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What does a telecom engineer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Telecom engineers are engineering experts who design and install telecommunication equipment to ensure the transmission of high-quality data over wired or wireless communication. Due to their in-depth understanding of emerging technologies, these engineers are required to create solution designs such as drawings and design documents as well as offer guidance to reduce complexity and costs. They must identify and resolve any issues related to fiber optics and copper cables while setting up system monitoring to reduce equipment failure and incident response time. Telecom engineers are also required to operate and improve the telephony systems.

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Telecom engineer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real telecom engineer resumes:

  • Manage global corporate VPN (voice private network).
  • Design and manage numerous PBX installations throughout Europe and Asia.
  • Manage DS3 and switch activity in the central and southern regions.
  • Manage port requests for ethernet, async and sync connectivity for remote network management.
  • Manage, configure and maintain Qfiniti Etalk monitor/recorder, utilizing AES with CTI links.
  • Manage and monitor all voice projects throughout the AOR as the DISA voice SME.
  • Provide detailed telephony project management and administration for both a TDM and VoIP base telephony service.
  • Verify proper configuration of OSPF and BGP routing.
  • Perform routine updates and backups of AES and CMS servers.
  • Analyze network integrity and monitor performance of servers, Cisco routers, and switches.
  • Provide day to day support for UC, UCCE relate issues as a high-level escalation point for critical issues.
  • Submit, manage and track orders for cross connects of on-net, off-net DS1, DS3 and frame relay circuits.
  • Configure switches and routers according to company specification.
  • Work with Cisco TAC to resolve CUCM and CUC system (s) complex problems.
  • Create distribution lists in CUC.

Telecom engineer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Telecom Engineers are proficient in VoIP, Telephony, and Telecommunication. They’re also known for soft skills such as Initiative, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.

We break down the percentage of Telecom Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • VoIP, 9%

    Perform Telephony VoIP Penetration Testing.

  • Telephony, 8%

    Identify and resolve a variety of production problems associated with telecommunications hardware, telephony devices and voice hardware products.

  • Telecommunication, 6%

    Project Management: Planning, budgeting and installation of structured cabling (voice/data) on building premises that requires telecommunication facilities.

  • Unified Communications, 5%

    Designed Unified Communications using Cisco solution to deliver redundant, resilient, and robust infrastructure across 5 remote distribution centers.

  • LAN, 4%

    Supervised and Install different Local and American based cable channels and surface raceways for the proper routing of LAN cables.

  • Switches, 4%

    Selected to upgrade G3-R switches for 911 standards resulting in successful completion, which improved company revenue and profitability.

Most telecom engineers use their skills in "voip," "telephony," and "telecommunication" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential telecom engineer responsibilities here:

Initiative. One of the key soft skills for a telecom engineer to have is initiative. You can see how this relates to what telecom engineers do because "electrical and electronics engineers must apply their knowledge to new tasks in every project they undertake." Additionally, a telecom engineer resume shows how telecom engineers use initiative: "provide technical direction regarding various lan/wan and voip related initiatives. "

Speaking skills. Another essential skill to perform telecom engineer duties is speaking skills. Telecom engineers responsibilities require that "electrical and electronics engineers work closely with other engineers and technicians." Telecom engineers also use speaking skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "tracked and resolved billing disputes and discrepancies with various carriers, presented escalation issues, and provided status reports and findings. "

Writing skills. This is an important skill for telecom engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how telecom engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "electrical and electronics engineers develop technical publications related to equipment they develop, including maintenance manuals, operation manuals, parts lists, product proposals, and design methods documents." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a telecom engineer: "well versed in complex vector writing, call routing, acd, vdn/dnis, 8yy inventory. ".

