Network Administrator vs Physical Therapist Salary
Physical Therapists earn approximately 6.7% more than Network Administrators nationally — $96,000 vs $90,000.
Network Administrators and Physical Therapists earn within 7% of each other, but one takes about 3 more years to enter — which makes training time, not pay, the real decision here.
What it takes to get in
Network Administrator roles typically require a bachelor's degree, while Physical Therapist roles require a doctoral or professional degree. Counting everything it takes to become employable — degree plus any apprenticeship, residency, or licensing exam — that is roughly 4 years for Network Administrator and 7 for Physical Therapist.
Those extra years are not free. Over a 40-year working life, becoming a Physical Therapist consumes about 7 of them in training rather than earning, against 4 on the Network Administrator path. Holding pay flat at the median and ignoring raises, that leaves roughly $3,168,000 of lifetime gross for the Physical Therapist versus $3,240,000 for the Network Administrator — $72,000 behind, because the head start compounds. Actual pay rises with tenure, so the arithmetic understates both sides — it is directional, not predictive.
Each requires credentials — CompTIA Network+ and/or Cisco CCNA expected by most employers for Network Administrator, State license via the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) for Physical Therapist. Renewals and continuing-education hours are an ongoing cost in both, not a one-time hurdle.
Pay range, not just the median
The medians hide most of what matters. Network Administrator pay runs from roughly $56,000 at the low end to $147,000 at the high end; Physical Therapist runs $72,260 to $130,870. The title sets the band; specialization, employer size, and location decide where inside it you actually sit.
The two bands are shaped differently. Network Administrator top earners make about 2.6× what beginners make, against 1.8× for Physical Therapist. A wide band means the ceiling rewards specializing and the median understates what is achievable; a narrow one means pay is more predictable and less dependent on landing the right niche.
Where each field is heading
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects Network Administrator employment to shrink 3% over the decade to 2034 — slowly declining — against growth of 11% for Physical Therapist.
Growth rate is not the same thing as opportunity. Network Administrator roles see roughly 19,000 openings a year and Physical Therapist roles about 13,200, counting replacements for people who retire or leave. Network Administrator has the larger raw number, which is usually what you feel when actually job hunting — a small field growing fast can still be harder to break into than a large flat one.
A declining projection is not a reason to rule out Network Administrator work — declining occupations still hire, and replacement demand often exceeds what the growth rate suggests. It does mean competition tightens over time and geographic flexibility matters more, so it belongs in the decision rather than being ignored.
What the work is actually like
Network Administrator: Office/data center, maintaining company networks and servers, some on-call. Physical Therapist: Outpatient clinics, hospitals, and patients' homes; hands-on physical work.
Schedules differ too: Network Administrator work usually means on-call rotations, Physical Therapist means standard weekday hours. People underweight this when comparing offers and then cite it when they leave.
Moving between the two
These two barely touch. Tech and Healthcare draw on separate training pipelines, and employers in one rarely read experience in the other as relevant. Budget for a real reset. Employment is projected to decline as companies move infrastructure to the cloud, so many administrators are reskilling toward cloud engineering or cybersecurity roles that build on the same networking fundamentals. Physical therapist assistants can only move into this role by completing a full DPT program; PTs can pivot into sports performance, ergonomics consulting, or academia.
If you are entering rather than switching: Network Administrator — Associate or bachelor's in IT/networking plus CompTIA Network+/Security+ certifications; many start in IT helpdesk roles and are promoted internally after 1-2 years. Physical Therapist — Complete a bachelor's degree, then a 3-year Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, then pass the NPTE.
Pay ranges, education requirements, and employment projections come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. See our methodology for how these are compiled and updated.
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