How to become Computer Systems Engineers/Architect in 2024

Computer Systems Engineers/Architect Design and develop solutions to complex applications problems, system administration issues, or network concerns. Perform systems management and integration functions.

Computer Systems Engineers/Architect is Also Know as

In different settings, Computer Systems Engineers/Architect is titled as

  • Electronic Data Interchange System Developer (EDI System Developer)
  • Information Technology Architect (IT Architect)
  • Network and Infrastructure Engineer
  • Network Engineer
  • Solutions Architect
  • Systems Architect
  • Systems Consultant
  • Systems Engineer

Education and Training of Computer Systems Engineers/Architect

Computer Systems Engineers/Architect is categorized in Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Computer Systems Engineers/Architect

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.

Education Required for Computer Systems Engineers/Architect

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Degrees Related to Computer Systems Engineers/Architect

Training Required for Computer Systems Engineers/Architect

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Computer Systems Engineers/Architect in different industries are

What Do Computer Systems Engineers/Architect do?

  • Communicate with staff or clients to understand specific system requirements.
  • Provide advice on project costs, design concepts, or design changes.
  • Document design specifications, installation instructions, and other system-related information.
  • Verify stability, interoperability, portability, security, or scalability of system architecture.
  • Collaborate with engineers or software developers to select appropriate design solutions or ensure the compatibility of system components.
  • Evaluate current or emerging technologies to consider factors such as cost, portability, compatibility, or usability.
  • Provide technical guidance or support for the development or troubleshooting of systems.
  • Identify system data, hardware, or software components required to meet user needs.
  • Provide customers or installation teams guidelines for implementing secure systems.
  • Monitor system operation to detect potential problems.
  • Direct the analysis, development, and operation of complete computer systems.
  • Investigate system component suitability for specified purposes, and make recommendations regarding component use.
  • Perform ongoing hardware and software maintenance operations, including installing or upgrading hardware or software.
  • Configure servers to meet functional specifications.
  • Develop or approve project plans, schedules, or budgets.
  • Define and analyze objectives, scope, issues, or organizational impact of information systems.
  • Develop system engineering, software engineering, system integration, or distributed system architectures.
  • Design and conduct hardware or software tests.
  • Establish functional or system standards to address operational requirements, quality requirements, and design constraints.
  • Evaluate existing systems to determine effectiveness, and suggest changes to meet organizational requirements.
  • Research, test, or verify proper functioning of software patches and fixes.
  • Communicate project information through presentations, technical reports, or white papers.
  • Complete models and simulations, using manual or automated tools, to analyze or predict system performance under different operating conditions.
  • Direct the installation of operating systems, network or application software, or computer or network hardware.
  • Train system users in system operation or maintenance.
  • Perform security analyses of developed or packaged software components.
  • Develop application-specific software.
  • Develop efficient and effective system controllers.

Qualities of Good Computer Systems Engineers/Architect

  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.

Tools Used by Computer Systems Engineers/Architect

  • Blade servers
  • Computer network routers
  • Desktop computers
  • Graphics display cards
  • Laptop computers
  • Lightweight directory access protocol LDAP servers
  • Mainframe computers
  • Mass storage devices
  • Motherboards
  • Multi-conductor cables
  • Personal computers
  • Radio frequency cables
  • Smartphones
  • Tablet computers
  • Web servers

