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Data center operations manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a data center operations manager. Data center operations managers usually study business, computer science, or electrical engineering. 61% of data center operations managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 21% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 622 real data center operations manager resumes to see exactly what data center operations manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for data center operations managers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online data center operations manager courses to help get the education required to be a data center operations manager.

There are certain data center operations manager certifications that you should consider. These data center operations manager certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Manager Certification (CM).

What education do you need to become a data center operations manager?

What degree do you need to be a data center operations manager?

The most common degree for data center operations managers is bachelor's degree, with 61% of data center operations managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 21% and associate degree degree at 12%.
  • Bachelor's, 61%
  • Associate, 21%
  • Master's, 12%
  • Diploma, 3%
  • Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a data center operations manager?

You should major in business to become a data center operations manager. 22% of data center operations managers major in business. Other common majors for a data center operations manager include computer science and electrical engineering.

Most common colleges for data center operations managers

Data center operations managers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, DeVry University, and University of Maryland - College Park. Here are the most common colleges for data center operations managers in the US based on their resumes.
Data center operations manager common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix9.52%
DeVry University8.33%
University of Maryland - College Park8.33%
California State University - San Bernardino5.95%
University of Washington4.76%

Best majors for data center operations managers

Best colleges for data center operations managers

The best colleges for data center operations managers are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Carnegie Mellon University.

A data center operations manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for data center operations managers. 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 data center operations managers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

6. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

7. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

8. Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$52,930

Enrollment

5,030

9. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,465

Enrollment

6,483

10. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

20 best online courses for data center operations managers

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1. Data Management with Databricks: Big Data with Delta Lakes

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In this 2-hour guided project, "Data Management with Databricks: Big Data with Delta Lakes" you will collaborate with the instructor to achieve the following objectives: 1-Create Delta Tables in Databricks and write data to them. Gain hands-on experience in setting up and managing Delta Tables, a powerful data storage format optimized for performance and reliability. 2-Transform a Delta table using Python and leverage SQL to query the data for creating a comprehensive dashboard. Learn how to...

2. Modernizing Data Lakes and Data Warehouses with Google Cloud

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The two key components of any data pipeline are data lakes and warehouses. This course highlights use-cases for each type of storage and dives into the available data lake and warehouse solutions on Google Cloud in technical detail. Also, this course describes the role of a data engineer, the benefits of a successful data pipeline to business operations, and examines why data engineering should be done in a cloud environment. This is the first course of the Data Engineering on Google Cloud...

3. Data Center Essentials: Mechanical & Cooling

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4.5
(892)

The mechanical cooling systems that support data centers and the internet...

4. Data Center Essentials: Power & Electrical

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4.6
(1,582)

The power & electrical systems that support data centers and the internet...

5. Data Warehousing with Oracle: Design a Database

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This Guided Project Data Warehousing with Oracle: Design a Database for Business Intelligence is for learners who have database administration and data warehousing experience but want to learn more about designing databases and models for business intelligence. In this 1.5-hour long project-based course, you will learn how to evaluate the guiding principles of data warehousing, summarize data from multiple sources, and apply data warehouse business intelligence tools. To achieve this, we will...

6. Navigating Healthcare Supply Chain Operations

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This course is the continuation of "Introduction to Healthcare Supply Chain Operations". If you have not visited the first part yet, please check it out before starting this course. If you have finished the first part of this series: Introduction to Healthcare Supply Chain Operations, you will be able to apply what you learned to your own career. The foundational knowledge and project plan from the introduction are carried through in this deeper dive into healthcare supply chain operations. In...

7. Operational Risks Management ORM

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4.3
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Operational Risks Management ORM Case Studies for Risk Management, Compliance, Audit, IS Security, Banking Professionals...

8. 4x1 Data Management/Governance/Security/Ethics Masterclass

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4.4
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You'll learn about data literacy, Data Quality operations, Data Governance policies and Data Security/Privacy controls...

9. Data Center Essentials: General Introduction

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Where the cloud and the internet lives...

10. Supply Chain Management A-Z: Operations & Logistics Basics

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Supply Chain Management Basics: An MBA style course to boost your career as a business operations & logistics manager...

11. The Product Management for AI & Data Science Course

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4.3
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The Complete Course for Becoming a Successful Product Manager in the Field of AI & Data Science...

12. Be A Better Manager 2 - Data Driven Management Training

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Business Management Training - Be A Better Manager - learn how to use Data to improve your management skills...

13. Atlassian Bamboo Data Center from Beginner to Advanced!

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Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD) with Bamboo Data Center for Developers and Dev Ops (Second Edition)...

14. Basic of Clinical Data Management

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Clinical Data Management...

15. Master Google Analytics (UA) with Tag Manager & Data Studio

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(508)

Ace certification. Google Analytics Reports, Tag Manager and Google Data Studio lessons for beginners & advanced users...

16. Data Management Masterclass - The Complete Course

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Practical Data Management Course. Learn the best practices and specifics for every Data Management subject area...

17. Getting Started with Data Management

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Learn the basics of how organizations deal with data. Analyze data using Python and SQL. Explore Hadoop and Hive...

18. Getting Started with Call Center Training

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Call Center Training is essential for both new hires and existing staff to sharpen their skills and feel motivated...

19. Agile Crash Course: Agile Project Management; Agile Delivery

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Agile Project Management Basics (Scrum) & Agile Project Management Essentials (Scrum). Plus Agile Certification (Scrum)...

20. Complete Data Wrangling & Data Visualisation With Python

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Learn to Preprocess, Wrangle and Visualise Data For Practical Data Science Applications in Python...

Top 10 most affordable universities for data center operations managers

The most affordable schools for data center operations managers are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and brigham young university.

If the best universities for data center operations managers 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 data center operations managers.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

4. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

5. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

6. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

7. University of Houston - Victoria

Victoria, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$6,491

Cost of attendance

19,075

8. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

9. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

10. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for data center operations managers

The hardest universities for data center operations managers to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Some great schools for data center operations managers 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 data center operations managers 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. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

7. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

9. Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,380

10. University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL • Private

Admissions rate

32%

SAT average

1,365

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for data center operations managers

The easiest schools for data center operations managers to get into are Barry University, oklahoma wesleyan university, and mount saint mary's university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a data center operations manager 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 data center operations managers.

1. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

3. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

4. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

5. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

6. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

7. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

8. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

9. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

10. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

Average data center operations manager salary by education level

Data center operations managers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $158,508 annually. With a Doctorate degree, data center operations managers earn a median annual income of $154,218 compared to $142,147 for data center operations managers with an Bachelor's degree.
Data center operations manager education levelData center operations manager salary
Master's Degree$158,508
High School Diploma or Less$122,506
Bachelor's Degree$142,147
Doctorate Degree$154,218
Some College/ Associate Degree$125,253

Data center operations manager 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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