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Team lead engineer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a team lead engineer. Team lead engineers usually study mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or computer science. 69% of team lead engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 2,605 real team lead engineer resumes to see exactly what team lead engineer education sections show.
The most common colleges for team lead engineers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online team lead engineer courses to help get the education required to be a team lead engineer.
There are certain team lead engineer certifications that you should consider. These team lead engineer certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP) and Six Sigma Green Belt.
What education do you need to become a team lead engineer?
What degree do you need to be a team lead engineer?
- Bachelor's, 69%
- Master's, 15%
- Associate, 9%
- High School Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a team lead engineer?
- Computer Science, 11%
- Business, 10%
- Other Majors, 41%
Most common colleges for team lead engineers
| Team lead engineer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 8.49% |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | 7.38% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 6.64% |
| DeVry University | 6.27% |
| Purdue University | 5.90% |
Best majors for team lead engineers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mechanical Engineering | 21.2% |
| 2 | Electrical Engineering | 17.5% |
| 3 | Computer Science | 10.7% |
| 4 | Business | 9.5% |
| 5 | Engineering | 5.0% |
Best colleges for team lead engineers
The best colleges for team lead engineers are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and Johns Hopkins University.
A team lead 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 team lead 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 team lead engineers.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
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. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
6. Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,646
Enrollment
5,736
7. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
9. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
10. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE • Private
In-state tuition
$9,242
Enrollment
20,592
20 best online courses for team lead engineers
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1. Challenges of Leading Technical Teams
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2. Principles of Leadership: Leading Technical Teams
This class is about becoming a Great Leader. Great Leaders know how to hire great individuals, form and empower great teams, and delegate to those teams appropriately. Working together with the team, they envision what the organization could be and inspire others to help execute the strategy that will take them there. They protect their team members, empower them, and help them to improve and grow while the team members, in turn, help the organization improve and grow. Great Leaders’ ambition...
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New manager training for engineers - smooth the transition from individual contributor to manager or team lead...
4. Form Your Virtual Team & Lead Your Virtual Team
These days everything's moving online, even your team. Learn what it takes to form your team & lead, virtual style...
5. Engineering Project Management: Risk, Quality, Teams, and Procurement
Many Project Managers focus only on the scope, schedule and budget. However, a successful project requires that you manage risk, control the quality of the deliverables, engage and manage people and procure goods and services. This course will focus on these key support functions that make the difference between a highly successful project and an average one. During the course, you will prepare a Qualitative Risk Analysis and Evaluate the Cost of Quality for a provided Case Study. By the end of...
6. Leadership Development for Engineers
Engineers wanting to advance their careers must be able to lead teams effectively.\n\nThis Specialization is designed for professional engineers who are interested in advancing into leadership and management roles. You’ll develop awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader, and you’ll learn to leverage your strengths and control for your weaknesses when you’re placed in charge of a team or project. You’ll also learn to manage relationships with your team members and colleagues...
7. Fundamentals of Database Engineering
Learn ACID, Indexing, Partitioning, Sharding, Concurrency control, Replication, DB Engines, Best Practices and More!...
8. Data Engineering Essentials using SQL, Python, and PySpark
Learn key Data Engineering Skills such as SQL, Python, Apache Spark (Spark SQL and Pyspark) with Exercises and Projects...
9. Engineering Project Management
Master strategies and tools to more effectively and successfully manage projects.\n\nToday’s professional environment is highly competitive, continuously changing, and difficult to manage. Employees rarely reach positions of leadership without managing one or more projects or a project segment early in their career.\n\nBrought to you by the Rice Center of Engineering Leadership and team behind the engineering management master's program, the goal of this Specialization is to give you the tools...
10. Leading Diverse Teams
This course addresses the leadership skills and competencies that are requisite for leading across cultures in a global business environment. Participants will learn from frameworks, principles, and practices regarding how to leverage their cross-cultural business experiences for greater influence and effectiveness across cultural contexts (teams, organizations, regions, countries, etc.). Participants will develop working knowledge of the Cultural Intelligence (CQ) framework, including the four...
11. Unreal Engine 5 C++ Developer: Learn C++ & Make Video Games
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12. Unreal Engine 5 C++ Multiplayer Shooter
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13. Leading Teams: Building Effective Team Cultures
In this foundational course, you will immerse yourself in the idea of building effective team cultures. You will explore different facets of team culture that are at the root of effective teams. You'll learn more about cultures of safety, engagement, and growth, so that you can lead your teams toward cultures that facilitate the most effective teamwork. This course is part of Gies College of Business’ suite of online programs, including the iMBA and iMSM. Learn more about admission into these...
14. Engineering Project Management: Initiating and Planning
The goal of the course is to give you the tools to initiate a project plan, manage both stakeholders and relationships, organize their team, develop a project charter, and build a business case for a project. By the end of this course you will be able to: - Perform a project assessment using information from previous projects and lessons learned - Identify key deliverables based on business requirements while managing customer expectations - Perform a stakeholder analysis and create a...
15. Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Practice Tests
Pass the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Exam...
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17. Managing Major Engineering Projects
Accelerate your career by improving your project management skills. This Specialization delivers a rigorous exploration of the best practices for planning and delivering these major engineering projects. You’ll learn about the measures of success, how to resolve challenges of governance and typical financing approaches of these projects.\n\nIf you are an engineer or a project manager and you aspire to get involved with major engineering projects, or you are already working on one, then this...
18. Building Your Team: How to put together the perfect team
Learn how to build, support, & lead more effective teams & create a culture of teamwork within your organization...
19. Management Skills - Team Leadership Skills Masterclass
Leadership & Management Skills - Change Management- Lean BPM Management Skills - Team Management - Team Building...
20. Unreal Engine 5 C++ The Ultimate Game Developer Course
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Top 10 most affordable universities for team lead engineers
The most affordable schools for team lead engineers are California State University - Long Beach, suny farmingdale, and university of florida.
If the best universities for team lead 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 team lead 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. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
4. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
5. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
6. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
Mayaguez, PR • Private
In-state tuition
$4,094
Cost of attendance
14,302
7. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
8. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Socorro, NM • Private
In-state tuition
$7,770
Cost of attendance
21,244
9. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for team lead engineers
The hardest universities for team lead engineers to get into are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and Johns Hopkins University.
Some great schools for team lead 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 team lead 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
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
3. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
4. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
5. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
6. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
7. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
8. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,471
9. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
10. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,465
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for team lead engineers
The easiest schools for team lead engineers to get into are Oregon Institute of Technology, oklahoma wesleyan university, and capitol technology university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a team lead 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 team lead engineers.
1. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
3. Capitol Technology University
Laurel, MD • Private
Admissions rate
69%
SAT average
1,070
4. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
5. The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, TX • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,046
6. Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Kingsville, TX • Private
Admissions rate
89%
SAT average
1,035
7. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
8. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
9. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
10. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
Average team lead engineer salary by education level
| Team lead engineer education level | Team lead engineer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $128,353 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $113,705 |
| Doctorate Degree | $138,859 |
Team lead engineer education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025