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Computer Network Architects

Design and implement computer and information networks, such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), intranets, extranets, and other data communications networks. Perform network modeling, analysis, and planning, including analysis of capacity needs for network infrastructures. May also design network and computer security measures. May research and recommend network and data communications hardware and software.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Evaluate network designs to determine whether customer requirements are met efficiently and effectively.
    • Adjust network sizes to meet volume or capacity demands.
    • Use network computer-aided design (CAD) software packages to optimize network designs.
    • Supervise engineers or other staff in the design or implementation of network solutions.
    • Coordinate network operations, maintenance, repairs, or upgrades.
    • Research and test new or modified hardware or software products to determine performance and interoperability.
    • Communicate with customers, sales staff, or marketing staff to determine customer needs.
    • Design, build, or operate equipment configuration prototypes, including network hardware, software, servers, or server operation systems.
    • Coordinate installation of new equipment.
    • Develop or maintain project reporting systems.
    • Develop or recommend network security measures, such as firewalls, network security audits, or automated security probes.
    • Develop disaster recovery plans.
    • Coordinate network or design activities with designers of associated networks.
    • Visit vendors, attend conferences or training sessions, or study technical journals to keep up with changes in technology.
    • Communicate with system users to ensure accounts are set up properly or to diagnose and solve operational problems.
    • Maintain networks by performing activities such as file addition, deletion, or backup.
    • Monitor and analyze network performance and reports on data input or output to detect problems, identify inefficient use of computer resources, or perform capacity planning.
    • Develop and write procedures for installation, use, or troubleshooting of communications hardware or software.
    • Participate in network technology upgrade or expansion projects, including installation of hardware and software and integration testing.
    • Prepare design presentations and proposals for staff or customers.
    • Prepare or monitor project schedules, budgets, or cost control systems.
    • Communicate with vendors to gather information about products, alert them to future needs, resolve problems, or address system maintenance issues.
    • Develop or recommend network security measures, such as firewalls, network security audits, or automated security probes.
    • Monitor and analyze network performance and reports on data input or output to detect problems, identify inefficient use of computer resources, or perform capacity planning.
    • Participate in network technology upgrade or expansion projects, including installation of hardware and software and integration testing.
    • Participate in network technology upgrade or expansion projects, including installation of hardware and software and integration testing.
    • Prepare detailed network specifications, including diagrams, charts, equipment configurations, or recommended technologies.
    • Develop network-related documentation.
    • Estimate time and materials needed to complete projects.
    • Develop procedures to track, project, or report network availability, reliability, capacity, or utilization.
    • Develop procedures to track, project, or report network availability, reliability, capacity, or utilization.
    • Research and test new or modified hardware or software products to determine performance and interoperability.
    • Design, build, or operate equipment configuration prototypes, including network hardware, software, servers, or server operation systems.
    • Prepare or monitor project schedules, budgets, or cost control systems.
    • Develop plans or budgets for network equipment replacement.
    • Explain design specifications to integration or test engineers.
    • Develop or maintain project reporting systems.
    • Design, organize, and deliver product awareness, skills transfer, or product education sessions for staff or suppliers.
    • Maintain or coordinate the maintenance of network peripherals, such as printers.
    • Develop conceptual, logical, or physical network designs.
    • Determine specific network hardware or software requirements, such as platforms, interfaces, bandwidths, or routine schemas.
    • Develop and implement solutions for network problems.
    • Communicate with vendors to gather information about products, alert them to future needs, resolve problems, or address system maintenance issues.

    Skills

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    N/A
    Workplace Documents
    N/A
    Graphic Literacy
    N/A

    Abilities

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    Knowledge

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 122690/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 58.98/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 4,780
    • Yearly Projected Openings 290

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Dependability
    • Initiative
    • Integrity
    • Persistence

    Tools

    • Access servers
    • Broadband aggregators
    • Computer servers
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital telephones
    • Digital testers
    • Firewall network security equipment
    • Frequency analyzers
    • Hard disk arrays
    • High end computer servers
    • Integrated services digital network ISDN testers
    • Interferometers
    • Mainframe computers
    • Multimeters
    • Network analyzers
    • Network cable management panel assembly
    • Network channel or data service units
    • Network management or monitoring device
    • Network routers
    • Network service concentrators or hubs
    • Network switches
    • Network traffic controller
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Power meters
    • Protocol analyzers
    • Radio frequency data communication equipment
    • Reflectometers
    • Server load balancer
    • Storage area network SAN switch
    • Tablet computers
    • Videoconferencing systems
    • Voice data video cable tester
    • WLAN wireless access network equipment and components

    Technology

    • Access software
    • Administration software
    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Application server software
    • Authentication server software
    • Backup or archival software
    • Bridge software
    • Business intelligence and data analysis software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Cloud-based management software
    • Cloud-based protection or security software
    • Clustering software
    • Communications server software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Computer based training software
    • Configuration management software
    • Content workflow software
    • Data base management system software
    • Data base reporting software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop communications software
    • Development environment software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise application integration software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Enterprise system management software
    • Expert system software
    • File versioning software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Geographic information system
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Helpdesk or call center software
    • Human resources software
    • Industrial control software
    • Instant messaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Internet directory services software
    • Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
    • LAN software
    • Metadata management software
    • Network monitoring software
    • Network operating system enhancement software
    • Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software
    • Network security or virtual private network VPN management software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Object oriented data base management software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Optical network management software
    • Pattern design software
    • Portal server software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Program testing software
    • Project management software
    • Requirements analysis and system architecture software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Storage networking software
    • Switch or router software
    • Time accounting software
    • Transaction security and virus protection software
    • Transaction server software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • WAN switching software and firmware
    • Web platform development software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.

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