Best Computer Network Support Specialist programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Analyze, test, troubleshoot, and evaluate existing network systems, such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), cloud networks, servers, and other data communications networks.
29 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 6,166 people a year. The job pays a median of — in North Carolina across about 6,080 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own North Carolina page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 11.0701In North Carolina → | 3,741 | 60.7% | 24 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 2 | CIP 11.0901In North Carolina → | 1,642 | 26.6% | 4 | $43,901 | $22,822 |
| 3 | CIP 11.1003In North Carolina → | 627 | 10.2% | 16 | $48,185 | $25,250 |
| 4 | CIP 11.1001In North Carolina → | 104 | 1.7% | 2 | $48,185 | $25,250 |
| 5 | CIP 11.1002In North Carolina → | 26 | 0.4% | 1 | $48,185 | $25,250 |
| 6 | CIP 11.1006In North Carolina → | 24 | 0.4% | 1 | $48,185 | $25,250 |
| 7 | CIP 11.0902In North Carolina → | 2 | 0.0% | 1 | $43,901 | $22,822 |
Top 25 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 18 of the 29 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MyComputerCareer at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Private for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 1,963 | Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications | $38,028 | 60% | $26,791 | — |
| 2 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 1,271 | Computer Science | $67,704 | 69% | — | 80% |
| 3 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 899 | Computer Science | $85,809 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 4 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 420 | Computer Science | $90,293 | 91% | — | 15% |
| 5 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC Public · 4 feeder programs | 320 | Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications | $48,077 | 56% | — | 89% |
| 6 | Duke University Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 314 | Computer Science | $133,356 | 97% | $16,260 | 6% |
| 7 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 3 feeder programs | 154 | Computer Science | $81,174 | 57% | — | 50% |
| 8 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 147 | Computer Science | $68,675 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 9 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 137 | Computer Science | $66,977 | 71% | — | 64% |
| 10 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 3 feeder programs | 132 | Computer Science | $65,958 | 63% | — | 89% |
| 11 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Computer Science | $75,625 | 89% | $20,914 | 22% |
| 12 | Fayetteville State University Fayetteville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 40 | Computer Science | $50,940 | 38% | — | 82% |
| 13 | Elon University Elon, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Computer Science | — | 84% | $33,688 | 66% |
| 14 | Davidson College Davidson, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Computer Science | — | 91% | $16,628 | 13% |
| 15 | Strayer University - North Carolina Greensboro, NC Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 32 | Computer Support Specialist | $61,810 | 33% | — | — |
| 16 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Computer Science | $28,892 | 60% | — | 82% |
| 17 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 28 | Computer Science | $38,417 | 44% | — | 93% |
| 18 | High Point University High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 25 | Computer Science | — | 74% | $37,072 | 75% |
| 19 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance | $54,232 | 61% | $23,331 | 87% |
| 20 | University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Computer Science | $48,076 | 54% | — | 92% |
| 21 | Montreat College Montreat, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance | — | 50% | $25,763 | 69% |
| 22 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Computer Science | — | 70% | $19,552 | 74% |
| 23 | Shaw University Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Computer Science | — | 22% | $16,542 | 80% |
| 24 | Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Computer Science | — | 44% | — | 64% |
| 25 | University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Computer Science | — | 52% | $16,473 | 76% |
All 29 schools in North Carolina
Every school in North Carolina with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyComputerCareer at Raleigh | Raleigh | Private for-profit | 1,963 | 4 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | Public | 1,271 | 2 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | Public | 899 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | Public | 420 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro | Public | 320 | 4 |
| Duke University | Durham | Private not-for-profit | 314 | 1 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | Greensboro | Public | 154 | 3 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone | Public | 147 | 2 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | Wilmington | Public | 137 | 2 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville | Public | 132 | 3 |
| Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem | Private not-for-profit | 52 | 1 |
| Fayetteville State University | Fayetteville | Public | 40 | 2 |
| Elon University | Elon | Private not-for-profit | 37 | 1 |
| Davidson College | Davidson | Private not-for-profit | 35 | 1 |
| Strayer University - North Carolina | Greensboro | Private for-profit | 32 | 2 |
What computer network support specialists earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Concentrated here: North Carolina employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in North Carolina
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Computer Network Support Specialists page.
How to become a Computer Network Support Specialist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in North Carolina
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Computer Network Support Specialists9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0201Computer Programming/Programmer, General
- 11.0501Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst
- 11.0701Computer Science
- 11.0901Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
- 11.0902Cloud Computing
- 11.1001Network and System Administration/Administrator
- 11.1002System, Networking, and LAN/WAN Management/Manager
- 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance
- 11.1006Computer Support Specialist
Common questions
Answers for people weighing computer network support specialists programs in North Carolina.
What degree do you need to become a Computer Network Support Specialist?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 3,741 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 60.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer Network Support Specialist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. Together they graduate about 6,166 people a year in North Carolina.
Is demand for computer network support specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +1.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 9,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+
29 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 7 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do computer network support specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Network Specialist, Network Technician, Systems Specialist, Network Technical Analyst among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1231.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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