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Technology

Computer Network Architect in San Francisco

31 postings read · sampled 2026-09-01 · source ats

What employers actually ask for

Credentials named in the 31 postings we read, ranked by how many mentioned each one.

What it costs

Exam and application fees plus typical self-study hours. Almost nobody needs every credential on this list — start with the top line.

Most-asked-for, on its own
$700CCNP · ~300 hrs
asked for in 5 of 31 postings — 16%
If you earned all 9 of them
$8,007
fees checked 2026-08
2720 hrs
2720 hours — over a year at 10 hrs/wk

Not in the total: Bachelor's Degree — cost varies by institution; TS/SCI — sponsored by an employer, not purchasable; Secret Security Clearance — sponsored by an employer, not purchasable; Master's Degree — cost varies by institution.

What the official taxonomy says

O*NET surveys people already doing this job. That describes who got hired over a long window, not what employers are asking for now — where it disagrees with the counts above, the counts are the more current answer.

Education reported by people doing this job
55%reported bachelor’s degree
  • Bachelor’s degree55%
  • Associate’s degree or other 2-year degree15%
  • Post-secondary certificate15%

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

O*NET 15-1241.00 · pulled 2026-09-01 · percentages are of surveyed workers, each rounded separately, so they need not total 100

This sample is small enough that one posting moves any percentage by more than a couple of points, so we are not calling anything low-signal here. Read the numbers above as a direction, not a measurement.

What it pays

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. A different survey from the postings above, so the two do not share a sample.

$121,160
10th percentile
$166,760
median
$242,150
90th percentile

Every credential above costs $8,007 — about 2 weeks' pay at the median.

Who was hiring

Employers with at least one matching posting in this sample.

SpaceX · OpenAI · Rocket Lab · Zoox · 360 IT Professionals · Roblox · Artech Information System · Ask IT Consulting · Astranis · Collabera · Gusto · USM · Wealthfront

The same role elsewhere

Next

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