💡 Why it matters: Banks, phone companies, schools and offices all depend on fast, reliable connections, and someone has to design and fix the networks that link their computers.
🌍 Around the world
- United States: Jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦1.2M – ₦3.2M
- Mid-career
- ₦3.5M – ₦9M
- Senior
- ₦9M – ₦20M
≈ ₦292k – ₦750k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Computer network architects. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Canadian occupation: Computer network technician. Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Set up routers, switches and Wi-Fi
- Monitor networks for slowdowns and faults
- Plan how offices and buildings connect
- Keep networks secure from intruders
- Work with internet service providers
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Networking knowledge
- Problem solving
- Hands-on skills
- Patience
- Documentation
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Cisco CCNA certification
- Start as a network technician and grow with certificates
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Start as an IT support technician and move into networks
- T-level in Digital Support Services
🇺🇸 United States
- Help desk or network technician job, then move up
- Military or apprenticeship IT training
🇨🇦 Canada
- Co-op placements during a college diploma
- Start as a help desk or network technician
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Learn how the internet moves information
- 2Practise with free network simulators
- 3Study Computer Engineering or Telecoms, or get CCNA
- 4Start as a network technician
- 5Grow to engineer, then network architect
⏰ A day in the life
The branch office in another city has lost its connection. You check the equipment from your laptop, find a faulty link, get the provider to repair it, and have everyone back online before closing time.