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Computer Systems Engineers/Architects

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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

Related: Blockchain Engineers Computer Network Architects Computer Systems Analysts Network & Computer Systems Administrators Software Developers

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Government

Summary
Details

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

Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.

Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

131800/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

63.36/hr

Currently Employed

17,060

Yearly Projected Openings

1500

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Innovation
Adaptability
Achievement Orientation
Intellectual Curiosity
Cautiousness
Integrity

Access servers
Computer servers
Desktop computers
Graphics or video accelerator cards
High capacity removable media drives
Mainframe computers
Mobile phones
Motherboards
Network routers
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Radio frequency RF cable
Signal cable
Tablet computers

Access software
Analytical or scientific software
Application server software
Backup or archival software
Business intelligence and data analysis software
Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Cloud-based management software
Clustering software
Communications server software
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer based training software
Configuration management software
Content workflow software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base management system software
Data base reporting software
Data base user interface and query software
Data mining software
Desktop communications software
Desktop publishing software
Development environment software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise application integration software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Enterprise system management software
Expert system software
File versioning software
Financial analysis software
Geographic information system
Graphical user interface development software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Human resources software
Industrial control software
Information retrieval or search software
Instant messaging software
Internet browser software
Internet directory services software
Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
LAN software
Medical software
Metadata management software
Network conferencing software
Network monitoring software
Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software
Network security or virtual private network VPN management software
Object or component oriented development software
Object oriented data base management software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Portal server software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Program testing software
Project management software
Requirements analysis and system architecture software
Sales and marketing software
Spreadsheet software
Storage networking software
Switch or router software
Transaction security and virus protection software
Transaction server software
Video conferencing software
Video creation and editing software
WAN switching software and firmware
Web page creation and editing software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

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Computer Systems Engineers/Architects

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