Side-by-side distribution
AWS
$168,256
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.8%
- Live roles
- 1,173
Network Engineer
$160,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 36.7%
- Live roles
- 679
Highest-paying jobs
Principal .NET Software Engineer - Cloud Payments Platform
Principal .NET Software Engineer- Cloud Payments Platform
Cloud Engineer
Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Staff + Sr. Software Engineer, Cloud Inference
Staff + Sr. Software Engineer, Cloud Inference Launch Engineering
Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure)
Senior Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Security Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Senior Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Highest-paying jobs
Network Engineer
Network Engineer, Supercomputing
Optical Network Engineer
Network Security Engineer
Network Engineer - ML Infrastructure (High-Speed Interconnects)
Software Engineer - Network (C++)
Senior Network Engineer
Data Center Network Engineer
Principal Network Engineer
Software Engineer, Core Network Engineering
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$151,800 | 27 |
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 26 |
Crusoe
|
$142,500 | 21 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$170,000 | 8 |
LIGHTFEATHER IO LLC
|
$140,000 | 8 |
ClickHouse
|
$174,500 | 6 |
Esri
|
$113,360 | 6 |
SMX
|
$110,950 | 6 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Saalex
|
$112,500 | 13 |
SpaceX
|
$165,000 | 12 |
Fluidstack
|
$226,500 | 10 |
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 10 |
Sigma Defense
|
$127,500 | 8 |
|
Crusoe
|
$237,500 | 7 |
Metropolis
|
$220,000 | 5 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$160,000 | 5 |
AWS salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $225,000 | 44 |
| Atlanta | $222,500 | 5 |
| Seattle | $217,500 | 13 |
| New York | $203,500 | 36 |
| Austin | $197,300 | 11 |
| Chicago | $196,250 | 4 |
| Boston | $175,000 | 9 |
| Los Angeles | $170,000 | 17 |
| Denver | $156,250 | 6 |
| Toronto | $140,000 | 10 |
Network Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $221,500 | 40 |
| Austin | $218,000 | 11 |
| Seattle | $210,000 | 22 |
| New York | $205,000 | 37 |
| Denver | $192,500 | 3 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 5 |
| Boston | $170,000 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 11 |
| Toronto | $140,000 | 3 |
| Dublin | $114,181 | 3 |
AWS vs Network Engineer: which pays more?
The median for AWS is $168,256 per year (typically $136,250–$200,000), versus $160,000 for Network Engineer ($125,000–$200,000). That puts AWS about 5% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so AWS and Network Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.