Cloud Engineer to Network Engineer

Summary: 2 of the 6 core skills listed for Network Engineer carry over directly from Cloud Engineer, and 3 more build on related experience. The US median salary changes by -26% ($135K → $100K). Difficulty: Moderate, typically around 6 months of focused upskilling.

The two roles

Cloud Engineer: Design and manage cloud infrastructure on AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Network Engineer: Design and maintain computer networks and communications systems. Growth outlook +5%; AI-augmented (AI changes how the work is done, not whether it exists). Typical education: bachelor. Typical experience: 2-4 years.

Skills that carry over

• Networking
• Security

Builds on related experience

• Cisco — builds on Networking
• Firewalls — builds on Networking
• VPN — builds on Networking

Skills to learn for Network Engineer

• Troubleshooting

Salary comparison (median, estimated)

Salary figures are estimates benchmarked against public compensation data — see methodology.

Next steps

Get a personalized analysis of your own skills against Network Engineer — free, no signup needed.

Related

Cloud Engineer career guide | Network Engineer career guide

Other transitions to consider

• Cloud Engineer to System Administrator — 5 of the core skills carry over
• Cloud Engineer to DevOps Engineer — 6 of the core skills carry over
• Cloud Engineer to Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) — 4 of the core skills carry over
• Cloud Engineer to Database Administrator — 4 of the core skills carry over
• System Administrator to Network Engineer — 5 of the core skills carry over
• Healthcare IT Specialist to Network Engineer — 5 of the core skills carry over
• Database Administrator to Network Engineer — 2 of the core skills carry over
• Help Desk/IT Support Technician to Network Engineer — 5 of the core skills carry over