Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for installation specialists in the United States
Are installation specialist jobs in demand?
Installation specialist job and salary trends over time
Installation specialist jobs over time
Installation specialist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,772 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 10,745 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 2,628 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 1,293 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 1,258 | 0.00% |
Average installation specialist salary over time
Installation specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $49,602 | $23.85 | +3.4% |
| 2025 | $47,968 | $23.06 | +2.3% |
| 2024 | $46,882 | $22.54 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | $46,174 | $22.20 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $45,420 | $21.84 | +1.6% |
Installation specialist jobs by state
Most common states for installation specialists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 410 | 59% |
| 2 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 153 | 20% |
| 3 | Vermont | 623,657 | 124 | 20% |
| 4 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 357 | 19% |
| 5 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,523 | 18% |
| 6 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 533 | 17% |
| 7 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 175 | 17% |
| 8 | Alaska | 739,795 | 128 | 17% |
| 9 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 975 | 16% |
| 10 | Delaware | 961,939 | 158 | 16% |
| 11 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 92 | 16% |
| 12 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,062 | 15% |
| 13 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 460 | 15% |
| 14 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 194 | 15% |
| 15 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 128 | 15% |
| 16 | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 194 | 14% |
| 17 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 193 | 14% |
| 18 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 748 | 13% |
| 19 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 549 | 13% |
| 20 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 142 | 13% |
Most common cities for installation specialists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangor | 1 | 3% | $47,867 |
| 2 | Hilo | 1 | 2% | $45,903 |
| 3 | Lombard | 1 | 2% | $43,164 |
| 4 | Palm Springs | 1 | 2% | $51,680 |
| 5 | Davenport | 1 | 1% | $38,714 |
| 6 | Lansing | 1 | 1% | $48,804 |
| 7 | Ontario | 1 | 1% | $52,004 |
| 8 | Pompano Beach | 1 | 1% | $42,539 |
| 9 | Portland | 1 | 1% | $49,028 |
| 10 | Houston | 2 | 0% | $55,362 |
| 11 | Fresno | 1 | 0% | $52,908 |
| 12 | Omaha | 1 | 0% | $39,393 |
| 13 | Sacramento | 1 | 0% | $52,574 |
Installation Specialist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of installation specialist experts
Governors State University
Texas A&M University San Antonio
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Grand Valley State University
Tiffin University
Rowan University
Binghamton University, SUNY
North Carolina Central University
Lasell University
Governors State University
American Public University System
New York Institute of Technology
Forsyth County, Georgia
Carleton College
Slippery Rock University
Stetson University
Saint Peter's University
American University
What will help Installation Specialists increase their earning potential?
Rich Manprisio MPM, PMP: Certifications help set you apart from other graduates. When just starting out focus on vendor neutral certifications that can show potential employers that you are willing to get the necessary additional certifications that are prevalent in the IT field.
Robert Vinaja Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Computer Information SystemsTexas A&M University San Antonio
Computer Information Systems Department
What soft skills should all Installation Specialists possess?
Robert Vinaja Ph.D.: -Ability to work as part of a team.
-Attention to detail.
-Problem-solving and analytical skills.
Deepak Khazanchi Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Community Engagement & Internationalization Officer, Professor of Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis, Director, Executive Master’s of Science in Information Technology (EMIT) Program, Executive Director, Center for Management of IT (CMIT), Fulbright Grantee (Specialist 2014; Core 2020-21)University of Nebraska at Omaha
College of Information Science & Technology
What's a good job out of college for Installation Specialists?
Deepak Khazanchi Ph.D.: I think the "best" and "interesting" jobs in my view will be those that leverage emerging technical skills such as AI/ML, data analytics, cybersecurity and medical informatics, with the nontechnical capabilities mentioned above.
What technical skills for an Installation Specialist stand out to employers?
Chirag Parikh Ph.D.: If you ask me, I consider valuable experience over good paycheck. Once you have gained that experience the paycheck will follow. As soon as you are out of college, the knowledge gained is very fresh and raring to go. If put into the right place can enhance your technical skills and you can do wonders.
As a Computer Engineering professor, I would say the job opportunities are tremendous for students out of college as they can venture into hardware field (technical support, hardware engineer, test engineer and much more) as well as software field (software engineer, software developer, software tester and much more). The possibilities are endless.
With COVID and employees working remotely there is still ample opportunity to enhance your technical and interpersonal skills as I believe remote working might stay for a while till things get back to normal.
