Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Network And Systems Administrators
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Richland College, San Antonio College, TCC, and Blinn.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Texas A&M Kingsville, Texas Wesleyan University, UTEP, and Texas A&M.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Laredo Community College, Texas Southern, TAMIU, and UT Brownsville.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider University of Houston-Victoria, Northwood University, University of Houston-Clear Lake, and Lee College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Central Texas College, University of Dallas, SMU, and LeTourneau.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of East Texas Baptist University, Schreiner University, Texas Lutheran University, and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at SMU, The University of Texas, University of Dallas, and UT Dallas.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Prairie View A & M University, Houston Baptist, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and The University of Texas.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Texas Wesleyan University, Texas Southern, SMU, and St Marys University.
Working as a Network and Computer Systems Administrator in Texas
Network and computer systems administrators, also known as network administrators, are responsible for designing and installing the computer systems of an organization. They provide a support system by organizing intranet and Internet systems, and by installing WANs, LANs, and other network segments. Network administrators are also responsible for testing computers, software, and networks to ensure smooth performance of these machines. Read a detailed Network and Computer Systems Administrator job description and schools overview.
Aspiring network and computer systems administrators may contact Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) University of Texas Chapter. This group provides resources to students who are interested in computer science related fields.
State Requirements
The practices of network and computer systems administrators are not regulated by the state of Texas.
Spotlight Schools Search
Spotlight Texas Schools Related to This Career
- Locations: Fort Worth, Houston, Irving, San Antonio, Sugar Land
- Programs: 6 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
- Locations: Austin, Cedar Hill, Dallas, Houston, Irving, Plano
- Programs: 19 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor, Certificate, Diploma, Master, Post- Bachelor's Certificate
- Locations: Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Hurst, Irving, San Antonio, Spring, Sugar Land
- Programs: 6 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor, Master
- Locations: Arlington, Austin, DeSoto, Houston, Richardson, San Antonio, Webster
- Programs: 19 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
DeVry University's Keller Graduate School of Management
- Locations: Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, Irving, Richardson, San Antonio, Sugar Land
- Programs: 3 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Master, Post- Bachelor's Certificate
- Locations: San Antonio
- Programs: 4 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Certificate
- Locations: Dallas
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Doctorate, Master
- Locations: San Antonio
- Programs: 5 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor, Diploma
- Locations: Beaumont, El Paso
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate
- Locations: San Antonio
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate
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Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
- Programs: 7 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
- Programs: 7 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate
- Programs: 18 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor, Doctorate, Master
- Programs: 8 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor, Master
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of Houston • Houston, TX
Studying MBA (completion in 1997)
• 6/25/2011
"The curriculum was not as stringent as other universities. I felt that I wasn't learning as much as I possibly could."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The curriculum is okay, just not fantastic. You get the same amount of education of you pay for. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | The instructors were average. They didn't teach too much or too little. |
| Program Quality | 5 | The curriculum and instruction was about average. It was an easy to follow program. |
| Instruction | 5 | The teachers were knowledgeable of their specific subjects. I had no trouble with the material. |
| How Difficult | 6 | Some of the classes were easier than others. I always studied for the tests. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the work we did was out of the textbook. There aren't many hands on experiments in the administrative field. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | This school is extremely flexible when it comes to classes. You can take classes online, at night, and during the Summer. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | There were many libraries available to work on projects. We got things done punctually. |
| Social Life | 6 | The school didn't provide very many organized events. We still got together and hung out between and after classes. |
| Placement Services | 7 | They provided great career opportunities. I'm making a lot of money right now. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | The network is good, as there are many people involved. They always come up with good activities. |
Texas A&M • College Station, TX
Studying Physics (completion in 1994)
• 7/13/2011
"The only part of the school that left me unsatisfied was inevitable given its size. While dealing with the physics department was always wonderful, dealing with the school administration frequently made me feel like a number rather than a person."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Texas is a booming state for the tech industry, and Texas A&M is stepping up to provide graduates that are ready to work. The people in my field that have come from Texas A&M perform well at their jobs, and the Texas A&M spirit is a source for camaraderie for me even now, seventeen years after graduation. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Texas A&M works directly with the CERN and Fermi labs. Some of the code that I wrote was live at CERN as well as at A&M. Even if you haven't heard of CERN, you've likely heard of their current Large Hadron Collider project. |
| Program Quality | 9 | While I didn't take a typical path into programming, while working in the physics department I began coding for the physics department at Texas A&M. There's an on campus cyclotron running active experiments, and all of the data is gathered and sorted by programs that, at the time, were Fortran and C. |
