Analyze, test, troubleshoot, and evaluate existing network systems, such as local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and Internet systems or a segment of a network system. Perform network maintenance to ensure networks operate correctly with minimal interruption.
26 of 26 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Back up network data.
AI: Fully automatable - Backing up network data is a routine, API-driven, and scriptable operation that can be fully automated and verified by tools and AI orchestration systems.
Document network support activities.
AI: Fully automatable - Documenting support activities (logs, ticket summaries, change records) is highly structured and can be generated and maintained automatically by AI integrated with ticketing and monitoring systems.
Install network software, including security or firewall software.
AI: Fully automatable - Installing network and security software is largely deterministic and can be fully automated using deployment tools, orchestration, and AI-driven installers.
Evaluate local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) performance data to ensure sufficient availability or speed, to identify network problems, or for disaster recovery purposes.
AI: Fully automatable - Monitoring systems augmented with AI can continuously evaluate LAN/WAN performance, detect anomalies, and produce actionable reports for availability, speed, and disaster-recovery planning.
Analyze network data to determine network usage, disk space availability, or server function.
AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can ingest logs and metrics and use analytics and anomaly detection to determine network usage, disk space statistics, and infer server function automatically.
Configure and define parameters for installation or testing of local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), hubs, routers, switches, controllers, multiplexers, or related networking equipment.
AI: Fully automatable - Configuration and parameter definition for network devices can be fully automated via scripts, orchestration tools, and AI-generated validated configurations applied through device APIs.
Test computer software or hardware, using standard diagnostic testing equipment and procedures.
AI: Fully automatable - Standard diagnostic testing procedures for software and many hardware tests can be automated and orchestrated by AI-driven test frameworks and instrumentation.
Monitor industry websites or publications for information about patches, releases, viruses, or potential problem identification.
AI: Fully automatable - Monitoring websites, publications, and feeds for patches, releases, and threats is readily automatable with scraping, alerting, and AI summarization pipelines.
Create or update technical documentation for network installations or changes to existing installations.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can generate, update, and maintain technical documentation from configuration data, change logs, and system scans with high fidelity.
Train users in procedures related to network applications software or related systems.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can create and deliver interactive training, tutorials, and assessments for network applications and related systems, covering most procedural training needs.
Test repaired items to ensure proper operation.
AI: Fully automatable - Post-repair testing can be automated using diagnostic tools and scripted verification procedures orchestrated by AI to ensure proper operation.
Maintain logs of network activity.
AI: Fully automatable - Collecting, aggregating, storing, and preliminarily analyzing network logs is fully automatable with existing logging systems and AI for synthesis and alerting.
Document help desk requests and resolutions.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can transcribe, summarize, and populate help-desk tickets and resolution notes automatically from interactions and system data, enabling full automation of documentation.
Research hardware or software products to meet technical networking or security needs.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can comprehensively gather specifications, compatibility, reviews, costs, and produce vendor comparisons and recommendations, fully covering the research task.
Create or revise user instructions, procedures, or manuals.
AI: Fully automatable - Generating and revising user instructions, procedures, and manuals from source material and product behavior is well within current AI capabilities for full automation.
Run monthly network reports.
AI: Fully automatable - Scheduled collection, aggregation, and generation of monthly network reports can be fully automated using monitoring tools and AI report templates.
Configure security settings or access permissions for groups or individuals.
AI: Partial - AI can programmatically apply and suggest access permissions via IAM APIs and templates, but complex policy decisions and risk judgments typically require human oversight.
Analyze and report computer network security breaches or attempted breaches.
AI: Partial - AI can detect, correlate, analyze logs, and draft incident reports at scale, but full breach analysis and attribution often need human-led investigation and contextual judgment.
Identify the causes of networking problems, using diagnostic testing software and equipment.
AI: Partial - Diagnostic tools and AI can identify many root causes from telemetry and tests, but ambiguous, intermittent, or hardware-level faults still often require human troubleshooting and on-site equipment checks.
Configure wide area network (WAN) or local area network (LAN) routers or related equipment.
AI: Partial - Router and related equipment configuration can be automated via management interfaces and scripts, but device diversity, physical access needs, and high-risk changes typically require human validation.
Troubleshoot network or connectivity problems for users or user groups.
AI: Partial - AI can automate most diagnostic steps and guided fixes for connectivity issues, but complex, contextual, or hardware-related problems and user-facing empathy often need human intervention.
Provide telephone support related to networking or connectivity issues.
AI: Partial - AI voice agents can handle routine telephone support and triage, but nuanced troubleshooting, escalation judgment, and customer rapport are not fully automatable yet.
Perform routine maintenance or standard repairs to networking components or equipment.
AI: Partial - Routine maintenance steps can be automated or guided by AI, but physical standard repairs to networking hardware still require human technicians or specialized robots in most settings.
Install new hardware or software systems or components, ensuring integration with existing network systems.
AI: Partial - Software installation and integration can be fully automated, but physical installation and some complex integration tasks for hardware still require human intervention.
Install or repair network cables, including fiber optic cables.
AI: Partial - AI can guide, diagnose, and plan cable installation/repair, but the hands-on work of installing or splicing network and fiber optic cables generally requires human technicians.
Install and configure wireless networking equipment.
AI: Partial - AI can generate configurations, automation scripts, and remote setup instructions but cannot perform the physical installation and onsite verification of wireless hardware, so it is only partially automatable.