field Engineer makes 40000+ Engineers over 180 countries available to prospective employers, making it easy for them to find rare talent.
Begin your next journey with Field Engineer!
