Advanced skills drive network job market in 2026

Technology-driven changes in the job market

AI continues to drive the biggest changes in the networking job market. Demand is now so great that AI is a baseline skill expectation in nearly every IT job segment.

That alone is creating a wave of new complexity and a corresponding demand for networking pros who can architect and optimize legacy systems. According to Matthew Baden, managing director and tech recruitment at recruiting firm The Search Experience, most legacy systems weren't originally designed for AI-scale workloads.

"AI is forcing networks to handle exponentially more load, and IT pros need to be responsible for building systems that can cope with that demand," he said. "They're not building AI applications – they're building the networks that make those applications possible. That's where the new skill demand will sit."

The jobs won't go away, but they will evolve. People who lean into specialization will be best positioned for the new market, Baden said.

Still, automation is performing many entry-level tasks, said Don Welch, vice president for IT and global CIO at New York University.

"We still own, install and maintain our networking," Welch said. "In the future, we may outsource it or rely more on public networks. The market for skilled engineers is still strong. With the easy work being done, we still need great engineers."

There has also been a huge uptick in the importance of cybersecurity within networking, Baden said. Security has become inseparable from networking work -- it's not just about keeping the network running; it's about safeguarding it.

Zero trust, secure access service edge (SASE) and integration with security platforms are major technologies throughout 2025 that will continue into the next year.

Skills for networking pros in 2026

According to Baden, networking pros should focus on top skill areas in 2026. Examples include the following:

• Automation and orchestration. Build, optimize and manage cloud-native and hybrid cloud environments.
• AI and machine learning fundamentals. Understand how AI and ML systems drive network demands and how to support them from an infrastructure perspective.
• Cybersecurity. Safeguard networks through security technologies such as zero trust, firewalls and SASE. This crossover between networking and cybersecurity is expected to carry some of the highest demand and salaries.
• Cloud and hybrid networking skills. Particularly edge computing and IoT skills, where non-internet-native devices will become connected and require secure and scalable infrastructure.

Breckenridge agreed, saying multi-cloud networking, zero-trust security and automation are now non-negotiable skills.

"Kubernetes networking, SASE and Python-driven deployments are the clearest differentiators," Breckenridge said. "More specialized capabilities -- like designing high-performance AI networks using InfiniBand or [Remote Direct Memory Access] -- will see fast-growing demand and command the highest salaries as enterprises scale their GPU infrastructure."

Salary and benefits trends for networking professionals

Because automation is already defining operational excellence, blended skills and titles are driving the biggest salary jumps, Breckenridge said. Engineers who can bridge network, cloud and security responsibilities are in the highest demand.

Observability and performance tuning across hybrid systems are becoming core expectations for IT pros, especially for uptime-critical industries. Higher salaries are also being offered to network engineers who can bridge infrastructure, app performance and security, as they enable business uptime. The closer the role is to revenue protection, the higher the potential income, Breckenridge said.

Certifications will continue to differentiate candidates, especially in large enterprises and service providers, Breckenridge said. The market is rewarding hybrid skillsets and specialization over total time in the field. A focused expert in cloud security or automation with five years of hands-on work will often out-earn a generalist with a decade of experience. The certifications that will move the needle are advanced, role-based ones closely tied to AI, automation, cloud and security subjects.

AI and cybersecurity experience can turn an $80,000 generalist into a $140,000 specialist, Baden said, because these areas sit closest to risk and growth. Years of experience matter more when they're tied to specialization rather than when someone has spent a long time in generalist work.

"Candidates earning the largest premiums are the ones who can show real exposure to building or supporting AI and ML-heavy infrastructure. Even understanding the network demands of AI -- without writing a line of ML code -- will be a meaningful differentiator for a potential hirer," Baden said.

Professional development strategies

To thrive in the networking sector, Breckenridge said IT pros should embrace AI and automation in their current day-to-day work as much as possible and build cloud-native and security skills to expand their capabilities.

"Shift your mindset from hardware upkeep to networking as software, including learning enough code to design and own automation," she said. "The more you bridge traditional infrastructure with cloud-native architecture and modern security, the more indispensable you'll be long-term."

The most important thing is to lean into the areas where network work is expanding. These include AI, automation and cybersecurity, Baden said. These three skills will future-proof a networking career more than any other factor. Even modest exposure in each area will help network pros build their profiles into ones that companies are actively recruiting.

"Networking pros should also continue building their own professional networks -- not just socially, but through communities where people are sharing early knowledge about AI-native systems, hybrid architectures and the evolving cyber landscape," Baden said. "The people who stay plugged into these shifts are the ones who can upskill fastest."

Ultimately, long-term career stability comes from being the person who understands how modern systems work together. The deeper the specialization, the stronger the career resilience, Baden said.

In addition, networking pros constantly learn new tools and technologies, and work on their soft skills, Welch said. As important as it is to have the right technical skills, employers are interested in networking pros who can be teammates, are curious and eager to learn and are problem solvers.

David Weldon is a freelance writer in the Boston area who covers topics related to IT, data management, infosec, healthcare tech and workforce management.