High School
In high school, take courses in business management, mathematics, programming, database management, computer science, English, speech, government, and social studies.
Postsecondary Education
A minimum of a bachelor’s degree is required to enter the field, although some employers prefer applicants with graduate degrees. Solutions architects have a wide variety of educational backgrounds. Some have degrees in computer science, management information systems, database management, systems analysis, software engineering, software development, or network engineering. Others have degrees in project management. Many project management programs are accredited by the Global Accreditation Center for Project Management Education Programs. To view a list of accredited U.S. and international programs that offer bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in project management, visit https://www.pmi.org/gac/directory-accredited-programs.aspx.
Other Education or Training
Iasa Global offers both self-paced and instructor-led continuing education (CE) opportunities for IT architects. Recent classes include Business Technology Strategy, Business Architecture, Software Architecture, Effective Meetings, Intro to Leadership, Presentation Skills, Comparing Frameworks and Methodologies, Universal Modeling Language, and Business Process Management. Professional associations (such as Association for Computing Machinery, IEEE Computer Society, and Project Management Institute) and for-profit educational and consulting companies (such as Nielsen Norman Group, https://www.nngroup.com) also offer CE classes, webinars, and workshops. Contact these organizations to learn more.
Certification
Many colleges and universities provide undergraduate and graduate certificates in computer science, project management, software development, software product management, agile development, and other IT-related fields that will be of interest to solutions architects. Contact schools in your area to learn about available programs.
- Agile Coaches or Trainers
- Artificial Intelligence Specialists
- Augmented Reality Developers
- Automation Engineers
- Back-End Developers
- Big Data Developers
- Biometrics Systems Specialists
- Blockchain Developers
- Business Continuity Planners
- Chief Information Officers
- Chief Information Security Officers
- Clinical Data Managers
- Cloud Engineers
- Computer and Office Machine Service Technicians
- Computer Network Administrators
- Computer Programmers
- Computer Support Service Owners
- Computer Support Specialists
- Computer Systems Programmer/Analysts
- Computer Trainers
- Cryptocurrency Specialists
- Cryptographic Technicians
- Customer Success Managers
- Cybersecurity Architects
- Data Processing Technicians
- Data Scientists
- Data Warehousing Specialists
- Database Specialists
- Deepfake Professionals
- Digital Agents
- Digital Workplace Experience Engineers
- Directors of Security
- Document Management Specialists
- Electrical Engineering Technologists
- Electrical Engineers
- Electronics Engineering Technicians
- Electronics Engineers
- Electronics Service Technicians
- Embedded Systems Engineers
- Enterprise Architects
- ETL Developers
- Fiber Optics Technicians
- Full Stack Developers/Engineers
- Futurists
- Geospatial Analytics Specialists
- Graphic Designers
- Graphics Programmers
- Hardware Engineers
- Health Informaticists
- Help Desk Representatives
- Information Assurance Analysts
- Information Security Analysts
- Information Technology Consultants
- Information Technology Infrastructure Engineers
- Information Technology Project Managers
- Information Technology Security Consultants
- Internet Consultants
- Internet of Things Developers
- Internet Quality Assurance Specialists
- Internet Security Specialists
- Internet Transaction Specialists
- JavaScript Developers
- Machine Learning Engineers
- Mathematicians
- Microelectronics Technicians
- Model View Controller Developers
- Network Operations Center Engineers
- Network Operations Center Technicians
- Online Gambling Specialists
- Personal Privacy Advisors
- Product Owners
- Project Managers
- Salesforce Developers
- Scrum Masters
- Security Consultants
- Semiconductor Technicians
- Site Reliability Engineers
- Software Application Developers
- Software Designers
- Software Engineers
- Software Quality Assurance Testers
- Systems Setup Specialists
- Technical Support Specialists
- Technical Writers and Editors
- Technology Ethicists
- Wireless Service Technicians
