# Computer Network Support Specialists

US SOC code 15-1231. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/15-1231

Also called: Network support specialist, Network technician, LAN support specialist, WAN support technician, Network operations technician.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **146,190** US computer network support specialists, with median pay of **$76,220** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **176,200**, in May 2021. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet) of **75,000** from 1990, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for computer network support specialists: Software-defined networking + cloud networking, 2010 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 1.2% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-1231&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **53.8%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Computer Network Support Specialists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1983
- Latest US employment: 146,190 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $76,220 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +1.2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [17]

### All 10 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1990 | 75,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Ethernet [1] |
| 1995 | 180,000 (estimate) | $35,000 (estimate) | Est., History of the Internet (employment) [2]; Est., Novell NetWare (pay) [5] |
| 1999 | 285,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Dot-com bubble [3] |
| 2019 | 185,430 | $63,460 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 184,220 | $65,450 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 176,200 | $62,760 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 168,920 | $68,050 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 158,720 | $71,530 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 146,450 | $73,340 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 146,190 | $76,220 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (47)

### Employment series

1. [Ethernet — Wikipedia (commercial introduction 1980, enterprise adoption data: "By 1992, Ethernet was the de facto standard for LANs")](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet), Wikipedia / secondary sources
2. [History of the Internet — Wikipedia (NSFnet decommission April 1995, commercial internet transition)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet), Wikipedia / secondary sources
3. [Dot-com bubble — Wikipedia (Cisco revenue growth 1994-2000; IT employment expansion during boom)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble), Wikipedia / secondary sources
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

5. [Novell NetWare — Wikipedia (NetWare market dominance 1983-1999; CNE certification and LAN technician demand in 1990s enterprises)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novell_NetWare), Wikipedia / secondary sources
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

7. [Novell NetWare — Wikipedia (1983 release, CNE certification, IDC 53% market share 1988)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novell_NetWare), Wikipedia
8. [Local area network — Wikipedia (ARCNET first commercial installation 1977, LAN technician demand from 1983 proliferation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_area_network), Wikipedia
9. [Cisco certifications — Wikipedia (CCIE began 1993; first written and lab exams)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_certifications), Wikipedia
10. [History of the Internet — Wikipedia (NSFnet decommission 1995; commercial internet opening)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet), Wikipedia
11. [Ethernet — Wikipedia (802.3 standards evolution; twisted-pair Ethernet drove enterprise adoption through 2000s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet), Wikipedia
12. [Software-defined networking — Wikipedia (OpenFlow API 2008, Open Networking Foundation 2011, Google B4 2012)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_defined_networking), Wikipedia
13. [Cloud computing — Wikipedia (AWS S3 and EC2 launched 2006, Microsoft Azure 2010, cloud networking adoption)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing), Wikipedia
14. [SolarWinds — SolarWinds AI Agent (launched Oct 2025): GenAI-enabled orgs saved 323,343 hours Aug 2024-Jul 2025](https://www.solarwinds.com/ai), SolarWinds
15. [TechTarget — Advanced skills drive networking job market in 2026: AI baseline expectation, $80K generalist vs $140K AI/cybersecurity specialist](https://web.archive.org/web/20260513153244/https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Networking-pros-face-strong-job-market-greater-demands), TechTarget
16. [Cisco ThousandEyes AI Assistant (GA 2025): natural-language queries to network and application performance data](https://www.thousandeyes.com/product/innovations/cisco-ai-assistant), Cisco ThousandEyes

### Forecasts and exposure studies

17. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 15-1231 Computer network support specialists (2025: 152.5 thousand; 2035: 154.4 thousand; +1.2%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-1231&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
18. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 15-1231.00, human-rated β 0.538)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

19. [Novell NetWare — Wikipedia (1983 release, LAN administrator role emergence)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novell_NetWare), Wikipedia
20. [Ethernet — Wikipedia ("By 1992, Ethernet was the de facto standard for LANs"; 10BASE-T 802.3i 1990 standard)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet), Wikipedia
21. [Cisco certifications — Wikipedia (CCIE began 1993; certification hierarchy)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_certifications), Wikipedia
22. [History of the Internet — Wikipedia (NSFnet decommission April 1995; commercial internet transition)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet), Wikipedia
23. [Dot-com bubble — Wikipedia (IT employment collapse 2001-2003; "layoffs of programmers resulted in a general glut in the job market")](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble), Wikipedia
24. [Cloud computing — Wikipedia (Amazon S3 and EC2 launched 2006; Microsoft Azure 2010)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing), Wikipedia
25. [Software-defined networking — Wikipedia (Google B4 2012 production deployment; Open Networking Foundation 2011)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_defined_networking), Wikipedia
26. [SolarWinds — SolarWinds AI Agent launched October 2025; Cisco ThousandEyes AI Assistant GA 2025](https://www.solarwinds.com/ai), SolarWinds

### Predecessors & successors

27. [Local area network — Wikipedia (LAN proliferation from 1977; early network support grew from data center operations)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_area_network), Wikipedia
28. [O\*NET OnLine — 15-1231.00 Computer Network Support Specialists (role differentiation from desktop support)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1231.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Computer Network Support Specialists (15-1231.00): tasks, skills, median wage $73,340, employment 152,700, projected growth 1-2% 2024-2034](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1231.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OOH — Computer Support Specialists: overall employment projected to decline 3% 2024-2034; about 50,500 openings/year from replacement needs; cloud-based support constraining growth](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-support-specialists.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Network World — 8 Hot Networking Trends for 2026: AI-driven NOC automation, data center growth, SASE, Wi-Fi 7, demand for senior networking pros with AI/cloud/security expertise](https://www.networkworld.com/article/4126582/8-hot-networking-trends-for-2026.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [TechTarget — Advanced skills drive networking job market in 2026: AI baseline expectation, automation/orchestration, specialization premium, $80K generalist vs $140K AI/cybersecurity specialist](https://web.archive.org/web/20260513153244/https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Networking-pros-face-strong-job-market-greater-demands), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs Are GPTs (Science): LLM labor-market exposure, IT support and network tasks among occupations with moderate E2 exposure via complementary software](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [SolarWinds Observability — automatically maps and monitors multi-vendor networks with intelligent discovery; basis for AI-assisted topology documentation](https://www.solarwinds.com/solutions/aiops), accessed 2026-06-05
- [SolarWinds — AIOps with SolarWinds Observability: AI Agent launched Oct 2025, predicts potential issues and automates response workflows; GenAI-enabled orgs saved 323,343 hours Aug 2024-Jul 2025](https://www.solarwinds.com/ai), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.