# Computer Network Architects

US SOC code 15-1241. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/15-1241

Also called: Network architect, Sr network architect, Senior network architect, Principal network architect, Network designer.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **179,740** US computer network architects, with median pay of **$134,050** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.britannica.com/money/Cisco-Systems-Inc) of **45,000** from 1995, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for computer network architects: Cloud networking + SD-WAN, 2015 to 2022. SD-WAN adoption reduced the footprint of branch-office network equipment and cut router-configuration labor for entry-level engineers.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 7.7% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-1241&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **55.5%** 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 Architects employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1969
- Latest US employment: 179,740 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $134,050 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Outlook: +7.7% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [20]

### All 10 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1995 | 45,000 (estimate) | $58,000 (estimate) | Est., Cisco Systems history (employment) [1]; Est., CBT Nuggets (pay) [5] |
| 2000 | 120,000 (estimate) | $75,000 (estimate) | Est., IPUMS USA (employment) [2]; Est., St. Louis Fed (pay) [6] |
| 2003 | 85,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS OOH 2004-05 edition [3] |
| 2019 | 152,420 | $112,690 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 159,350 | $116,780 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 168,830 | $120,520 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 173,920 | $126,900 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 174,100 | $129,840 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 177,010 | $130,390 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 179,740 | $134,050 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (56)

### Employment series

1. [Cisco Systems history -- revenue growth from $69M (1990) to $1B+ (1995) driven by enterprise network buildout; networking profession size inferred from industry growth](https://www.britannica.com/money/Cisco-Systems-Inc), Britannica Money
2. [IPUMS USA -- 2000 Census occupation codes, computer network/systems/database administrators group (occ 102); architect subset estimated from BLS OOH 2002-03 edition context](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ2000.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
3. [BLS OOH 2004-05 edition -- Network and Computer Systems Administrators (SOC 15-1071), combined employment cited at ~278,000; architects subset estimated](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-network-architects.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
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. [CBT Nuggets -- "9 Crazy Cisco Certification Facts from the 90s": Cisco certifications commanded premium salaries; CCIE holders among highest-paid network professionals of the era](https://www.cbtnuggets.com/blog/career/career-progression/9-crazy-cisco-certification-facts-from-the-90s), CBT Nuggets
6. [St. Louis Fed -- "Tech Employment Returns to Dot-Com Heights" (2017): tech employment up 36%, average wages doubled 1990-2000](https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2017/august/tech-employment-returns-heights), Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
7. 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), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
8. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

9. [DARPA -- ARPANET: the first wide-area packet-switching network, 1969; IMPs built by BBN Technologies](https://www.darpa.mil/news/features/arpanet), DARPA
10. [Internet Society -- "A Brief History of the Internet": NCP to TCP/IP transition, January 1 1983 Flag Day](https://www.internetsociety.org/internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet/), Internet Society
11. [Britannica Money -- Cisco Systems Inc. history: founded December 1984 by Bosack and Lerner; first multi-protocol router 1986; revenue $5M (1990) to $1B+ (1995)](https://www.britannica.com/money/Cisco-Systems-Inc), Britannica Money / Encyclopaedia Britannica
12. [New Stack -- "50 Years Later, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn Remember the Birth of TCP/IP": TCP design 1974, ARPANET Flag Day January 1 1983](https://thenewstack.io/50-years-later-vint-cerf-and-bob-kahn-remember-the-birth-of-tcp-ip/), The New Stack
13. [Cisco Blogs -- "Celebrating 30 Years of the CCIE Certification Program": first CCIE awarded July 19 1993 to Stuart Biggs; CCIE number starting at 1024](https://blogs.cisco.com/learning/celebrating-30-years-of-the-ccie-certification-program), Cisco
14. [CBT Nuggets -- "9 Crazy Cisco Certification Facts from the 90s": CCIE launched 1993 for "hardcore networking geeks"; CCNA and CCNP announced at Cisco Networkers 1998 Philadelphia](https://www.cbtnuggets.com/blog/career/career-progression/9-crazy-cisco-certification-facts-from-the-90s), CBT Nuggets
15. [Enterprise Networking Planet -- "History of Computer Networking": virtualization and SDN emergence as forces reshaping network architecture](https://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/data-center/history-of-computer-networking/), Enterprise Networking Planet
16. [BLS OOH -- Computer Network Architects: growth driven by "continued expansion of cloud computing" requiring architects to design and manage cloud network transitions](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-network-architects.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
17. [TechTarget 2026 -- "Networking pros face strong job market, greater demands": SD-WAN expertise among top-paying specializations; Python-driven deployments command salary premium](https://web.archive.org/web/20260513153244/https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Networking-pros-face-strong-job-market-greater-demands), TechTarget
18. [HPE Juniper -- Mist AI-native platform agentic innovations: up to 90% fewer trouble tickets, 85% OpEx reduction (August 2025)](https://www.juniper.net/gb/en/company/press-releases/2025/pr-2025-08-26-00-00.html), HPE Juniper Networks
19. [Forward Networks -- Forward AI agentic system built on network digital twin; verifies network intent with mathematical certainty; GA April 2026](https://www.forwardnetworks.com/blog/article/forward-networks-launches-agentic-ai-system-built-on-network-digital-twin/), Forward Networks

