# Network architecture pay climbs amid AI shift > Source: > Published: 2026-08-21 11:39:56+00:00 Network architecture expertise is earning premium pay as enterprises grapple with complex infrastructure environments and AI puts new demands on corporate networks. Network architecture earns an average cash pay premium equal to 20% of base salary, according to Foote Partners’ latest [IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index](https://footepartners.com/collections/pay-index/). The research firm tracks compensation for 1,417 certified and [noncertified IT skills](https://www.networkworld.com/article/4165731/it-certification-pay-surges-as-noncertified-skills-slump.html) across 5,137 U.S. and Canadian employers. Overall, employers are paying an average bonus equivalent to about 9% of base salary for 752 noncertified IT skills. Technologies and trends including AI, multicloud, zero trust, edge computing, and advanced wireless technologies require higher-value networking expertise. The premium for network architecture reflects the growing importance of enterprise network design, says [David Foote](https://www.linkedin.com/in/techlaborguru/), chief analyst and research officer at [Foote Partners](https://footepartners.com/). “Employers aren’t paying 20% extra merely for networking knowledge. They are paying for the ability to make expensive, enterprise-wide design decisions correctly,” he says. Network architects today must make decisions that involve multiple technologies. From topology to WAN and SD-WAN to segmentation and security, the scope of networking skills continues to evolve. Those networking decisions become more complicated as enterprises incorporate [AI workloads](https://www.networkworld.com/article/4172576/ai-cybersecurity-skills-top-it-pay-premiums.html), edge computing, Wi-Fi 7, private 5G, and more. AI and automation are taking on more routine network operations work, including monitoring, basic troubleshooting, and configuration changes. This creates what Foote calls a “barbell effect” in networking careers, which means the more basic, hands-on network administration work is getting devalued as automation and AI increase, while high-level network architecture and design work is getting more valuable. These two trends are pulling networking pay in opposite directions. “Automation isn’t eliminating networking so much as shifting where the economic value lies within it,” he explains. The shift is also changing the traditional career path from network administrator to network engineer to senior network engineer. Foote sees greater opportunities for networking professionals who add architecture, cloud, security, and automation expertise to their networking foundation. The trend is also impacting certification pay. Networking and Communications was among the certification categories posting the strongest gains in pay premiums in the second quarter, according to the report. For instance, the CCDE [expert-level Cisco credential](https://www.networkworld.com/article/4175910/ciscos-new-certs-are-a-wake-up-call-for-ai-era-network-engineers.html) carries an 11% average pay premium, and its market value increased 50%, according to Foote Partners. The certification focuses on large-scale network architecture, scalability, resiliency, and security. The increase indicates a shortage of senior networking professionals capable of designing complex infrastructure. “It is one of the clearest signs that employers are paying disproportionately for senior design judgment rather than operational execution,” he says. Networking and security skills are also becoming more difficult to separate. Cloud, zero trust, and SASE architectures require network professionals who understand segmentation, identity, secure cloud connectivity, and threat detection. And security engineers must have a deeper knowledge of routing, architecture, and network performance. “I would describe the change as convergence rather than disappearance,” he says. “Specialists will still exist—especially deep security engineers and deep network engineers—but the middle is merging.” Foote recommends network professionals work to build skills around network architecture and design, cloud and edge, security, automation, and the networking requirements of AI. Routine monitoring, first-line troubleshooting, and repetitive manual configuration are losing value as [AIOps](https://www.networkworld.com/article/4165075/the-era-of-chatbot-aiops-is-fading-as-agentic-ai-gains-traction.html) and [automation](https://www.networkworld.com/article/4112777/the-network-automation-imperative-too-many-devices-to-copy-paste-configs-automate-or-die.html) take over most of those tasks. But that doesn’t make some traditional networking fundamentals obsolete. Routing skills, for instance, posted 16.7% annual market-value growth. “The larger message from the report is therefore not ‘get out of networking,’” Foote says. “It is almost the opposite: Move your career up the networking value chain.”