Technology Skills required for Computer Systems Engineers/Architect

  • 3M Post-it App
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Adobe ActionScript
  • Adobe AIR
  • Adobe Creative Cloud software
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • Adobe Flex
  • Adobe FrameMaker
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Advanced business application programming ABAP
  • AJAX
  • Altia Design
  • Amazon DynamoDB
  • Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2
  • Amazon Redshift
  • Amazon Simple Storage Service S3
  • Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation
  • Amazon Web Services AWS software
  • Ansible software
  • Aonix Software Through Pictures
  • Apache Ant
  • Apache Cassandra
  • Apache Groovy
  • Apache Hadoop
  • Apache Hive
  • Apache HTTP Server
  • Apache Kafka
  • Apache Maven
  • Apache Pig
  • Apache Solr
  • Apache Spark
  • Apache Struts
  • Apache Subversion SVN
  • Apache Tomcat
  • Apple Final Cut Pro
  • Apple macOS
  • Atlassian Bamboo
  • Atlassian Bitbucket
  • Atlassian Confluence
  • Atlassian JIRA
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Autodesk Revit
  • Backbone.js
  • Basecamp
  • Bash
  • BEA Tuxedo
  • Bentley MicroStation
  • Blink
  • Borland VisiBroker
  • BroadVision software
  • C
  • C#
  • C++
  • Cascading style sheets CSS
  • Chef
  • Cisco IOS
  • Cisco Webex
  • Citrix cloud computing software
  • Clarity Systems IBM Clarity
  • Common business oriented language COBOL
  • Computer aided design and drafting CADD software
  • Customer information control system CICS
  • Dassault Systemes CATIA
  • Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
  • DBTools Software DBManager Professional
  • Delphi Technology
  • Django
  • Docker
  • Dropbox
  • Drupal
  • Dynamic hypertext markup language DHTML
  • Eclipse IDE
  • Eko
  • Elasticsearch
  • Enterprise JavaBeans
  • Epic Systems
  • ESRI ArcGIS software
  • Ext JS
  • Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML
  • Extensible markup language XML
  • FileMaker Pro
  • Firewall software
  • Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
  • Geographic information system GIS software
  • Git
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Go
  • Google Ads
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Angular
  • Google Cloud software
  • Grails
  • Hewlett Packard HP-UX
  • Hewlett Packard LoadRunner
  • Hibernate ORM
  • Human resource management software HRMS
  • Hypertext markup language HTML
  • IBM AIX
  • IBM Cognos Impromptu
  • IBM DB2
  • IBM Domino
  • IBM ILOG
  • IBM InfoSphere DataStage
  • IBM Infosphere Information Server
  • IBM Lotus SameTime
  • IBM Notes
  • IBM Power Systems software
  • IBM Rational Application Developer
  • IBM Rational Build Forge
  • IBM Rational ClearCase
  • IBM Rational Rose XDE
  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • IBM Terraform
  • IBM WebSphere
  • InScribe
  • Integrated development environment IDE software
  • Intrusion detection system IDS
  • IONA Orbix
  • JavaScript
  • JavaScript Object Notation JSON
  • Jenkins CI
  • Job control language JCL
  • jQuery
  • JUnit
  • Jupyter Notebook
  • KornShell
  • Kubernetes
  • LAMP Stack
  • LexisNexis
  • Linux
  • Local area network LAN software
  • Marketo Marketing Automation
  • McAfee
  • MEDITECH software
  • Microservices Architecture
  • Microsoft .NET Framework
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Active Directory
  • Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP
  • Microsoft ActiveX
  • Microsoft ASP.NET
  • Microsoft ASP.NET Core MVC
  • Microsoft Azure software
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Microsoft Dynamics GP
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Exchange
  • Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft PowerShell
  • Microsoft Project
  • Microsoft SharePoint
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services SSIS
  • Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services SSRS
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Microsoft Visio
  • Microsoft Visual Basic
  • Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications VBA
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition VBScript
  • Microsoft Visual Studio
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Windows Server
  • MicroStrategy
  • Minitab
  • MongoDB
  • MySQL
  • Nagios
  • National Instruments LabVIEW
  • NetSuite ERP
  • Network intrusion prevention systems NIPS
  • Node.js
  • NortonLifeLock cybersecurity software
  • NoSQL
  • Objective C
  • Operating system software
  • Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition
  • Oracle Database
  • Oracle E-Business Suite Financials
  • Oracle Eloqua
  • Oracle Fusion Applications
  • Oracle Fusion Middleware
  • Oracle Hyperion
  • Oracle Java
  • Oracle Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition J2EE
  • Oracle JavaServer Pages JSP
  • Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne
  • Oracle JDBC
  • Oracle PeopleSoft
  • Oracle PL/SQL
  • Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management
  • Oracle Solaris
  • Oracle Taleo
  • Oracle WebLogic Server
  • Perforce Helix software
  • Perl
  • PHP
  • PostgreSQL
  • PTC Creo Parametric
  • Puppet
  • Python
  • Qlik Tech QlikView
  • Quest Erwin Data Modeler
  • R
  • React
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Red Hat OpenShift
  • Red Hat WildFly
  • Redis
  • Relational database management software
  • Ruby
  • Ruby on Rails
  • Salesforce software
  • Salesforce Visualforce
  • SAP Business Objects
  • SAP Crystal Reports
  • SAP software
  • SAS
  • Scala
  • Selenium
  • ServiceNow
  • Shell script
  • Skype
  • Slack
  • Smalltalk
  • Snort
  • Software as a service SaaS
  • Splunk Enterprise
  • Spring Boot
  • Spring Framework
  • StataCorp Stata
  • Storage area network SAN software
  • Structured query language SQL
  • Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
  • Swift
  • Symark PowerBroker
  • Tableau
  • Teradata Database
  • The MathWorks MATLAB
  • ToadSoft Toad
  • Transact-SQL
  • Trimble SketchUp Pro
  • Ubuntu
  • Unified modeling language UML
  • UNIX
  • UNIX Shell
  • Verilog
  • Veritas NetBackup
  • Virtual private networking VPN software
  • VMware
  • VMWare ESX Server
  • Voice over internet protocol VoIP system software
  • Web browser software
  • Wide area network WAN software
  • Wireshark
  • xQuery