Computer Systems Networking — Salary, ROI & AI-Proof Rating at 92 Schools

What Computer Systems Networking Graduates Do

You’ll likely start your career with hands-on work as a network support specialist, spending your days in server rooms racking equipment, running ethernet cable, and using command-line tools to diagnose connectivity problems. With a few years of experience, you can advance into high-demand specializations. You might become an information security analyst—a rapidly growing field—using software to hunt for threats and configure firewalls. Or you could become a network architect, designing the blueprints for a company’s entire cloud infrastructure in AWS or Azure.

This progression brings significant earning potential, with experienced architects and security analysts earning well into six figures. Top performers can eventually lead entire IT departments as information systems managers. While AI tools are automating many routine network monitoring tasks, they can’t physically install a server rack or troubleshoot a complex, system-wide outage on-site. Your work will increasingly focus on strategic design, complex problem-solving, and the hands-on tasks that require human ingenuity, using AI as a powerful diagnostic tool rather than a replacement.

Registered Apprenticeship Pathways

The U.S. Department of Labor recognizes 1 registered apprenticeship occupation related to Computer Systems Networking. Apprenticeships let you earn while you learn — most have zero tuition costs and pay wages from day one.

Apprenticeship	Training Hours	Type	Salary RangeSalary	Growth
It Project Manager RAPIDS 1048CB	Competency	Competency	$134K – $171,200 – $216K	15.2%

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database (RAPIDS). Wages and job growth from Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 projections.

Best Schools for Computer Systems Networking

Top 20 of 92 schools ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score. Click any row for full earnings projections and AI-proof analysis.

