Also called: Peering Manager, Interconnection Engineer
Arranges the direct connections between big networks that let your videos, games and messages cross the internet quickly and cheaply.
You notice traffic to a gaming company is taking a long, expensive route, so you email their network team to set up a direct link at an exchange in Dallas. You check port usage at a dozen exchange points and order more capacity where it's filling up. Twice a year you fly to peering conferences, where many of these deals begin.
Estimated from network architect pay; senior people at content companies earn more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in networking or computer science, or IT certifications plus years of experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Network Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology.
Growing about average. A few thousand people worldwide; steady as internet traffic grows.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Software automates routing changes, but negotiating with other networks and planning capacity rely on human relationships.
Classes: Computer science, Math, A foreign language, Debate.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1241.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.