What type of skills will young Installation Specialists need?
George Miller: Many organizations realize graduates cannot learn everything in college about their major but want the graduate to have a solid foundation on their field of study. The organization wants to mold the graduate to their company environment with how they do things related to the field of study. Most companies want college graduates to have good communication skills (both oral and written), critical thinking skills and be able to work well in teams. These skills have been a staple for graduates since I can remember. This is why a college graduate takes many general education courses related to these skills and many of their major courses emphasize these skills.
Going back to the previous answer I believe graduates in all fields of study will need a better knowledge of technology and easier adaptability to changing technology. Again, an IS degree is already preparing students for this.
Dr. Kate Seltzer Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorRowan University
Department of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural education
How would you rate the starting salaries for Installation Specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Dr. Kate Seltzer Ph.D.: Educators are not paid nearly enough. However, working in a state with strong teachers' unions helps to ensure a starting salary that recent graduates can live off of and growth opportunities, albeit modest, over their careers.
Matthew McConn
Associate Professor of English Education, Department ChairBinghamton University, SUNY
Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership
How would you rate the starting salaries for Installation Specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Matthew McConn: Here, in the state of New York, I think the salaries are competitive, depending on where you live.
Elisha Blankson
Program Director NCCU, Assistant ProfessorNorth Carolina Central University
Communication Disorders Department
What type of skills will young Installation Specialists need?
Elisha Blankson: Graduates will need a skill set about the field in which they received training and additional skills useful to the job market. For example, with the changing demographics in the United States, extra skills in information technology and foreign languages will be a plus when entering the job market.
Dr. Deirdre Donovan
Associate Professor of Mathematics, Program Chair for Mathematics and Data ScienceLasell University
Mathematics Department
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Installation Specialists to find work opportunities?
Dr. Deirdre Donovan: Whether this question asks about physical locations, or online locations, or the economy sectors: to answer all of those, the key is analytics. Most industries turn to data to make decisions that will only grow to help manage pandemic related challenges. Every sector of the economy is using data to guide decisions. Young graduates bring fresh ideas and skills to every problem presented. The key for young grads is networking anywhere and everywhere, ensuring one's value is seen by hiring managers.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Installation Specialist job market given the pandemic?
Stephen Hyzny: Security, as more people need online services, the protection behind that technology will be needed.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Installation Specialists in the next 5 years?
Stephen Hyzny: As everything involves technology, more educated people will need it in the future. As our cars, houses, and lives connect, people will be required to make it all work.
Dr. Elizabeth Keavney Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorAmerican Public University System
Public Administration Department
How do you envision technology impacting Installation Specialists in the next 5 years?
Dr. Elizabeth Keavney Ph.D.: COVID-19 has increased the number of people who are working at home. This means a solid basic knowledge of telecommuting, and the ability to work unsupervised will be necessary. The ability to use remote security protocols, the cloud, and various software platforms will be required.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Installation Specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.: -The enormous growth of IoT and wearables. The number of connected devices is expected to be more than 26 billion in 2020. That includes things like household appliances, controllable lighting, and much more. This trend is likely to continue as it is expected to see the industry grow to 661 billion dollars by 2021.
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Installation Specialists to find work opportunities?
Donna Kukarola: This one, not so sure of, the southeast continues to see options as well as mid-western states.
What type of skills will young Installation Specialists need?
Joshua Davis Ph.D.: Studying mathematics is good practice for rigorous thinking and problem solving, which are valued across the workforce. For science and engineering applications, it is often also helpful to have R, Python, Matlab, or another popular programming language. But technical abilities get the graduate-only so far. They need interpersonal communication skills so that they can understand the needs of stakeholders and cooperate with colleagues. For this reason, many faculty at my school emphasize writing, speaking, listening, and teamwork skills.
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorSlippery Rock University
Department of Information Systems
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Installation Specialists?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: It is obvious that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and transformed the lives of many people, including students all over the world. A major effect is requiring students to stay and learn from home because of the closure of educational institutions as a precautionary measure. Missing saying the traditional goodbye to friends, fraternities, and sororities, and having to watch commencement ceremonies in bedrooms online will leave an indelible mark in graduates.
