Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Automation specialist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an automation specialist. Automation specialists usually study electrical engineering, business, or computer science. 54% of automation specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 26% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,578 real automation specialist resumes to see exactly what automation specialist education sections show.
The most common colleges for automation specialists are the Florida State University and the Florida State University.
There are also many online automation specialist courses to help get the education required to be an automation specialist.
What education do you need to become an automation specialist?
What degree do you need to be an automation specialist?
- Bachelor's, 54%
- Associate, 26%
- Master's, 8%
- High School Diploma, 6%
- Other Degrees, 6%
What should I major in to become an automation specialist?
- Business, 16%
- Computer Science, 11%
- Other Majors, 43%
Most common colleges for automation specialists
| Automation specialist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Florida State University | 9.02% |
| University of Phoenix | 7.38% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 6.56% |
| Texas A&M University | 6.56% |
| Purdue University | 6.56% |
Best majors for automation specialists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical Engineering | 20.6% |
| 2 | Business | 16.2% |
| 3 | Computer Science | 10.8% |
| 4 | Electrical Engineering Technology | 8.7% |
| 5 | Mechanical Engineering | 5.0% |
Best colleges for automation specialists
The best colleges for automation specialists are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
An automation specialist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for automation specialists. 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 automation specialists.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$3,926
Enrollment
9,835
4. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
5. SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,238
Enrollment
2,120
6. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
7. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
8. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE • Private
In-state tuition
$9,242
Enrollment
20,592
9. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
10. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
20 best online courses for automation specialists
Advertising disclosure
1. Automate Approval Process with SharePoint & Power Automate
Imagine working in a car rental company that has a manual system for keeping track of the cars that are currently rented out. Can you imagine all that paperwork and having to chase your manager across the office to approve each car rental request? Thankfully, with technology we can put many manual processes under control and automate almost everything. This intermediate-level guided project, “Automate Approval Process with SharePoint & Power Automate” is for any business professional who is...
2. From Wire to PLC , A Bootcamp In Industrial Automation
Build Electrical Automation Projects From Sctratch. Starting From Wires , Control Circuits And Ending With PLC And HMI...
3. Factory Automation using PLC Logics
Interactive 3D platform to build and simulate Industrial Automation system...
4. Automated Test Framework: ServiceNow
Automated Test Framework...
5. Appium WinAppDriver C# Windows Desktop UI Automation Testing
Windows Application Driver Automation Testing, Appium for Windows , End-to-End Desktop Testing Tutorial for Beginners...
6. Elevate Your Thinking: Automation & SCADA Mastery
Unlocking PLC Programming and Exploring the Expansive World of Automation with Regular Updates and More !...
7. Step-by-Step Learn Wonderware InTouch SCADA (PLC-SCADA-2)
Complete practical Training on Wonderware In Touch SCADA With Industry Based Examples In Touch SCADA A-Z...
8. Test Automation Foundations
Learn everything you need to kick-start your Test Automation Career...
9. Microsoft Power Automate: Learn Power Automate Desktop & Web
Guide To Power Automate: Learn Microsoft Power Automate Cloud & Web Tasks, Power Automate desktop with powerapps MS Flow...
10. Automated Software Testing with TestCafe
[2023 Updated] Learn a great alternative to Cypress & Playwright - Web automation testing from Beginner to Expert...
11. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - Automation Anywhere v11
Learn how to build robots using Automation Anywhere v11!...
12. Automation Anywhere 360/A2019 - Complete RPA Training Course
Learn Robotic Process Automation (RPA) with Automation Anywhere (Automation 360) from scratch - Build 7 Robots...
13. Executive Briefing: Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic Process Automation for Executives and Top-Level Managers: understand RPA in under 30 Minutes...
14. Selenium WebDriver Test Automation Framework With Real Project
Build Enterprise-Level Test Automation Framework with Real Web Gmail Project...
15. Practical - ISTQB - Test Automation Engineer Course 2023
Learn the concepts, methods and tools to pass the ISTQB - Advanced Level - Test Automation Engineer Certification Exam...
16. Power Automate - Complete Guide to Microsoft Power Automate
Automate all your tasks using Microsoft Power Automate (Microsoft Flow) with the only complete basic to advanced guide...
17. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation Mastery
Become An Expert at Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation (PSA) Latest Version For Your Clients...
18. RPA - Process Automation using UIPATH - Beginner to Expert
Automate Desktop Apps, Excel operations, PDF's Data ,Scanned Docs, Web, Files,emails etc using UIPATH - RPA Technology...
19. Java (and Cucumber) for Automation Testing
Master Java for Test Automation. Java for Testers/Test Automation Engineers/QA. Interview Assignments & Coding Exercises...
20. Selenium WebDriver and Java - Learn Automation with Selenium
Selenium webdriver and Java. Learn Automation Testing with Selenium & Java. Build Automation - Selenium, Junit & Test NG...
Top 10 most affordable universities for automation specialists
The most affordable schools for automation specialists are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and california state university - long beach.
If the best universities for automation specialists 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 automation specialists.
1. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
2. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
3. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
4. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
5. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
6. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
7. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
Mayaguez, PR • Private
In-state tuition
$4,094
Cost of attendance
14,302
8. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
9. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for automation specialists
The hardest universities for automation specialists to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for automation specialists 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 automation specialists 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. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
5. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
7. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
8. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
9. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,407
10. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for automation specialists
The easiest schools for automation specialists to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, capitol technology university, and oregon institute of technology.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an automation specialist 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 automation specialists.
1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
2. Capitol Technology University
Laurel, MD • Private
Admissions rate
69%
SAT average
1,070
3. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
4. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
5. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
6. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
7. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
8. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
9. Pennsylvania State University - Fayette (The Eberly Campus)
Lemont Furnace, PA • Private
Admissions rate
80%
SAT average
1,067
10. Pennsylvania State University - DuBois
DuBois, PA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,079
Average automation specialist salary by education level
| Automation specialist education level | Automation specialist salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $92,207 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $73,121 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $80,985 |
| Doctorate Degree | $88,325 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $74,600 |
Automation specialist education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common computer and mathematical questions.
Search for automation specialist jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025