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Major · Engineering Technology

An applied computing-systems credential for hardware-and-software integration work

Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician (CIP 15.1202) prepares students to support computing professionals through applied work on system architecture, programming, hardware-software diagnosis, and component maintenance. About 495 students complete it across 62 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning around $83,391 and associate’s graduates around $56,599.

Schools offering
62
Annual completions
495
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$74k

About this major

Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician (CIP 15.1202) prepares students to apply basic engineering principles and technical skills in support of computer professionals. The CIP definition centers coursework on computer design and architecture, programming, problems of specific computer applications, component and system maintenance and inspection procedures, hardware and software problem diagnosis and repair, and report preparation. Programs are hands-on and lab-heavy, blending desktop and server hardware work, operating-system administration across Windows and Linux, networking fundamentals, scripting in Python or PowerShell, and capstone projects that build, configure, and document working hardware-and-software systems end to end.

The major fits students drawn to applied technical work — diagnosing why a system fails, configuring infrastructure that supports software, and bridging hardware and software in operational environments. It rewards mechanical and electrical aptitude paired with programming literacy, patience with debugging, and the documentation discipline employers require. The career ladder runs from technician, desktop-support, and junior systems roles into specialist work in network administration, security operations, cloud-platform engineering, or systems QA — with senior systems-engineer roles arriving at five to ten years and often gated by industry certifications as much as by the degree itself.

One grounded observation about scale and access: 495 students complete this CIP across 62 institutions, a comparatively small national footprint that reflects administrative grouping — many universities roll computing-systems students into broader Computer Science (11.0701) or Information Technology (11.0103) categories. ECPI University produces 94 graduates across both associate’s (45) and bachelor’s (49) tracks, the largest single producer at 19% of national output. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute follows with 53 bachelor’s degrees, then Montgomery College (47, associate’s only) and Excelsior University (32, associate’s only). Bachelor’s graduates earn $83,391 in five-year tracked wages and associate’s graduates $56,599 — a $27,000 spread reflecting the bachelor’s premium for software-QA analyst ($102,610, 10% growth) and senior systems pathways versus front-line technician work.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Software quality assurance analysts and testers $103k +10.0% Bachelor's degree
Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians $77k +0.6% Associate's degree
Engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other $77k +1.5% Associate's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$74k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$57k

Bachelor's

$83k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you’re drawn to applied hardware-and-software-integration work rather than pure software development or pure hardware engineering, you’re comfortable bridging operating systems, networking, and the underlying hardware that runs them, you’re looking for a credential that pairs cleanly with industry certifications (CompTIA, Cisco, Microsoft Azure, AWS) for hiring leverage, you understand that the associate’s ($56,599 average) is a real on-ramp for technician and desktop-support roles while the bachelor’s ($83,391 average) opens senior-systems and software-QA paths, and you’re open to the reality that ECPI and a handful of community colleges produce most graduates in this CIP, with broad geographic access at lower-tuition public schools.

Think twice if you want a software-engineering career — Computer Science (CIP 11.0701) is the broader software-and-theory discipline with higher software-development pay and direct pathways into engineering roles. Reconsider if your target is the engineer title with PE licensure or hardware-design work; Computer Engineering (CIP 14.0901) is the ABET-EAC engineering CIP for hardware-engineering practice, and Computer Engineering Technology (15.1201, 892 completions) is the dedicated hardware-engineering-tech sibling. Also pause if you’re assuming the degree alone will get you hired — in this field, certifications and applied portfolio work weigh as much as the credential, and entry helpdesk roles are increasingly compressed by AI-driven automation.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
ECPI University Virginia Beach, VA 45 49 94
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 0 53 53
Montgomery College Rockville, MD 47 0 47
Excelsior University Albany, NY 32 0 32
Montgomery County Community College Blue Bell, PA 25 0 25
Reading Area Community College Reading, PA 18 0 18
Prince George's Community College Largo, MD 16 0 16
Bay de Noc Community College Escanaba, MI 14 0 14
Arkansas State University-Beebe Beebe, AR 14 0 14
Anoka Technical College Anoka, MN 13 0 13
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Industrial Technology/Technician

