Customer support engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a customer support engineer. Customer support engineers usually study electrical engineering, computer science, or business. 61% of customer support engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 3,078 real customer support engineer resumes to see exactly what customer support engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for customer support engineers are the DeVry University and the DeVry University.

There are also many online customer support engineer courses to help get the education required to be a customer support engineer.

There are certain customer support engineer certifications that you should consider. These customer support engineer certifications include Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and CCNP Service Provider Operations (CCNP).

What education do you need to become a customer support engineer?

What degree do you need to be a customer support engineer?

The most common degree for customer support engineers is bachelor's degree, with 61% of customer support engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 19% and associate degree degree at 10%.

Bachelor's, 61%

Associate, 19%

Master's, 10%

Diploma, 7%

Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a customer support engineer?

You should major in electrical engineering to become a customer support engineer. 28% of customer support engineers major in electrical engineering. Other common majors for a customer support engineer include computer science and business.

Electrical Engineering, 28%

Computer Science, 14%

Business, 9%

Electrical Engineering Technology, 8%

Other Majors, 41%

Most common colleges for customer support engineers

Customer support engineers often get their degrees at DeVry University, University of Phoenix, and Northeastern University. Here are the most common colleges for customer support engineers in the US based on their resumes.

Customer support engineer common college	Percentages
DeVry University	17.61%
University of Phoenix	10.21%
Northeastern University	9.15%
San Jose State University	5.63%
Ohio State University	4.58%

Show more common customer support engineer colleges

Best majors for customer support engineers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Electrical Engineering	27.6%
2	Computer Science	13.6%
3	Business	9.1%
4	Electrical Engineering Technology	7.8%
5	Computer Engineering	5.9%

Show more common customer support engineer majors

Best colleges for customer support engineers

The best colleges for customer support engineers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

A customer support 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 customer support 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 customer support engineers.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

7. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Enrollment

24,841

8. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

9. Minnesota State University - Mankato

Mankato, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$8,184

Enrollment

11,675

10. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

20 best online courses for customer support engineers

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5. Customer Service Fundamentals

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Hands-on Technical skills for IT Support Learners...

13. Computer Network Fundamentals- IT Helpdesk & Desktop Support

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Learn the basic fundamentals of computer networking & OSI model for desktop support and IT service desk technicians...

14. Customer Service Foundation

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An introductory course about understanding the foundations of Customer Service...

15. Brilliant Customer Service: How to Impress your Customers!

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20. The Customer: Build a Customer Service Strategy (BITE SIZE)

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Top 10 most affordable universities for customer support engineers

The most affordable schools for customer support engineers are California State University - Long Beach, california state university - bakersfield, and brigham young university.

If the best universities for customer support 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 customer support engineers.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

2. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

4. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

5. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

6. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

7. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

8. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Cost of attendance

21,302

9. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for customer support engineers

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

Some great schools for customer support 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 customer support 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

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

5. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,516

6. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

7. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

8. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,566

9. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

10. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for customer support engineers

The easiest schools for customer support engineers to get into are Oregon Institute of Technology, capitol technology university, and pennsylvania state university - altoona.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a customer support 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 customer support engineers.

1. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

2. Capitol Technology University

Laurel, MD • Private

Admissions rate

69%

SAT average

1,070

3. Pennsylvania State University - Altoona

Altoona, PA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,094

4. Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,072

5. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

6. Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

1,086

7. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

8. Texas A&M University - Kingsville

Kingsville, TX • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,035

9. Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,111

10. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

Average customer support engineer salary by education level

According to our data, customer support engineers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $99,555 annually. Customer support engineers with a Doctorate degree earn an average annual salary of $94,997.

Customer support engineer education level	Customer support engineer salary
Master's Degree	$99,555
High School Diploma or Less	$77,326
Bachelor's Degree	$86,428
Doctorate Degree	$94,997
Some College/ Associate Degree	$79,032

Customer support engineer education FAQs

What is the best college for Customer Support Engineers?

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Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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