Engineering
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.
Median salary
$155,020
Typical range
$85k – $224k
Job outlook
+7% (faster than average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Computer Hardware Engineers
Education
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Computer Hardware Engineers Intern
Internship
$42,715
~4 mos to advance
Junior Computer Hardware Engineers
Entry / Junior
$85,430
~2 yrs to advance
Computer Hardware Engineers
Established
$155,020
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Computer Hardware Engineers
Senior
$189,420
Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.
Key skills
A typical day
- •Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology.
- •Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives.
- •Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system.
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Engineering
Explore all- Massachusetts Institute of Technology4% admit · $124,000 grad pay
- Stanford University4% admit · $122,000 grad pay
- University of California, Berkeley11% admit · $97,000 grad pay
- Georgia Institute of Technology16% admit · $99,000 grad pay
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign45% admit · $80,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.