Process & automation engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a process & automation engineer. Process & automation engineers usually study electrical engineering, chemical engineering, or mechanical engineering. 78% of process & automation engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 12% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 248 real process & automation engineer resumes to see exactly what process & automation engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for process & automation engineers are the Purdue University and the Purdue University.

There are also many online process & automation engineer courses to help get the education required to be a process & automation engineer.

What education do you need to become a process & automation engineer?

What degree do you need to be a process & automation engineer?

The most common degree for process & automation engineers is bachelor's degree, with 78% of process & automation engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 12% and master's degree degree at 6%.

Bachelor's, 78%

Master's, 12%

Associate, 6%

Diploma, 2%

Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a process & automation engineer?

You should major in electrical engineering to become a process & automation engineer. 25% of process & automation engineers major in electrical engineering. Other common majors for a process & automation engineer include chemical engineering and mechanical engineering.

Electrical Engineering, 25%

Chemical Engineering, 22%

Mechanical Engineering, 12%

Computer Engineering, 6%

Other Majors, 35%

Most common colleges for process & automation engineers

Process & automation engineers often get their degrees at Purdue University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Northeastern University. Here are the most common colleges for process & automation engineers in the US based on their resumes.

Process & automation engineer common college	Percentages
Purdue University	12.96%
Georgia Institute of Technology	11.11%
Northeastern University	7.41%
University of Washington	5.56%
University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras Campus	5.56%

Show more common process & automation engineer colleges

Best majors for process & automation engineers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Electrical Engineering	25.3%
2	Chemical Engineering	21.8%
3	Mechanical Engineering	12.4%
4	Computer Engineering	5.9%
5	Computer Science	5.9%

Show more common process & automation engineer majors

Best colleges for process & automation engineers

The best colleges for process & automation engineers are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A process & automation 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 process & automation 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 process & automation engineers.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

3. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

6. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

10. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

20 best online courses for process & automation engineers

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2. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

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3. Executive Briefing: Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

4.4

(2,817)

Robotic Process Automation for Executives and Top-Level Managers: understand RPA in under 30 Minutes...

4. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - Automation Anywhere v11

4.5

(702)

Learn how to build robots using Automation Anywhere v11!...

5. Automate tasks and processes with Jira

In this 2 and a half hours long guided project you will learn the basics of Jira automation. You will create automation rules using triggers, conditions and actions to auto assign tasks, apply sub tasks templates to reflect your business processed into your project management. You will add branches applying conditions based on relationships between issues so to automatically update their status depending on completion of their sub-tasks. Finally you will use smart values to interact with Jira...

6. Robotic Process Automation - RPA Overview

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7. From Wire to PLC , A Bootcamp In Industrial Automation

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Interactive 3D platform to build and simulate Industrial Automation system...

11. Automation Anywhere 360/A2019 - Complete RPA Training Course

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(854)

Learn Robotic Process Automation (RPA) with Automation Anywhere (Automation 360) from scratch - Build 7 Robots...

12. Process Visualization (Level 3)

4.6

(1,939)

Learn HMI / SCADA hands-on by developing your own live interfaces for a running system...

13. Leadership, Business Process Improvement, & Process Mapping!

4.5

(3,086)

Learn the leadership, communication, and process mapping skills to accelerate your career!...

14. Process Mining with Celonis

4.4

(1,084)

Learn and practice how to combine data science and process mapping techniques to visualize processes with real data...

15. Process Improvement

4.6

(1,844)

#1 Process Improvement course: The step by step guide on how to deliver effective and lasting process improvements...

16. Robotic Process Automation: RPA Overview + Build a Robot

4.3

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17. Power Automate - Complete Guide to Microsoft Power Automate

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Automate all your tasks using Microsoft Power Automate (Microsoft Flow) with the only complete basic to advanced guide...

18. RPA & Intelligent Automation Using Python

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(362)

Excel Automation Extract from PDFs & Images Web Scraping With In-depth coverage of Python...

19. Advanced Process Control & Safety Instrumented Systems SIS

4.5

(783)

Learn how the main process equipment such as chemical reactors , pumps , compressors & heat exchangers are controlled...

20. Operations Management A-Z: Business Processes and Systems

4.6

(4,741)

Operations Management: Supply Chain & Business Processes in Industry for Manufacturing and Services Organizations...

Top 10 most affordable universities for process & automation engineers

The most affordable schools for process & automation engineers are University of Florida, united states merchant marine academy, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for process & automation 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 process & automation engineers.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. United States Merchant Marine Academy

Kings Point, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$1,080

Cost of attendance

6,646

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

5. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

6. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

7. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

8. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

9. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

10. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for process & automation engineers

The hardest universities for process & automation engineers to get into are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for process & automation 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 process & automation 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. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

2. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

5. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

6. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,512

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

10. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,465

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for process & automation engineers

The easiest schools for process & automation engineers to get into are Texas A&M; University - Kingsville, oregon institute of technology, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a process & automation 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 process & automation engineers.

1. Texas A&M University - Kingsville

Kingsville, TX • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,035

2. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. Pennsylvania State University - Fayette (The Eberly Campus)

Lemont Furnace, PA • Private

Admissions rate

80%

SAT average

1,067

5. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

6. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

7. The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,046

8. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

9. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

10. Capitol Technology University

Laurel, MD • Private

Admissions rate

69%

SAT average

1,070

Average process & automation engineer salary by education level

Process & automation engineers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $98,894 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, process & automation engineers earn a median annual income of $90,245 compared to $78,692 for process & automation engineers with an Associate degree.

Process & automation engineer education level	Process & automation engineer salary
Master's Degree	$98,894
Bachelor's Degree	$90,245
Some College/ Associate Degree	$78,692

Process & automation engineer education FAQs

What is the best college for Process & Automation Engineers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.

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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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