### Forecasts and exposure studies

20. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 15-1241 Computer network architects (2025: 181.8 thousand; 2035: 195.8 thousand; +7.7%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-1241&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
21. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 15-1241.00, human-rated β 0.555)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

22. [Internet Society -- "A Brief History of the Internet": first ARPANET message October 29 1969, UCLA to SRI](https://www.internetsociety.org/internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet/), Internet Society
23. [IEEE Communications Society -- "TCP Design Published": Cerf and Kahn, IEEE Trans. Communications, May 1974; ETHW milestone record](https://www.comsoc.org/node/19581), IEEE Communications Society
24. [Cisco Blogs -- "Celebrating 30 Years of the CCIE Certification Program": first CCIE July 19 1993, number 1024, Stuart Biggs; 70,000+ total certified by 2023](https://blogs.cisco.com/learning/celebrating-30-years-of-the-ccie-certification-program), Cisco
25. [Goldman Sachs -- "The Late 1990s Dot-Com Bubble Implodes in 2000": Cisco peak market cap ~$500B in March 2000](https://www.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/history/moments/2000-dot-com-bubble), Goldman Sachs
26. [BLS OOH -- Computer Network Architects (SOC 15-1241): occupation code introduced in the 2010 SOC revision, distinguishing architects from Network and Computer Systems Administrators (15-1244)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-network-architects.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
27. [TechTarget 2026 -- "Networking pros face strong job market, greater demands": bifurcation between contracting config roles and growing architecture roles; AI-ready specialist premium to $140K+](https://web.archive.org/web/20260513153244/https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Networking-pros-face-strong-job-market-greater-demands), TechTarget

### Predecessors & successors

28. [DARPA -- ARPANET history: BBN Technologies built the IMPs; site engineers at UCLA, SRI, UCSB, Utah were the first network designers](https://www.darpa.mil/news/features/arpanet), DARPA
29. [TechTarget -- "What is a Network Engineer?": network engineering emerged from telecom as data networking entered enterprises in the 1980s](https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/network-engineer), TechTarget
30. [BLS OOH -- Computer Network Architects: "most architects start as network administrators or support specialists before moving into architecture roles"](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-network-architects.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
31. [BLS OOH -- Computer and Information Systems Managers: +15% growth 2024-2034; median wage $171,200; network architects well-positioned for this pivot](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/computer-and-information-systems-managers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Computer Network Architects (15-1241.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1241.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OOH — Computer Network Architects: +12% 2024–2034, 11,200 annual openings, median $130,390/yr](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-network-architects.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [TechTarget — Advanced skills drive networking job market in 2026: AI-ready architects command $140K+; entry-level config roles shrink](https://web.archive.org/web/20260513153244/https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Networking-pros-face-strong-job-market-greater-demands), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Dice.com — Network Architects and AI Tools: AI requires customization and continuous training; human oversight remains essential](https://www.dice.com/career-advice/network-architects-and-ai-tools-what-you-need-to-know), accessed 2026-05-24
- [HPE Juniper Networking — Mist AI-native platform agentic innovations: up to 90% fewer trouble tickets, 85% OpEx reduction (August 2025)](https://www.juniper.net/gb/en/company/press-releases/2025/pr-2025-08-26-00-00.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Forward Networks — Forward AI agentic system built on network digital twin, GA April 2026; GigaOm Outperformer 4× consecutive (2025)](https://www.forwardnetworks.com/blog/article/forward-networks-launches-agentic-ai-system-built-on-network-digital-twin/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Kentik — AI Advisor agentic network observability, autonomous investigation, capacity planning (launched November 2025)](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/11/18/kentik-ai-advisor/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Cisco — Hypershield AI-native hyper-distributed security fabric with autonomous segmentation; announced April 2025, GA August 2025](https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/security/hypershield/hypershield-so.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Cisco — Catalyst Center AI Assistant brings AgenticOps to on-premises networks (Cisco Live 2025 / EMEA 2026)](https://blogs.cisco.com/news/advancing-the-ai-ready-secure-network-new-capabilities-at-cisco-live-emea), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Aviatrix — Secure Network Supervisor GA in Microsoft Security Copilot: VPN diagnostics and MTTR reduction (November 2025)](https://windowsforum.com/threads/aviatrix-secure-network-supervisor-ga-in-microsoft-security-copilot-for-faster-vpn-diagnostics.390025/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Itential — FlowAI agentic orchestration for infrastructure operations (November 2025); recognized in seven 2025 Gartner Hype Cycles](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/itential-unveils-flowai-delivering-agentic-orchestration-for-infrastructure-operations-302619570.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Kentik — AI Advisor VentureBeat coverage: first agentic AI solution that deeply understands the network; ingests 1 trillion telemetry points per day](https://venturebeat.com/business/kentik-launches-the-first-agentic-ai-solution-that-deeply-understands-the-network), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Google Cloud Next 2026 — Cloud Network Insights: end-to-end hybrid/multi-cloud visibility with Gemini AI-powered insights](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/compute/cross-cloud-infrastructure-at-next26), accessed 2026-05-24

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