Duties and Responsibilities of the Network Support Engineer

Network support engineers are the information technology professionals responsible for the efficient and secure operation of a company's network. Companies with e-commerce platforms always want to have Internet access to their servers. They also deal with data protection. For businesses that don't have an e-commerce option, the focus is primarily on maintaining the office intranet. This involves constantly updating and providing hardware to employees, as well as performing security and software updates across the network. Network support engineers are typically employed by large companies with dedicated IT departments, but they can also find work at e-commerce giants like Amazon. Network support engineers tend to work regularly during business hours in an office environment.

A white-collar, entry-level position in the IT field, some companies call entry-level workers "junior" network support engineers, promoting individuals to senior network engineers when they have gained sufficient relevant experience. . Network support engineers typically report to a network support supervisor. According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for network and information systems administrators, which includes network support engineers, will increase by 6% through 2026.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Network Support Engineer

The list of tasks for network support engineers is long, as many steps are required to ensure that a network is operating at optimum efficiency. We analyzed the Network Support Engineer job descriptions to gather the following list of Network Support Engineer tasks and responsibilities:

Install network hardware and software

The primary responsibility of the network support engineer is to install all necessary hardware and software as per the employer's requirements. They need to understand the principles of networking to build a network from scratch.

Troubleshoot and repair faulty hardware and software

Network support engineers serve as repairers in the IT department. They are the people that employees call when they have a problem with their machine or when they access the corporate network. They use their problem-solving skills and their IT acumen to troubleshoot and repair hardware and software problems.

Maintain network and system security

This is a particularly important task for network support engineers working for government or in the financial and healthcare sector. The protection of customer and employee data, as well as company-owned data, is essential. This business requires someone who keeps up with the latest trends in cybersecurity.

Monitor network performance and suggest improvements to decision makers

Network support engineers need an analytical mind to monitor network performance on a daily basis. They create reports based on network data and present their results to decision makers. Then they create and implement performance improvement plans.

Create and release user profiles to company employees

Network support engineers are responsible for creating and maintaining the security of user profiles for each employee in the company. This generally includes maintaining different levels of security access based on your state within the company. It also includes answering user questions about the use of the network or company-supplied hardware. 

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