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Senior data center engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a senior data center engineer. Senior data center engineers usually study electrical engineering, business, or information technology. 55% of senior data center engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 16% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 182 real senior data center engineer resumes to see exactly what senior data center engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for senior data center engineers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

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

What education do you need to become a senior data center engineer?

What degree do you need to be a senior data center engineer?

The most common degree for senior data center engineers is bachelor's degree, with 55% of senior data center engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 16% and master's degree degree at 16%.
  • Bachelor's, 55%
  • Master's, 16%
  • Associate, 16%
  • Diploma, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 9%

What should I major in to become a senior data center engineer?

You should major in electrical engineering to become a senior data center engineer. 20% of senior data center engineers major in electrical engineering. Other common majors for a senior data center engineer include business and information technology.

Most common colleges for senior data center engineers

Senior data center engineers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, San Jose State University, and American InterContinental University. Here are the most common colleges for senior data center engineers in the US based on their resumes.
Senior data center engineer common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix10.34%
San Jose State University10.34%
American InterContinental University10.34%
National University6.90%
Strayer University6.90%

Best majors for senior data center engineers

Best colleges for senior data center engineers

The best colleges for senior data center engineers are Northeastern University, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

A senior data center 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 senior data center 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 senior data center engineers.

1. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,522

Enrollment

13,760

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

3. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

4. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Enrollment

24,841

5. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,785

Enrollment

7,711

6. Minnesota State University - Mankato

Mankato, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$8,184

Enrollment

11,675

7. Milwaukee School of Engineering

Milwaukee, WI • Private

In-state tuition

$40,749

Enrollment

2,582

8. Texas A&M University

College Station, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$11,870

Enrollment

53,194

9. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

10. University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$19,080

Enrollment

19,127

20 best online courses for senior data center engineers

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1. Introduction to Data Engineering

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Start your journey in one of the fastest growing professions today with this beginner-friendly Data Engineering course! You will be introduced to the core concepts, processes, and tools you need to know in order to get a foundational knowledge of data engineering. as well as the roles that Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts play in the ecosystem. You will begin this course by understanding what is data engineering as well as the roles that Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and...

2. Software Defined Networking

coursera

This course provides an introduction to data center networking technologies, more specifically software-defined networking. It covers the history behind SDN, description of networks in data-centers, a concrete data-center network architecture (Microsoft VL2), and traffic engineering...

3. Data Center Infrastructure Design - An Introduction

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4.5
(292)

An overview of data center infrastructure design from a structured cabling system designer's perspective...

4. CCIE Data Center - VXLAN EVPN

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4.7
(256)

A Complete Practical Learning For VXLAN EVPN in Cisco Nexus Switches. A CCIE Data Center Guide For VXLAN EVPN...

5. Data Engineering, Big Data, and Machine Learning on GCP

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87% of Google Cloud certified users feel more confident in their cloud skills. This program provides the skills you need to advance your career and provides training to support your preparation for the industry-recognized Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer certification.\n\nHere's what you have to do\n\n1) Complete the Coursera Data Engineering Professional Certificate\n\n2) Review other recommended resources for the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer certification exam\n\n3) Review...

6. Spark, Hadoop, and Snowflake for Data Engineering

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e.g. This is primarily aimed at first- and second-year undergraduates interested in engineering or science, along with high school students and professionals with an interest in programmingGain the skills for building efficient and scalable data pipelines. Explore essential data engineering platforms (Hadoop, Spark, and Snowflake) as well as learn how to optimize and manage them. Delve into Databricks, a powerful platform for executing data analytics and machine learning tasks, while honing...

7. Data Center Essentials: Power & Electrical

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4.6
(1,582)

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

8. Data Center Essentials: Mechanical & Cooling

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4.5
(892)

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

9. CCNA and CCNP Real World Labs - Data Centers and Cabling

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4.5
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A Data Center Tour and the Physical Layer, including Cable Testers and Analyzers by Fluke and Ideal Networks...

10. Data Center Essentials: General Introduction

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4.6
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Where the cloud and the internet lives...

11. Azure Data Factory For Data Engineers - Project on Covid19

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4.7
(10,460)

Real world project for Data Engineers using Azure Data Factory, SQL, Data Lake, Databricks, HDInsight, CI/CD [DP203]...

12. An Introduction to Machine Learning for Data Engineers

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4.4
(3,291)

A Prerequisite for Tensorflow on Google's Cloud Platform for Data Engineers...

13. VMware vSAN: Deploy and Manage V7

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4.1
(370)

Deploying & Managing a software-defined storage Solution v SAN Node Management, Monitoring Training for beginners...

14. Atlassian Bamboo Data Center from Beginner to Advanced!

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4.4
(1,566)

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

15. Cisco ASA Firewall Training

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4.3
(617)

This course will cover functionality , setup, configuration, troubleshooting and Failover of Cisco ASA Firewall...

16. NetApp ONTAP 9 Storage Essentials

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4.7
(2,530)

Become a SAN and NAS Storage Ninja and pass the Net App NCDA exam in 2023!...

17. VMware vSphere 6.7 Optimize Upgrade Troubleshoot w. Ebook

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4.7
(898)

34.5hrs of VMware v Sphere 6.7 lectures, lab demos to learn ESXi / v Center, for VCP / VCAP VMware Certification and more...

18. Learning Path: Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

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4.8
(281)

Manage your infrastructure and build advanced, practical concepts with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager...

19. Data Engineering using AWS Data Analytics

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4.6
(1,720)

Build Data Engineering Pipelines on AWS using Data Analytics Services - Glue, EMR, Athena, Kinesis, Lambda, Redshift...

20. Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Practice Tests

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4.3
(553)

Pass the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Exam...

Top 10 most affordable universities for senior data center engineers

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

If the best universities for senior data center 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 senior data center 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. National University College - Bayamon

Bayamon, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$6,675

Cost of attendance

12,941

10. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for senior data center engineers

The hardest universities for senior data center engineers to get into are Northeastern University, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for senior data center 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 senior data center 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 senior data center engineers

The easiest schools for senior data center 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 senior data center 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 senior data center 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. Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,111

9. Purdue University Fort Wayne

Fort Wayne, IN • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,080

10. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

Average senior data center engineer salary by education level

According to our data, senior data center engineers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $115,313 annually. Senior data center engineers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $111,484.
Senior data center engineer education levelSenior data center engineer salary
Master's Degree$115,313
High School Diploma or Less$100,234
Bachelor's Degree$111,484
Some College/ Associate Degree$101,464

Senior data center engineer 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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