#	School	Score	EarningsEarn	ROI
1	Dallas College Dallas, TX	83 73–85	$50,493/yr	276.2x
2	Austin Community College District Austin, TX	82 73–84	$49,424/yr	192.8x
3	Front Range Community College Westminster, CO	80 71–82	$52,583/yr	109.9x
4	Austin Community College District Austin, TX	80 68–82	$46,969/yr	137.7x
5	Madison Area Technical College Madison, WI	77 70–80	$65,324/yr	67.3x
6	Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH	77 65–79	$45,772/yr	96.7x
7	Dallas College Dallas, TX	77 65–79	$40,807/yr	131.3x
8	Houston Community College Houston, TX	76 68–78	$42,875/yr	104.1x
9	Front Range Community College Westminster, CO	75 65–78	$52,244/yr	71.2x
10	Saint Louis Community College Bridgeton, MO	74 65–76	$38,235/yr	103.5x
11	Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI	73 62–75	$47,268/yr	63.9x
12	Western Technical College La Crosse, WI	73 61–75	$45,381/yr	66.8x
13	Pima Community College Tucson, AZ	73 61–76	$35,786/yr	115.3x
14	Bunker Hill Community College Boston, MA	71 63–73	$53,145/yr	47.1x
15	Iowa Central Community College Fort Dodge, IA	71 58–74	$43,253/yr	68.6x
16	Ozarks Technical Community College Springfield, MO	70 62–72	$44,381/yr	55.1x
17	Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee, WI	70 59–72	$43,276/yr	57.5x
18	Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Fennimore, WI	70 59–73	$42,729/yr	60.8x
19	Indian Hills Community College Ottumwa, IA	69 58–71	$41,166/yr	56.7x
20	Alexandria Technical & Community College Alexandria, MN	68 61–70	$49,706/yr	38.7x
21	Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI	68 58–70	$41,942/yr	50.6x
22	Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI	68 55–71	$37,984/yr	59.4x
23	Hawkeye Community College Waterloo, IA	67 55–70	$40,873/yr	48.5x
24	Southeast Technical College Sioux Falls, SD	66 57–69	$46,959/yr	38.5x
25	South Puget Sound Community College Olympia, WA	66 59–68	$43,380/yr	41.5x
26	Lakeshore Technical College Cleveland, WI	65 58–67	$40,086/yr	42.1x
27	Saint Paul College Saint Paul, MN	64 53–67	$38,654/yr	43.5x
28	Crowder College Neosho, MO	63 55–65	$32,289/yr	51.2x
29	Northshore Technical Community College Lacombe, LA	63 55–65	$28,518/yr	66.9x
30	State Technical College of Missouri Linn, MO	62 53–64	$41,270/yr	31.6x
31	Porter & Chester Institute Bridgeport, CT	62 52–64	$38,611/yr	34.7x
32	South Louisiana Community College Lafayette, LA	62 54–64	$35,328/yr	41.0x
33	Pierpont Community and Technical College Fairmont, WV	62 50–65	$33,590/yr	52.0x
34	P C Age-Jersey City Jersey City, NJ	61 52–63	$39,380/yr	—
35	PC AGE-Metropark Iselin, NJ	61 52–63	$39,380/yr	—
36	MyComputerCareer at Columbus Columbus, OH	61 52–63	$39,287/yr	—
37	City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College Chicago, IL	61 53–63	$34,691/yr	38.6x
38	Herzing University-Birmingham Birmingham, AL	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
39	Herzing University-Atlanta Atlanta, GA	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
40	Herzing University-Minneapolis St. Louis Park, MN	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
41	Herzing University-Akron Akron, OH	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
42	Herzing University-Madison Madison, WI	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
43	Herzing University-Orlando Winter Park, FL	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
44	Herzing University-New Orleans Metairie, LA	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
45	Herzing University-Kenosha Kenosha, WI	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
46	Herzing University-Brookfield Brookfield, WI	60 50–62	$43,901/yr	17.9x
47	Western Dakota Technical College Rapid City, SD	60 52–62	$40,418/yr	24.2x
48	MyComputerCareer at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	60 51–62	$38,028/yr	—
49	Lincoln Technical Institute-New Britain New Britain, CT	60 51–62	$37,883/yr	—
50	Lincoln Technical Institute-Allentown Allentown, PA	60 51–62	$37,883/yr	—
51	MyComputerCareer at Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN	60 51–62	$37,700/yr	—
52	Lincoln Technical Institute-Iselin Iselin, NJ	60 50–62	$36,915/yr	—
53	Lincoln Technical Institute-Moorestown Moorestown, NJ	60 50–62	$36,915/yr	—
54	Lincoln Technical Institute-Paramus Paramus, NJ	60 50–62	$36,915/yr	—
55	DSDT Detroit, MI	60 50–62	$36,781/yr	—
56	Lehigh Carbon Community College Schnecksville, PA	60 53–62	$36,340/yr	33.8x
57	Charter College Anchorage, AK	59 50–61	$47,463/yr	11.7x
58	Dunwoody College of Technology Minneapolis, MN	59 49–61	$47,217/yr	11.9x
59	DeVry College of New York New York, NY	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
60	DeVry University-Arizona Phoenix, AZ	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
61	DeVry University-California Ontario, CA	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
62	DeVry University-Florida Orlando, FL	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
63	DeVry University-Georgia Decatur, GA	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
64	DeVry University-Illinois Lisle, IL	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
65	DeVry University-Nevada Henderson, NV	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
66	DeVry University-New Jersey Iselin, NJ	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
67	DeVry University-Ohio Columbus, OH	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
68	DeVry University-Texas Irving, TX	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
69	DeVry University-Virginia Arlington, VA	59 50–61	$44,735/yr	15.3x
70	Wichita Technical Institute Wichita, KS	59 49–61	$35,340/yr	—
71	CyberTex Institute of Technology Austin, TX	58 48–60	$33,477/yr	—
72	CBT Technology Institute-Main Campus Miami, FL	57 47–59	$37,680/yr	17.8x
73	CBT Technology Institute-Cutler Bay Cutler Bay, FL	57 47–59	$37,680/yr	17.8x
74	Hallmark University San Antonio, TX	56 47–59	$31,847/yr	—
75	Wichita Technical Institute Wichita, KS	55 45–57	$29,650/yr	—
76	Intellitec College-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO	55 45–57	$29,427/yr	—
77	Tulsa Technology Center Tulsa, OK	54 45–57	$29,213/yr	—
78	FVI School of Nursing and Technology Miami, FL	54 45–57	$29,152/yr	—
79	Sheridan Technical College Hollywood, FL	54 45–56	$28,490/yr	—
80	Remington College-Fort Worth Campus North Richland Hills, TX	53 43–55	$35,702/yr	9.8x
81	Remington College-Memphis Campus Memphis, TN	53 43–55	$35,702/yr	9.4x
82	Texas State Technical College Waco, TX	53 42–55	$27,768/yr	28.4x
83	Intellitec College-Grand Junction Grand Junction, CO	53 44–55	$27,510/yr	—
84	Remington College-Lafayette Campus Lafayette, LA	52 43–54	$35,702/yr	8.3x
85	Remington College-Dallas Campus Dallas, TX	52 43–54	$35,702/yr	7.8x
86	Remington College-Mobile Campus Mobile, AL	52 43–55	$35,702/yr	9.2x
87	NUC University Bayamon, PR	52 43–54	$29,964/yr	17.6x
88	Intellitec College-Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO	52 43–54	$26,192/yr	—
89	Eastwick College-Nutley Nutley, NJ	50 41–52	$30,784/yr	9.4x
90	Erwin Technical College Tampa, FL	50 41–52	$23,744/yr	—
91	Southern Technical College Fort Myers, FL	49 40–51	$29,632/yr	9.1x
92	Associated Technical College-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	46 37–48	$13,653/yr	—

