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Field test engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a field test engineer. Field test engineers usually study electrical engineering, electrical engineering technology, or mechanical engineering. 65% of field test engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 949 real field test engineer resumes to see exactly what field test engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for field test engineers are the The University of Texas at Arlington and the The University of Texas at Arlington.

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

What education do you need to become a field test engineer?

What degree do you need to be a field test engineer?

The most common degree for field test engineers is bachelor's degree, with 65% of field test engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 15% and master's degree degree at 12%.
  • Bachelor's, 65%
  • Master's, 15%
  • Associate, 12%
  • High School Diploma, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 4%

What should I major in to become a field test engineer?

You should major in electrical engineering to become a field test engineer. 45% of field test engineers major in electrical engineering. Other common majors for a field test engineer include electrical engineering technology and mechanical engineering.

Most common colleges for field test engineers

Field test engineers often get their degrees at The University of Texas at Arlington, DeVry University, and Ohio State University. Here are the most common colleges for field test engineers in the US based on their resumes.
Field test engineer common collegePercentages
The University of Texas at Arlington13.33%
DeVry University8.57%
Ohio State University5.71%
San Diego State University5.71%
Pennsylvania State University5.71%

Best majors for field test engineers

Best colleges for field test engineers

The best colleges for field test engineers are Northeastern University, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

A field test 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 field test 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 field test engineers.

1. Michigan Technological University

Houghton, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,646

Enrollment

5,736

2. Wentworth Institute of Technology

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$33,950

Enrollment

4,254

3. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,522

Enrollment

13,760

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

6. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

7. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

8. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

9. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

10. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Enrollment

24,841

20 best online courses for field test engineers

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Top 10 most affordable universities for field test engineers

The most affordable schools for field test engineers are California State University - Long Beach, suny farmingdale, and inter american university of puerto rico bayamon.

If the best universities for field test 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 field test engineers.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon

Bayamon, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,940

Cost of attendance

13,508

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Cost of attendance

21,302

6. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

7. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

8. West Virginia University Institute of Technology

Beckley, WV • Private

In-state tuition

$7,464

Cost of attendance

17,166

9. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

10. National University College - Bayamon

Bayamon, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$6,675

Cost of attendance

12,941

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for field test engineers

The hardest universities for field test engineers to get into are Northeastern University, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for field test 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 field test 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. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

4. Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

51%

SAT average

1,395

5. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

6. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

7. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

8. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

9. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

10. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for field test engineers

The easiest schools for field test 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 field test 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 field test 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. Pennsylvania State University - Berks

Reading, PA • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,107

5. South Dakota State University

Brookings, SD • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,149

6. Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi, TX • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,068

7. Alabama A & M University

Normal, AL • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

957

8. Purdue University Fort Wayne

Fort Wayne, IN • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,080

9. Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,111

10. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

Average field test engineer salary by education level

According to our data, field test engineers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $88,744 annually. Field test engineers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $81,214.
Field test engineer education levelField test engineer salary
Master's Degree$81,214
Bachelor's Degree$73,156
Doctorate Degree$88,744

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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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