Math skills. telecom engineer responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "electrical and electronics engineers must use the principles of calculus and other advanced math in order to analyze, design, and troubleshoot equipment." This resume example shows what telecom engineers do with math skills on a typical day: "reported acd statistics to managers on various departments and individual call center agents. "

Most common telecom engineer skills

The three companies that hire the most telecom engineers are:

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Compare different telecom engineers

Telecom engineer vs. Controls designer

Controls designers both design and draft systems of hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical controls for equipment and machines. The designers make diagrams of the logic system for timing and sequence control. They illustrate and describe details for installation and maintenance, such as bearing lubrication and lubrication types. It is part of their job to review schematics with the representatives of customers to answer questions during robot system installation. Also, they may design energy conversion controls.

We looked at the average telecom engineer salary and compared it with the wages of a controls designer. Generally speaking, controls designers are paid $10,560 higher than telecom engineers per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between telecom engineers and controls designers are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like windows, ethernet, and sql.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, telecom engineer responsibilities require skills like "voip," "telephony," "telecommunication," and "unified communications." Meanwhile a typical controls designer has skills in areas such as "plc," "control panels," "ids," and "auto cad." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Controls designers tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $88,405. In contrast, telecom engineers make the biggest average salary, $83,368, in the telecommunication industry.The education levels that controls designers earn slightly differ from telecom engineers. In particular, controls designers are 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a telecom engineer. Additionally, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Telecom engineer vs. Senior pcb designer

An engineering trainee is responsible for shadowing engineers in their duties and performing administrative tasks as needed. Engineering trainees assist the engineers in inspecting construction sites and conducting field research. They also identify cost-efficient materials and resources that meet quality standards and client specifications. An engineering trainee must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing reports, attending meetings, and ensuring that all reports are submitted for management's reviews, such as contracts from suppliers and vendors.

Senior pcb designer positions earn higher pay than telecom engineer roles. They earn a $21,365 higher salary than telecom engineers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both telecom engineers and senior pcb designers have skills such as "rf," "ethernet," and "gps. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, telecom engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "voip," "telephony," "telecommunication," and "unified communications." Meanwhile, a senior pcb designer has duties that require skills in areas such as "schematic capture," "pcb layout," "analog," and "mentor graphics." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Senior pcb designers tend to reach lower levels of education than telecom engineers. In fact, they're 12.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Telecom engineer vs. Engineering trainee

A circuit design engineer specializes in designing and developing electrical components and circuits in devices and machinery. Among their responsibilities include identifying the needs of every project, developing strategies to attain optimal quality, developing diagrams and test structures, troubleshooting, and repairing issues. They must also perform regular maintenance checks on existing systems and perform upgrades and corrective measures as needed. Moreover, a circuit design engineer typically works in a team setting, which requires an active communication line for a smooth and efficient workflow.

On average scale, engineering trainees bring in lower salaries than telecom engineers. In fact, they earn a $21,149 lower salary per year.By looking over several telecom engineers and engineering trainees resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "technical support," "rf," and "windows." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from telecom engineer resumes include skills like "voip," "telephony," "telecommunication," and "unified communications," whereas an engineering trainee is more likely to list skills in "excellent interpersonal," "fire protection," "r," and "boilers. "

Engineering trainees earn the best pay in the energy industry, where they command an average salary of $63,253. Telecom engineers earn the highest pay from the telecommunication industry, with an average salary of $83,368.When it comes to education, engineering trainees tend to earn similar degree levels compared to telecom engineers. In fact, they're 2.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Telecom engineer vs. Circuit design engineer

Circuit design engineers average a higher salary than the annual salary of telecom engineers. The difference is about $26,310 per year.While both telecom engineers and circuit design engineers complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like voip, switches, and rf, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between telecom engineers and circuit design engineers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a telecom engineer might have more use for skills like "telephony," "telecommunication," "unified communications," and "lan." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of circuit design engineers require skills like "circuit design," "cmos," "verilog," and "cad. "

The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for circuit design engineers, with average annual pay of $114,509. Comparatively, the highest telecom engineer annual salary comes from the telecommunication industry.circuit design engineers reach similar levels of education compared to telecom engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 3.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of telecom engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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