1,933 completions/yr

Chemical Technology/Technician

1,095 completions/yr

Instrumentation Technology/Technician

1,036 completions/yr

Computer Engineering Technology/Technician

892 completions/yr

Biomedical Technology/Technician

652 completions/yr

Architectural Technology/Technician

647 completions/yr

Communications Technology/Technician

458 completions/yr

Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other

409 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Computer Systems Technology majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition centers the program on applying basic engineering principles and technical skills in support of computer professionals. Coursework covers computer design and architecture, programming, component and system maintenance, hardware and software problem diagnosis and repair, applied computer applications, and report preparation. Programs are hands-on and lab-heavy, blending desktop and server hardware work, operating-system administration (Windows, Linux), networking fundamentals, scripting in Python or PowerShell, and project work that documents working hardware-and-software systems end to end.
Do I need a bachelor’s, or is an associate’s enough for this field?
Both degree levels are common in this CIP — 495 total completions split across associate’s and bachelor’s tracks at 62 institutions, with several top producers (Montgomery College, Excelsior, Montgomery County Community College, Bay de Noc) running associate’s-only programs. The associate’s gets you into entry technician, desktop-support, and junior systems roles at $56,599 average five-year earnings. The bachelor’s lifts that to $83,391 and opens software QA-analyst and senior IT-systems pathways. In this field, certifications (CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Cisco CCNA, Microsoft Azure, AWS) frequently carry as much hiring weight as the degree title — many graduates layer certs onto either credential.
What jobs do graduates land — and at what pay?
Named destinations include software quality assurance analysts and testers ($102,610, 10% growth, bachelor’s typical), electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians ($77,180, 0.6% growth, associate’s typical), and engineering technologists and technicians, all other ($77,390, 1.5% growth, associate’s typical). Bachelor’s graduates earn $83,391 and associate’s graduates $56,599 — a $27,000 spread reflecting the premium for moving into software-QA, network-administration, and senior systems work versus front-line technician roles. Real entry-level desktop-support and helpdesk wages typically sit in the $45,000-$60,000 range; the higher BLS medians reflect mid-career specialists, not first jobs.
How is this different from Computer Science or IT?
Computer Systems Technology (15.1202) is the hardware-and-software-integration applied track — you build, configure, diagnose, and maintain computing systems. Computer Science (CIP 11.0701) is broader and software-and-theory-leaning, with stronger algorithms, programming languages, and software-engineering content. Information Technology (11.0103) is broader on the operations and administration side. The closest sibling is 15.1201 Computer Engineering Technology (892 completions), which leans more toward hardware-engineering and embedded-systems work; 15.1202 sits closer to the systems-administration-and-integration end. Choose 15.1202 if you want generalist hardware-software-systems work; choose CS or IT for software-leaning or operations-leaning paths.
Will my degree get me hired, or do I need certifications too?
In computing-systems work, certifications often weigh as much as the degree title at hiring. The standard ladder runs CompTIA A+ (entry hardware), Network+, Security+, Linux+, then vendor stacks — Cisco (CCNA → CCNP), Microsoft (Azure Administrator, Azure Solutions Architect), Red Hat (RHCSA, RHCE), VMware (VCP), and cloud certs from AWS, Azure, or Google. Most graduates layer certs onto the degree to differentiate. Apprenticeship pathways (DOL Registered IT Apprenticeships, Year Up, NPower) and the Google IT Support Professional Certificate are real alternatives for non-traditional students who want job-ready credentialing without a four-year program.
What’s the long-term trajectory — and where is automation eating jobs?
AI and automation are compressing entry helpdesk and routine-IT work as Copilot-style tools and runbook automation reduce demand for repetitive support tickets. Durable lanes are cloud-platform engineering, security operations, hybrid-network architecture, and AI/ML infrastructure operations — each requires specialization beyond the base degree, typically through certifications and on-the-job experience. The career ladder runs technician or desktop-support → systems administrator → senior systems engineer or cloud/security specialist over five to ten years. The software-QA destination ($102,610, 10% growth, bachelor’s typical) is the strongest white-collar pathway in the packet; the on-prem hardware-repair lanes (computer/ATM/office machine repairers) are shrinking as infrastructure moves to cloud.