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Advanced systems engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an advanced systems engineer. Advanced systems engineers usually study computer science, electrical engineering, or business. 75% of advanced systems engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 13% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 490 real advanced systems engineer resumes to see exactly what advanced systems engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for advanced systems engineers are the Wayne State University and the Wayne State University.

There are also many online advanced systems engineer courses to help get the education required to be an advanced systems engineer.

What education do you need to become an advanced systems engineer?

What degree do you need to be an advanced systems engineer?

The most common degree for advanced systems engineers is bachelor's degree, with 75% of advanced systems engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 13% and master's degree degree at 8%.
  • Bachelor's, 75%
  • Master's, 13%
  • Associate, 8%
  • Diploma, 2%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become an advanced systems engineer?

You should major in computer science to become an advanced systems engineer. 29% of advanced systems engineers major in computer science. Other common majors for an advanced systems engineer include electrical engineering and business.

Most common colleges for advanced systems engineers

Advanced systems engineers often get their degrees at Wayne State University, University of Phoenix, and University of Maryland - College Park. Here are the most common colleges for advanced systems engineers in the US based on their resumes.
Advanced systems engineer common collegePercentages
Wayne State University8.96%
University of Phoenix7.46%
University of Maryland - College Park7.46%
New York University5.97%
University of California - Davis5.97%

Best majors for advanced systems engineers

Best colleges for advanced systems engineers

The best colleges for advanced systems engineers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

An advanced systems engineer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for advanced systems engineers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become advanced systems engineers.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

9. Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH • Private

In-state tuition

$55,453

Enrollment

4,312

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

20 best online courses for advanced systems engineers

Advertising disclosure

1. Introduction to Systems Engineering

coursera

Introduction to Systems Engineering introduces you to the holistic and interdisciplinary systems engineering approach to designing, realizing, and managing complex systems. In this three-course specialization, you will learn how to evolve a project from idea to fielded hardware customized to meet customer requirements while effectively managing costs, timescales, and limiting risks. You will identify and define a system and its components, model a system life cycle, and apply systems...

2. IBM Mainframe Developer

coursera

Gain the job-ready skills for an entry-level mainframe programming role. Mainframe computers continue to power many mission-critical, financial, banking, and government agency systems. There are 220 billion lines of COBOL in use today. 43% of banking systems are built on COBOL, and 95% percent of ATM swipes rely on COBOL code.¹\n\nCOBOL is scalable, mature, and self-documenting. You'll learn about COBOL from its birth and through its evolution. You'll learn new features and aspects of the...

3. Mainframe: Code DB2 on COBOL Programs for Absolute Beginners

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4.5
(2,698)

Master the DDL and DML operations on DB2. Code multiple COBOL DB2 Programs. Master the concept of Cursors on DB2...

4. Mainframe CICS Developer Training By Anil Polsani

udemy
4.5
(511)

Simple Ways to Learn Best Concepts...

5. IBM Data Engineering

coursera

Prepare for a career in the high-growth field of data engineering. In this program, you’ll learn in-demand skills like Python, SQL, and Databases to get job-ready in less than 5 months.\n\nData engineering is building systems to gather data, process and organize raw data into usable information, and manage data. The work data engineers do provides the foundational information that data scientists and business intelligence (BI) analysts use to make recommendations and decisions.\n\nThis program...

6. The Need for Systems Engineering

coursera

Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary approach to designing, realizing, and managing complex systems. In this course, you will be introduced to principles of systems engineering and its importance to the development of complex systems. You will learn to identify and define systems, manage their complexity, and describe their life cycle. The course uses real-world engineering examples to address how the systems engineering approach can address challenges. This course can be taken for...

7. Fundamentals of Unix and Linux System Administration

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4.2
(1,085)

Master Linux/Unix System administration through a practical and hands on approach...

8. Requirements Engineering: Software Engineering

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4.4
(754)

Everything you need to know about software requirements: elicitation, analysis, documentation, validation and management...

9. Linux System Programming using C and C++(Practical Approach)

udemy
4.2
(501)

Practical approach to Linux c-system programming for fork, thread, semaphore IPC, etc...

