What is a telecommunications engineer?
A telecommunications engineer is a professional who designs complex electronic communication and transmission systems. This profession is a discipline in the field of electronic engineering and may include the design of products and services such as telephones, optical fibers, data communication networks and high-frequency systems. Many of the products and services that telecommunications engineers design use almost every day.
This discipline is not offered by many universities as a bachelor's degree program, but people who pursue this career often have at least a bachelor's degree in radio, civil, electronic and computer engineering. Some educational programs offer a bachelor's degree in telecommunications technology or a master's degree in telecommunications. These programs usually include technical, managerial, and business studies, because the design of telecommunications systems requires an understanding of all aspects of the design process. These professions often oversee design projects from concept to completion. This includes overseeing staff, project financial budgets, and ensuring that telecommunications projects are completed as planned.
A telecommunications engineer will often focus on a specific area of telecommunications, such as fiber optics, networking, or circuit design. Work can range from designing microscope processors and circuits to designing large infrastructure projects to set up wireless technologies or networks for organizations. Because telecommunications design projects can span many technical disciplines, a telecommunications engineer will often work as part of a team where each engineer focuses on a specific area of the project. Typically, the telecommunications engineer who designs the infrastructure will oversee and manage the project.