Network associate engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a network associate engineer. Network associate engineers usually study electrical engineering, business, or computer networking. 64% of network associate engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 297 real network associate engineer resumes to see exactly what network associate engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for network associate engineers are the DeVry University and the DeVry University.

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

There are certain network associate engineer certifications that you should consider. These network associate engineer certifications include CCNP Service Provider Operations (CCNP) and CCNA Routing and Switching Certification (CCNA RS).

What education do you need to become a network associate engineer?

What degree do you need to be a network associate engineer?

The most common degree for network associate engineers is bachelor's degree, with 64% of network associate engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 22% and associate degree degree at 10%.

Bachelor's, 64%

Associate, 22%

Master's, 10%

High School Diploma, 2%

Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a network associate engineer?

You should major in electrical engineering to become a network associate engineer. 23% of network associate engineers major in electrical engineering. Other common majors for a network associate engineer include business and computer networking.

Electrical Engineering, 23%

Business, 12%

Computer Networking, 10%

Computer Science, 8%

Other Majors, 47%

Most common colleges for network associate engineers

Network associate engineers often get their degrees at DeVry University, University of Phoenix, and Colorado Technical University. Here are the most common colleges for network associate engineers in the US based on their resumes.

Network associate engineer common college	Percentages
DeVry University	19.05%
University of Phoenix	9.52%
Colorado Technical University	7.14%
University of Colorado at Boulder	4.76%
New York University	4.76%

Show more common network associate engineer colleges

Best majors for network associate engineers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Electrical Engineering	22.8%
2	Business	11.6%
3	Computer Networking	9.5%
4	Computer Science	8.5%
5	Electrical Engineering Technology	8.5%

Show more common network associate engineer majors

Best colleges for network associate engineers

The best colleges for network associate engineers are Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University.

A network associate 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 network associate 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 network associate engineers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Minnesota State University - Mankato

Mankato, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$8,184

Enrollment

11,675

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

4. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,465

Enrollment

6,483

5. University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$19,080

Enrollment

19,127

6. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon

Bayamon, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,940

Enrollment

4,169

7. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

8. Michigan Technological University

Houghton, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,646

Enrollment

5,736

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

10. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

20 best online courses for network associate engineers

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3. Ansible for Network Engineers: Quick Start GNS3 & Ansible

4.8

(3,873)

Ansible for Network Engineers with GNS3, Ansible and Cisco IOS. Learn Network Automation & Programmability = the future...

4. Python Network Programming for Network Engineers (Python 3)

4.7

(8,322)

Program networks using Python version 3. Learn network programmability with this practical GNS3 and Cisco course...

5. Network Tiers - Optimizing Network Spend

This is a self-paced lab that takes place in the Google Cloud console. In this lab, you create one VM in the premium network service tier (default) and one VM in the standard network service tier. Then you compare the latency and routes for each VM instance...

6. Using APIs for Network Automation

This course will provide a solid foundation for understanding how APIs are utilized in network automation by discussing important topics such as data encoding formats, REST APIs, and the Python Requests library. Upon completion of the course, you will be equipped with the necessary skills to utilize APIs in your network automation solution and be able to describe the usefulness of APIs in this context. This course is primarily intended for network engineers, systems engineers, network...

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4.3

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Network Programmability and Network Automation using GNS3 and Python for Cisco engineers: Telnet, SSH, Paramiko, Netmiko...

8. Linux for Network Engineers: Practical Linux with GNS3

4.6

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9. Computer Networks Foundations - Best Starter Course [2023]

4.5

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Learn foundations of computer network systems in a simplified manner...

10. Microsoft Networking Fundamentals

4.7

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Learn Windows-based networking, network management tools, DNS, TCP/IP, network protocols and much more!...

11. Python for Network Engineers: Netmiko, NAPALM, pyntc, Telnet

4.9

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Program networks using Python. Learn network automation and programmability with this practical course (Cisco networks)...

12. GCP - Google Cloud Professional Cloud Network Engineer

4.4

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Pass Google Cloud Professional Network Certification with 15+ Hours of HD quality video and 90+ Hands-on Practical labs...

13. Virtual Private Networks for beginners - VPN, Cisco training

4.2

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Learn how VPN works and discover protocols like PPTP, L2TP, IPSec and SSL. Build your own VPN network at home. Security...

14. Aviatrix ACE - Multi-Cloud Network Associate Certification

4.3

(270)

The Aviatrix Multi-Cloud Network Certification Training Lectures - Associate Level...

15. Fundamentals of Network Engineering

4.7

(2,316)

Understanding the first principles of networking to build low latency and high throughput backends...

16. Computer Hardware, Operating System and Networking

4.1

(314)

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17. Computer Network: Networking fundamentals + Wireshark Basics

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Learn Computer Networks fundamentals and Wireshark Basics; Build Strong, Successful Foundation in Computer Networking...

18. Ethical Hacking: Network Security & Network Layer Attack

4.5

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Learn Ethical Hacking with Network Security, Sniffing, Subnetting, Networking, Password Cracking & implement Mit M attack...

19. Introduction to Networking

4.6

(678)

IPv4, Subnetting, DNS, DHCP, IPv6, Routing and Switching...

20. Computer Network Fundamentals- IT Helpdesk & Desktop Support

(409)

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

Top 10 most affordable universities for network associate engineers

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

If the best universities for network associate 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 network associate 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. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

5. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

6. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

7. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Cost of attendance

21,302

8. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

9. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

10. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for network associate engineers

The hardest universities for network associate engineers to get into are Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University.

Some great schools for network associate 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 network associate 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. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

5. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

6. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

8. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

9. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

10. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for network associate engineers

The easiest schools for network associate engineers to get into are Capitol Technology University, oregon institute of technology, and kean university.

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

1. Capitol Technology University

Laurel, MD • Private

Admissions rate

69%

SAT average

1,070

2. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

3. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

4. Pennsylvania State University - Altoona

Altoona, PA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,094

5. Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,072

6. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Winona, MN • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,148

7. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

8. Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,111

9. Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

1,086

10. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

Average network associate engineer salary by education level

According to our data, network associate engineers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $73,305 annually. Network associate engineers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $71,565.

Network associate engineer education level	Network associate engineer salary
Master's Degree	$73,305
High School Diploma or Less	$66,349
Bachelor's Degree	$71,565
Some College/ Associate Degree	$66,927

Network associate engineer education FAQs

What is the best college for Network Associate 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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