Highest Earning Computer Systems Networking Programs

Schools where Computer Systems Networking graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	Score
Madison Area Technical College	$65,324/yr	77
Bunker Hill Community College	$53,145/yr	71
Front Range Community College	$52,583/yr	80
Front Range Community College	$52,244/yr	75
Dallas College	$50,493/yr	83
Alexandria Technical & Community College	$49,706/yr	68
Austin Community College District	$49,424/yr	82
Charter College	$47,463/yr	59
Chippewa Valley Technical College	$47,268/yr	73
Dunwoody College of Technology	$47,217/yr	59

Best ROI for Computer Systems Networking

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Computer Systems Networking.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	Score
Dallas College	276.2x	$50,493/yr	83
Austin Community College District	192.8x	$49,424/yr	82
Austin Community College District	137.7x	$46,969/yr	80
Dallas College	131.3x	$40,807/yr	77
Pima Community College	115.3x	$35,786/yr	73
Front Range Community College	109.9x	$52,583/yr	80
Houston Community College	104.1x	$42,875/yr	76
Saint Louis Community College	103.5x	$38,235/yr	74
Sinclair Community College	96.7x	$45,772/yr	77
Front Range Community College	71.2x	$52,244/yr	75

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Considering a 4-Year Degree?

Compare the trade route with a bachelor's degree. See how Computer Systems Networking degree programs stack up on earnings, AI disruption risk, and ROI.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the typical salary after a Computer Systems Networking program?

The median first-year salary across 92 Computer Systems Networking programs is $39,678. School selection matters — the gap between the lowest ($13,653) and highest ($65,324) earning programs is significant.

How safe is Computer Systems Networking from automation and AI?

AI resilience for Computer Systems Networking is classified as "Exposed." Approximately 41% of typical job tasks are hands-on — a moderate share of the daily work involves skills that current AI technology cannot perform.

What's the top-ranked school for Computer Systems Networking?

Our data ranks Dallas College first among 92 Computer Systems Networking programs. Its score of 83/100 reflects strong outcomes across earnings ($50,493/yr), return on investment, and career durability.

Is Computer Systems Networking worth it?

The average 10-year earnings multiple is 45.2x tuition. This is a strong return on investment. The spread between the best and worst programs is wide, so individual school selection has a major impact.