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The differences between telecommunication engineers and telecom engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a telecommunication engineer and a telecom engineer. Additionally, a telecom engineer has an average salary of $81,384, which is higher than the $80,789 average annual salary of a telecommunication engineer.
The top three skills for a telecommunication engineer include telecommunication, voip and RF. The most important skills for a telecom engineer are voip, telephony, and telecommunication.
| Telecommunication Engineer | Telecom Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $80,789 | $81,384 |
| Hourly rate | $38.84 | $39.13 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 28,331 | 33,530 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A telecommunication engineer is responsible for installing, testing, and repairing telecommunication systems including mobile telephone networks and fiber optic and digital satellite systems. Your day-to-day duties include diagnosing and troubleshooting systems faults, installing static and mobile antennae on masts and buildings, and designing, developing, and testing telecommunications equipment and components. As a telecommunication engineer, you are also required to provide guidance and support to telecommunication installers to ensure quality. You are also responsible for providing recommendations to upgrade outdated equipment.
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.
Telecommunication engineers and telecom engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Telecommunication Engineer | Telecom Engineer | |
| Average salary | $80,789 | $81,384 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $109,000 | Between $63,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Hayward, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Apple | PayPal |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a telecommunication engineer and a telecom engineer in terms of educational background:
| Telecommunication Engineer | Telecom Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between telecommunication engineers' and telecom engineers' demographics:
| Telecommunication Engineer | Telecom Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3% | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.6% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |