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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: Computer Network Architects Computer Systems Analysts Database Architects Information Security Engineers Software Developers

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Government

Summary
Details

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

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

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

Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.
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.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
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.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
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.
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.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.

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:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Analytical Thinking
Integrity
Stress Tolerance
Achievement/Effort

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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