This means a great U-shift in memories of college life, including physical interaction and learning environment, and systems adopting a new way of doing things. Graduates will enter the job market with uncertainties of availability of traditional jobs and how to work in a new normal. Many graduates will find themselves having to search for jobs virtually and having to start working remotely from the beginning in most cases and in most industries. What would have been a new beginning, along with the excitement of stepping through the doors of the new office and career, will not be there physically. This will have an impact on these graduates because of the transformation of society as a result of the pandemic.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Installation Specialists to find work opportunities?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: Sometimes new graduates from college can find it hard to get the perfect or preferred job location. This may be different for those with information sciences or information systems and related degrees. Luckily there are big companies, multinational companies as well as some-sized enterprises who need skills in that discipline. Most of these can be found in some of the big cities beyond Silicon Valley such as NY, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Denver, Colorado, Philadelphia, Chicago, DC, Charlotte, Houston, Boston, Dallas, and Minneapolis, just to name a few.
Some of these locations are where some of the big tech companies reside, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, IBM, HP, SAP, etc. The advantage of this degree is that graduates not only can work for tech companies but any company because of the need to manage data, information, process, and technology. Companies all over have or are putting together strategies to harness the potential of big data, and graduates with information sciences, information systems, and related degrees are sought after continuously.
How do you envision technology impacting Installation Specialists in the next 5 years?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: The trend we have witnessed in the past two decades in terms of development in technology is unprecedented. This has a ripple effect on the field of information sciences and systems. Most traditional jobs have changed or rebranded. For example, consider how information and data processing and management (IDPM) has revolutionized into what is today information management or management information systems; business intelligence is almost transformed into business analytics, data science; high-performance computing, and grid computing is today predominantly engulfed by cloud computing services.
These are changing how data and information are managed. The decision-making process is changing in various information and knowledge-intensive and process-oriented industries such as healthcare, banking, transportation, engineering, education, security, just to name a few, despite the fact that roles and services still remain. New and emerging disciplines and services are added, driven by the advancement and greater capabilities of technology. Without a doubt, in the next few years, data and information services will be revolutionized by technology hugely. Consider the development in artificial intelligence, data science, blockchain, 5G, and broadband networks, all of which have huge potential to impact the discipline. This means that information sciences and information systems courses must adapt to take into consideration the emerging skills required by the professionals and businesses of the future. The education and training of professionals in this domain have to be continuously changing to prepare graduates adequately.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Installation Specialists?
Dr. Hala ElAarag: I didn't see any negative impact of coronavirus on our graduates. Our graduates did not have any problem finding internships and jobs during the pandemic. After the pandemic, there will be even more demand and opportunities for our graduates.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Installation Specialists to find work opportunities?
Dr. Hala ElAarag: Not really. With the increasing shift of working remotely, the jobs now are not tied to a specific location in the US or anywhere in the world.
How do you envision technology impacting Installation Specialists in the next 5 years?
Dr. Hala ElAarag: In our field, it might be more appropriate the other way around. I would like to rephrase the question as to how does the computer science field impact technology in the next five years? The answer is tremendous. With fields like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, visual, and augmented reality making great strides, there is no doubt that we will witness a revolution in technology in the next five years.
How do you envision technology impacting Installation Specialists in the next 5 years?
Edward Moskal: Technology will have a significant impact over the next five years. While technology associated with the software, databases, blockchain, cloud computing, and cybersecurity will still have an impact, we are likely to see significant changes and advancements in fields such as artificial intelligence, combinations of augmented and mixed reality, and quantum computing. Industry and business will be driving these advancements, in particular, the healthcare industry and large tech companies like Google and Facebook that have already started establishing a strong presence in these fields.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Installation Specialists to find work opportunities?
Kathleen Riley: My computer science students from the class of 2020 had a variety of experiences when they entered the job market after graduation. Those who had already signed on at companies like Amazon or Google, whose business stayed strong during the pandemic and whose workplace models adjusted easily to remote work, had a relatively easy time starting their industry jobs. Others, especially those who had planned to work for companies whose business depended on clients or industries which suffered under the pandemic, saw delays, changes in their work plans, and even cancellations of contracts; several found themselves job hunting again over the summer, interviewing remotely and having to assess companies without setting foot outside their own home. Fortunately, there are still a lot of jobs out there for Computer Science graduates, and most of the students I know have found other placements or are well into that process.
We all know about the abundance of computer science opportunities in the Silicon Valley, the Dulles Technology corridor, and other tech hubs, but there is also an abundance of computer science opportunities in large and small cities throughout the country. In addition to businesses whose focus or products are technology-related, many other businesses have significant technology and computer science needs that are provided in-house, and those who thrive and survive will continue to hire.