| Instruction | 9 | As the coding I was doing at college was for live experimental data, I received direct instruction on the types of tasks that I was expected to perform. I think that I ended up with a better programmer's education than if I'd taken the normal Comp Sci track - working on real code for real results pushed me harder than class assignments. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The actual programs that needed to be written weren't all that difficult. Sorting through data streams to find outlying data was probably the most complex part of the code. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | As should be obvious,it was almost entirely hands on. The only book learning portion of my study was looking up reference material. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Texas A&M offers all of the above for classes, as well as satellite campuses. The university makes it easy to get the coursework for earning a degree. Of course, how well you succeed at that coursework is up to you. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | When I was a student, A&M's facilities were top of the line. The computer science department had a Cray, the libraries were up to date, and the classrooms in specialized classes were well taught (though, some generic freshmen level classes are very large). |
| Social Life | 10 | School spirit is very important at Texas A&M, and they make a strong point of encouraging participation. With a large club and student center program, there will be something available for whatever interests a student might have. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I don't necessarily think that A&M's job placement center is anything above and beyond what you'd find at other large universities. The student body is too large and too diverse for any student to get that personalized of a touch. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | Texas A&M's alumni network is amazing, especially if you've stayed in Texas, like I have. The "Aggie Ring" will open many doors for you. |
Westwood College • Dallas, TX
Studying Computer Network Engineering (completion in 2007)
• 7/14/2011
"The amount it cost to receive an associate's degree was too high. I paid too much for what I received."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | The job placement help was non existent. There is no internship for my program. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | Other programs had an internship program. My program was very difficult to learn. |
| Program Quality | 3 | My program was the only one that did not require an internship. You cannot get employed without experience in this field. |
| Instruction | 3 | You cannot get employed with no experience in my field. I did not receive any job placement assistance. |
| How Difficult | 9 | This was a very difficult field to learn. The work load was very heavy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the curriculum was book oriented. The best part was the hands on classroom labs. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | They were very flexible with class schedules. They offered morning, evening, and weekend classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The school library was poor. The class labs were great. |
| Social Life | 1 | Social events were pretty non existent. We had no athletics, parties, or organized social events. |
| Placement Services | 1 | Job placement for my program was up to the student. Career services only helped with our resumes and not with job placement. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | My school's alumni network is almost non existent. I did not receive any support in terms of career placement. |
Texas State Technical College • Waco, TX
Studying Computer Systems Networking Technology (completion in 1996)
• 8/13/2011
"It only took 2 years to complete and I was able to start a nice career out of school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend it, especially to those with families because it offers 2 year Associate's programs and is more cost effective than bigger colleges. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | We have recently hired a technician from the same school and he is doing well. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I received very good hands on training. I learned more about technology than I did in other non important classes. |
| Instruction | 9 | Learned a lot of the basics about everything about computers and had a good foundation for when I got a job. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Wasn't real easy, but was not too bad. I was able to graduate on time. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | All studying and tests were hands on in labs. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I was able to still take certain classes to graduate even though there weren't enough students to make the class. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | Buildings were old and falling apart. They have built new facilities since I graduated. |
| Social Life | 4 | I lived at home with parents, so I was only there during classes. |
| Placement Services | 10 | I was able to find a job, and most others were as well before graduating. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I'm not a member. |
Southern Methodist University • Dallas, TX
Studying Computer Engineering (completion in 2007)
• 8/14/2011
"I wish I had known when I started what I know now, as I would have been unlikely to go. The school was great for everything but my degree."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I wouldn't recommend a 4 year degree program to anyone looking to be a Network Administrator. Nothing you learn will be of use, and what would have learned would be outdated by the time you graduated. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I have heard nothing about the program since I left. I would assume it continues to be held in a decent regard. |
| Program Quality | 2 | Nearly everything I learned while in the program was useless by the time I graduated. I learned more in the first 6 months after graduating than I did in the 4 years previously. |
| Instruction | 10 | What I did learn was taught in clear, concise ways. I also felt it was complete in coverage. |
| How Difficult | 10 | It was an engineering degree. It required at least 50+ hours of work a week. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | After the second year almost all classes were hands on. Several involved implementing and deploying industry current (at the time) products. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | There were many classes offered at many times. Never did I run into conflicts. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Large, well maintained computer labs. Also, they had a dedicated Engineering library. |
| Social Life | 10 | It was Texas, and full of southern hospitality. Football was big despite being a terrible school for it. |
| Placement Services | 1 | They didn't offer ANY placement or assistance. It was basically a "Thanks for all the money, now get out." |
| Alumni Network | 1 | Since graduating the only time I hear from them is when they want money. Even then they get my name or gender wrong occasionally. |
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