Computer Hardware Engineers: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

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.

• Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology.
• 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.
• Specify power supply requirements and configuration, drawing on system performance expectations and design specifications.

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Salary

Computer Hardware Engineers with little to no experience tend to make between $66700 and $86760 while the more experienced ones can earn over $146020 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Computer Hardware Engineer is to move to a higher paying state like CA. Right now, the highest paying states for Computer Hardware Engineers are CA, DC, MD, WA and MA.

However, a higher pay at CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at CA might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Computer Hardware Engineer is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Computer Hardware Engineers what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Bachelor’s Degree followed by a Master’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Computer Hardware Engineer.

What is the job like

71% of Computer Hardware Engineers said they were satisfied with their job and 53% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..

They also like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

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