Best degree programs for Computer Hardware Engineers, ranked by enrollment
4 college programs and 476 schools train Computer Hardware Engineers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $161,740 median wage, 76,660 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
4 college programs at 476 schools train computer hardware engineers, graduating 42,837 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Electrical and Electronics Engineering. The job pays a median of $161,740 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About computer hardware engineers
Research, design, develop, or test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
4 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 14.1001 | 26,622 | 62.1% | 425 | $77,636 | $25,000 |
| 2 | Computer Engineering, Generalmain feeder CIP 14.0901 | 13,854 | 32.3% | 303 | $78,333 | $24,098 |
| 3 | CIP 14.4701 | 2,242 | 5.2% | 47 | — | — |
| 4 | Computer Hardware Engineeringmain feeder CIP 14.0902 | 119 | 0.3% | 7 | $78,333 | $24,098 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What computer hardware engineers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $185,180 | 19,820 | 2.21× | 40 | 6,877 |
| Texas | $163,860 | 7,390 | 1.06× | 38 | 3,625 |
| New York | $163,470 | 3,020 | 0.63× | 29 | 2,996 |
| Florida | $134,160 | 3,290 | 0.67× | 18 | 2,211 |
| Michigan | $119,670 | 1,420 | 0.66× | 17 | 2,085 |
| Pennsylvania | — | 1,610 | 0.54× | 30 | 2,024 |
| Ohio | $118,160 | 580 | 0.21× | 20 | 2,007 |
| Massachusetts | $167,600 | 3,150 | 1.76× | 15 | 1,793 |
| Illinois | $133,220 | 1,420 | 0.47× | 13 | 1,708 |
| Indiana | $98,350 | 320 | 0.20× | 14 | 1,564 |
| North Carolina | $134,670 | 1,340 | 0.55× | 7 | 1,225 |
| Georgia | $100,210 | 650 | 0.27× | 5 | 1,124 |
| Virginia | $139,030 | 1,720 | 0.85× | 13 | 1,115 |
| New Jersey | $142,880 | 580 | 0.27× | 8 | 977 |
| Arizona | $158,280 | 3,110 | 1.94× | 5 | 946 |
| Washington | $169,120 | 1,800 | 1.03× | 25 | 881 |
| Maryland | $152,730 | 1,720 | 1.27× | 12 | 743 |
| Colorado | $156,080 | 2,660 | 1.87× | 11 | 714 |
| Wisconsin | $83,670 | 270 | 0.19× | 7 | 585 |
| Alabama | $136,990 | 680 | 0.66× | 7 | 556 |
| Missouri | $103,980 | 900 | 0.62× | 7 | 512 |
| Utah | $106,950 | 430 | 0.50× | 7 | 481 |
| Oklahoma | $95,600 | 180 | 0.21× | 6 | 456 |
| Connecticut | — | 340 | 0.41× | 9 | 419 |
| Tennessee | $130,830 | — | — | 12 | 399 |
| Iowamoderate | $125,120 | 130 | 0.18× | 3 | 365 |
| Minnesota | $134,300 | 770 | 0.53× | 7 | 364 |
| Kentucky | $116,200 | 500 | 0.50× | 5 | 339 |
| Kansasmoderate | $101,750 | 220 | 0.32× | 3 | 329 |
| South Carolina | $125,110 | 690 | 0.61× | 7 | 296 |
| Idaho | $131,570 | 920 | 2.18× | 5 | 264 |
| Mississippi | $78,320 | 150 | 0.26× | 6 | 236 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $165,350 | 5,260 | 12.25× | 3 | 233 |
| Louisiana | $83,550 | 270 | 0.28× | 6 | 201 |
| Arkansas | $120,290 | 160 | 0.25× | 6 | 169 |
| District of Columbiamoderate | $163,360 | 210 | 0.62× | 4 | 169 |
| Nevadalimited | $116,530 | 160 | 0.22× | 2 | 146 |
| Rhode Islandmoderate | $119,510 | 390 | 1.58× | 3 | 118 |
| West Virginia | — | 140 | 0.42× | 6 | 117 |
| Delawaremoderate | $135,690 | 30 | 0.13× | 3 | 104 |
| Hawaiilimited | $159,880 | 90 | 0.28× | 2 | 94 |
| Nebraskalimited | $134,950 | 80 | 0.16× | 1 | 83 |
| South Dakotalimited | $101,400 | 160 | 0.73× | 2 | 75 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $129,140 | 310 | 0.92× | 2 | 40 |
| Vermontlimited | — | 130 | 0.86× | 2 | 35 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology.
- Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives.
- Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system.
- Build, test, and modify product prototypes, using working models or theoretical models constructed with computer simulation.
- Write detailed functional specifications that document the hardware development process and support hardware introduction.
- Test and verify hardware and support peripherals to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements, by recording and analyzing test data.
- Direct technicians, engineering designers or other technical support personnel as needed.
- Provide technical support to designers, marketing and sales departments, suppliers, engineers and other team members throughout the product development and implementation process.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Active Listening3.9
- Writing3.9
- Speaking3.9
- Active Learning3.8
- Mathematics3.3
- Monitoring3.1
Knowledge areas
- Computers and Electronics4.7
- Engineering and Technology4.7
- Mathematics4.1
- Design4.1
- English Language3.8
- Physics3.4
Abilities
- Information Ordering4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
Core activities
- Working with Computers4.9
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.7
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.5
- Analyzing Data or Information4.5
- Getting Information4.4
- Thinking Creatively4.4
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Computer Hardware Engineer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
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.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 4 majors mapped to Computer Hardware Engineers4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.0901Computer Engineering, General
- 14.0902Computer Hardware Engineering
- 14.1001Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- 14.4701Electrical and Computer Engineering
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Computer Hardware Engineer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Electrical and Electronics Engineering, which awarded 26,622 degrees in 2024-25, 62.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer Hardware Engineer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Electrical, Computer Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering. Together they graduate about 42,837 people a year.
How much do computer hardware engineers earn?+
The median is $161,740 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $92,940 at the 10th percentile to $225,330 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for computer hardware engineers growing?+
BLS projects a +7.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 4,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
476 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 hardware engineers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Engineer, Design Engineer, Hardware Engineer, Systems Integration Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-2061.
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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