West Virginia·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1241

Best Computer Network Architect programs in West Virginia, ranked by enrollment

Design and implement computer and information networks, such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), intranets, extranets, and other data communications networks.

24 schools in West Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,420 people a year. The job pays a median of $122,520 in West Virginia across about 360 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledEngineerNetwork AnalystSystems EngineerSolutions ArchitectCommunications EngineerInfrastructure EngineerComputer Network TechnologistTelecommunications Consultant (Telecom Consultant)
Graduates / yr
1,420
in West Virginia
Median pay · West Virginia
$122,520
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
360
people employed
Schools
24
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
39%
across those schools
Median net price
$16,943
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in West Virginia that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

7 programs in West Virginia that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in West Virginia (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 West Virginia page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1861
60.6%
11$48,185$25,250
2374
26.3%
13$57,986$24,286
382
5.8%
7$57,986$24,286
437
2.6%
4$78,333$24,098
531
2.2%
4$48,185$25,250
628
2.0%
4$43,901$22,822
77
0.5%
1$51,805$46,000

Top 24 schools in West Virginia

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 24 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1American Public University System
Charles Town, WV Private for-profit · 3 feeder programs
924Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$66,58857%$10,199
2Marshall University
Huntington, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
68Computer and Information Sciences, General$52,04751%96%
3West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
64Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance65%89%
4Valley College - Martinsburg
Martinsburg, WV Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
49Information Technology66%$25,386
5Blue Ridge Community and Technical College
Martinsburg, WV Public · 3 feeder programs
43Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance32%
6Mountwest Community and Technical College
Huntington, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
29Information Technology19%
7West Virginia Northern Community College
Wheeling, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
22Information Technology33%
8New River Community and Technical College
Beaver, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
21Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance36%
9Pierpont Community and Technical College
Fairmont, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
21Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications$33,59042%
10Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, WV Public · 3 feeder programs
21Computer and Information Sciences, General$57,26551%97%
11West Virginia Junior College - Morgantown
Morgantown, WV Private for-profit · 3 feeder programs
21Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$40,08771%$19,134
12West Virginia University at Parkersburg
Parkersburg, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
20Information Technology9%
13Salem University
Salem, WV Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
18Information Technology20%$14,845
14Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
Logan, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
18Information Technology29%
15BridgeValley Community & Technical College
South Charleston, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
16Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance34%
16Strayer University - West Virginia
Scott Depot, WV Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
16Information Technology$67,3150%$16,943
17West Virginia University Institute of Technology
Beckley, WV Public · 3 feeder programs
15Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst33%37%
18Fairmont State University
Fairmont, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
12Computer and Information Sciences, General$64,97544%99%
19West Virginia Junior College - Charleston
Cross Lanes, WV Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Network and System Administration/Administrator60%$15,408
20Bluefield State University
Bluefield, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
5Computer and Information Sciences, General37%97%
21Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College
Moorefield, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
4Information Technology42%
22Davis & Elkins College
Elkins, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Computer and Information Sciences, General39%$19,28494%
23Concord University
Athens, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
1Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance39%93%
24Potomac State College of West Virginia University
Keyser, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
1Computer Engineering, General31%

All 24 schools in West Virginia

Every school in West Virginia 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.

All schools in West Virginia that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
American Public University SystemCharles TownPrivate for-profit9243
Marshall UniversityHuntingtonPublic682
West Virginia UniversityMorgantownPublic642
Valley College - MartinsburgMartinsburgPrivate not-for-profit492
Blue Ridge Community and Technical CollegeMartinsburgPublic433
Mountwest Community and Technical CollegeHuntingtonPublic292
West Virginia Northern Community CollegeWheelingPublic222
New River Community and Technical CollegeBeaverPublic212
Pierpont Community and Technical CollegeFairmontPublic212
Shepherd UniversityShepherdstownPublic213
West Virginia Junior College - MorgantownMorgantownPrivate for-profit213
West Virginia University at ParkersburgParkersburgPublic201
Salem UniversitySalemPrivate for-profit182
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical CollegeLoganPublic181
BridgeValley Community & Technical CollegeSouth CharlestonPublic162

What computer network architects earn in West Virginia

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in West Virginia
$122,520
Mean annual
$114,450
Jobs in state
360
What the range looks like
10th pct$79,440Median$122,52090th pct$146,440
Versus the national median
-8.6%

U.S. median $134,050. West Virginia pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.44×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in West Virginia

Charleston, WV
$131,210median
70 jobs
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
$97,380median
40 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+11.9%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
11,200
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
21,400
179,200 → 200,600
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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 Architects page.

How to become a Computer Network Architect

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
5 years or more

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

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningWritingSpeakingActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in West Virginia

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 9 majors mapped to Computer Network Architects9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.0103Information Technology
  • 11.0501Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst
  • 11.0901Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
  • 11.0902Cloud Computing
  • 11.1001Network and System Administration/Administrator
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance
  • 14.0901Computer Engineering, General
  • 14.0999Computer Engineering, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing computer network architects programs in West Virginia.

What degree do you need to become a Computer Network Architect?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance, which awarded 861 degrees in West Virginia in 2024-25, 60.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer Network Architect?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Engineering, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 1,420 people a year in West Virginia.

How much do computer network architects earn in West Virginia?+

The median is $122,520 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.6% below the U.S. median of $134,050. 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 network architects growing?+

BLS projects a +11.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 11,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in West Virginia?+

24 institutions in West Virginia 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 architects work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Engineer, Network Analyst, Systems Engineer, Solutions Architect, Communications Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1241.

Computer Network Architects in other statesTexasFloridaCaliforniaGeorgiaUtahVirginiaNorth CarolinaIllinois

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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