10. Mainframe DB2 Developer Training By Anil Polsani

udemy
4.6
(575)

DB2- Pre-compilation - Cursor - Restart logic - sqlcode - Load & Unload...

11. Product Development & Systems Engineering

udemy
4.6
(3,086)

The complete Product Development & Systems Engineering course! Earn 25 contact hours AND prepare to take the INCOSE Exam...

12. Mainframe: The Complete COBOL Course From Beginner To Expert

udemy
4.5
(3,088)

Become an Expert on COBOL Programs by coding it. Run COBOL Programs with JCL. Basic TSO/ISPF operations are also covered...

13. Advanced Linux System Administration

udemy
4.2
(283)

This course will teach you everything you need to know to be an Advanced system administrator...

14. Learning Path: Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

udemy
4.8
(281)

Manage your infrastructure and build advanced, practical concepts with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager...

15. Mainframe: The Complete JCL Course from Beginner to Expert

udemy
4.5
(4,407)

Become an expert on JCL. Jcls are used for COBOL Programs. Procedures, Utilities, GDG and basics of TSO/ISPF are covered...

16. The Complete Mainframe Professional Course - 4 Courses in 1

udemy
4.4
(6,139)

The first step in learning about Mainframes. Covers COBOL, JCL, VSAM, TSO/ISPF, Unix System Services and CICS...

17. Software Architecture & System Design Practical Case Studies

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4.7
(250)

Design Real-life Large Scale Systems, Practice Modern Software Architecture & Prepare for a System Design Interview...

18. The Complete Job Control Language (JCL) Course.

udemy
4.5
(2,110)

Mainframe JCL Procedures, SORT, GDGs, Libraries, Utilities such as IEBCOPY, IEBGENER etc are explained in detail...

19. Practical - ISTQB - Test Automation Engineer Course 2023

udemy
4.1
(261)

Learn the concepts, methods and tools to pass the ISTQB - Advanced Level - Test Automation Engineer Certification Exam...

20. Microsoft Project ADVANCED: Project Management Technics 3PDU

udemy
4.6
(952)

MS PROJECT 2016 ADVANCED Project Management Techniques -incl Enterprise level. HANDS-ON from #1 BESTSELLING INSTRUCTOR...

Top 10 most affordable universities for advanced systems engineers

The most affordable schools for advanced systems engineers are Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, brigham young university, and hunter college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for advanced systems engineers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for advanced systems engineers.

1. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

2. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

3. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

4. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

5. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

6. Queens College of the City University of New York

Queens, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,338

Cost of attendance

14,281

7. Brigham Young University - Hawaii

Laie, HI • Private

In-state tuition

$5,560

Cost of attendance

18,043

8. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Arecibo

Arecibo, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,872

Cost of attendance

13,476

9. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce

Mercedita, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,914

Cost of attendance

13,564

10. Trident University International

Cypress, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,240

Cost of attendance

17,912

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for advanced systems engineers

The hardest universities for advanced systems engineers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

Some great schools for advanced systems engineers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for advanced systems engineers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Amherst College

Amherst, MA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,449

5. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

6. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

7. University of Tulsa

Tulsa, OK • Private

Admissions rate

41%

SAT average

1,321

8. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

10. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for advanced systems engineers

The easiest schools for advanced systems engineers to get into are Nyack College, saint martin's university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an advanced systems engineer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for advanced systems engineers.

1. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

2. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Linfield College

McMinnville, OR • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

1,117

6. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

7. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

8. Saint Xavier University

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions rate

74%

SAT average

1,061

9. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Winona, MN • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,148

10. Longwood University

Farmville, VA • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,065

Average advanced systems engineer salary by education level

Advanced systems engineers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $119,731 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, advanced systems engineers earn a median annual income of $116,438 compared to $107,724 for advanced systems engineers with an Associate degree.
Advanced systems engineer education levelAdvanced systems engineer salary
Master's Degree$119,731
High School Diploma or Less$106,645
Bachelor's Degree$116,438
Some College/ Associate Degree$107,724

Advanced systems engineer education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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