What does an engineer do in the telecommunications world? Naturally, engineers in this field have a wealth of knowledge in regards to electronics in general. There are often specific areas of electric devices or tech that they specialize in, however. For instance, they could base their work around telephone networks, cloud-hosted telecommunications or broadband and network solutions. In the following paragraphs, we’ll take an overview of the work done by telecommunication engineers. Read on to learn more!
What Kind Of Work Are Telecommunications Engineers Responsible For?
Telecommunications engineers are responsible for designing and often installing equipment that is used to transmit data over cable, phones, cellular, and broadband. Most days, they work with materials like copper and fiber optic cables while also spending time with intricate networks and switching systems. Many companies use engineers of this type, such as telecommunication consulting firms. Many engineers in this field also work in a variety of government positions.
What Level Of Education Is Needed To Make This A Career?
In general, telecommunications engineers must have at least a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or electronics. If you want to start with an education that will help you get involved in this work, look for programs that are ABET approved; this refers to the Accreditation Board of Engineering & Tech. Those that are only just now getting into the field will end up working alongside seasoned professionals until they have accumulated enough experience of their own. With time, they can lead their own projects. Students that have professional engineering credentials will have the most success when it comes to finding a job. According to the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, it is highly recommended that you take as many classes in this general area of study as you can. This is a line work where the current trends are always shifting and changing, so it’s important to keep up to date.
What Skills Will You Need On The Job?
This is a career where those that can think in an analytical manner and easily problem solve will truly excel. It is also ideal that you can tackle problems from both technical and creative, outside the box standpoints. An intense ability to focus is necessary, as is a firm grasp of mathematics. As a telecom engineer you will also need to be able to work with others. Many projects are group efforts where you will need to communicate and coexist with other team members.
The Expected Salary And Career Longevity For Telecom Engineers
The Labor Statistics Bureau of the United States lists telecom engineers under a category labelled “computer network architects”. Within the next decade, it is expected that many more jobs will open up in telecommunications engineering. The current opportunities should expand as much as five per cent within that time. Within the last few years, computer network architects had a median salary of just over $100,000. If you stick with it, you can make a comfortable living.
Additional Opportunities
Experience in the telecommunications engineering realm can also lead to a career as an architectural or engineering manager. In what may seem even more exciting, it could also land you a job as an aerospace engineer. There, you would work on the creation and testing for missiles, spacecraft, aircraft, and satellites. There are a lot of industries that hire engineers in that field, including national defense. You will need a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, however. There are a lot of responsibilities expected of you if you end up in this line of work; you will even need a security clearance. As far as salary is concerned, average incomes were in the range of $110,000 by the year 2018.
