3 answers
drake
Student
Lynnwood, Washington
2
Questions
Asked
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I have three questions for anyone that has learned telecommunications engineering through apprenticeships and they are the following what did a day in your life look like, what was the hardest part of your pathway, what is some advice you would give me
I am currently enrolled in job corps and plan on applying to Velex as a telecommunications apprentice when I am finish and i'm in search of some advice
#careerpath
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3 answers
Amanda DeMayo
Director for Fixed Wireless Commercialization
2
Answers
Morristown, New Jersey
Updated
Amanda’s Answer
I started as a part time customer service rep in a retail store for a major telecomm provider. Once I was able to get into "corporate" it was all on the job learning...
My day consisted of taking A LOT of notes :-) and reviewing them in down time. I would ask questions at the appriopriate place/time and would take the initative to set up meetings with other teams, colleagues to learn from them, I also never turned down an opportunity to attend a meeting, even just to listen (given all my actual work was done or properly in order).
The hardest part was learning to navigate different opinions/perspectives and find the bottom line truth. You will find that data is not 2+2=4...though the data and math is concrete, the logic and theory/process to arrive at the data can vary and create a vbery dynamic work environment with multiple perspectives...its quite fascinating actually.
My advice as simple as it may seem is showing up is step 1. Listening and truly absorbing to learn is step 2. being able to apply what you learn is step 3, and for me being able to then re-teach it to someone else was step 4...that proved I had truly learned whatever the topic was. Sprinkle in the ability to build a voice, and network (no pun intended) will give you a good repeatable foundation as you move through your career.
My day consisted of taking A LOT of notes :-) and reviewing them in down time. I would ask questions at the appriopriate place/time and would take the initative to set up meetings with other teams, colleagues to learn from them, I also never turned down an opportunity to attend a meeting, even just to listen (given all my actual work was done or properly in order).
The hardest part was learning to navigate different opinions/perspectives and find the bottom line truth. You will find that data is not 2+2=4...though the data and math is concrete, the logic and theory/process to arrive at the data can vary and create a vbery dynamic work environment with multiple perspectives...its quite fascinating actually.
My advice as simple as it may seem is showing up is step 1. Listening and truly absorbing to learn is step 2. being able to apply what you learn is step 3, and for me being able to then re-teach it to someone else was step 4...that proved I had truly learned whatever the topic was. Sprinkle in the ability to build a voice, and network (no pun intended) will give you a good repeatable foundation as you move through your career.
Michael Strachan
Business Analyst/Subject Matter Expert
13
Answers
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Updated
Michael’s Answer
Before I try to answer this question, I need to you do a little more research on your part. Telecommunications is massive. There are so many career fields and media formats that it is very challenging to narrow this down. For example, you could be seeking a more hands on, cable pulling career or you may want to design cloud solutions. There is a long list of ways to get started in the telecom field from starting out as unskilled learning on the job to getting a technical degree in engineering then many cloud certifications to architect solutions. I'll bullet a couple examples out since I've had the opportunity to see multiple jobs working in my environment.
1. What did a day in your life look like:
- Working in a data center: You may be upgrading cabling and equipment or expanding the data center. If you are on the telecom side, you may be working outside cabling up to the switch. You've probably seen people working underground through manholes or digging a hold.
- Telecom engineer - You'll be planning, designing, drawing solutions either hardware or digital solutions.
2. What was the hardest part of your pathway
- Maintaining certifications. Whether you go the college route, technical school, or entry level on the job training, you will need to keep your certifications up to date. The equipment and technologies change continuously. You will be working through the entire spectrum of legacy equipment to state of the art.
3. What is some advice you would give me
- Talk to people in this field. You can give, for example, your local comcast, att, or other local companies to talk with their employees who are doing this work.
- Get a mentor
- Talk to your counselor at your High School
- Talk to a counselor at your local college to tech school
- Research on the internet. Go to the jobs pages and see what positions they are looking for, read what they do, and research what schooling is required, salaries, etc.
Good luck!
1. What did a day in your life look like:
- Working in a data center: You may be upgrading cabling and equipment or expanding the data center. If you are on the telecom side, you may be working outside cabling up to the switch. You've probably seen people working underground through manholes or digging a hold.
- Telecom engineer - You'll be planning, designing, drawing solutions either hardware or digital solutions.
2. What was the hardest part of your pathway
- Maintaining certifications. Whether you go the college route, technical school, or entry level on the job training, you will need to keep your certifications up to date. The equipment and technologies change continuously. You will be working through the entire spectrum of legacy equipment to state of the art.
3. What is some advice you would give me
- Talk to people in this field. You can give, for example, your local comcast, att, or other local companies to talk with their employees who are doing this work.
- Get a mentor
- Talk to your counselor at your High School
- Talk to a counselor at your local college to tech school
- Research on the internet. Go to the jobs pages and see what positions they are looking for, read what they do, and research what schooling is required, salaries, etc.
Good luck!
Quaison McKitty
Radio Frequency Engineer
3
Answers
West Nyack, New York
Updated
Quaison’s Answer
Hello Drake,
I hope the insights I'm sharing will be beneficial to you.
What did a day in your life look like?
• Punctuality and readiness were key. During my internship, I was actively involved in running Cat 5 cables within the LAN rooms. I also provided support and resolved LAN network connectivity issues for local computers. Additionally, I found learning how to repair Cat 5 cables quite enjoyable.
• The most rewarding part of my day was the learning experience I gained from my team. I was always eager to absorb new knowledge.
What was the hardest part of your pathway?
• To be honest, the uncertainty of whether I was on the right track was a major challenge. However, I constantly reminded myself to trust the process and that my hard work would eventually yield results. I remained committed to my work and continuously built on my learning, which opened up new opportunities.
What advice could you offer me?
• Focus on your own journey, and don't be overly concerned about your starting point or who might be ahead of you.
• You've already laid out your goals/journey (Job Corps, Velex), just continue to build up on.
• Embrace teamwork and be a team player.
• Be eager to learning and absorbing as much as you can at every stage.
• Also, make it a priority to grow your professional network, as it can open many doors for you. (Creating a LinkedIn profile would be a great first step)
• Lastly, remember, it's not about how you start, but how you finish.
Wishing you all the best.
I hope the insights I'm sharing will be beneficial to you.
What did a day in your life look like?
• Punctuality and readiness were key. During my internship, I was actively involved in running Cat 5 cables within the LAN rooms. I also provided support and resolved LAN network connectivity issues for local computers. Additionally, I found learning how to repair Cat 5 cables quite enjoyable.
• The most rewarding part of my day was the learning experience I gained from my team. I was always eager to absorb new knowledge.
What was the hardest part of your pathway?
• To be honest, the uncertainty of whether I was on the right track was a major challenge. However, I constantly reminded myself to trust the process and that my hard work would eventually yield results. I remained committed to my work and continuously built on my learning, which opened up new opportunities.
What advice could you offer me?
• Focus on your own journey, and don't be overly concerned about your starting point or who might be ahead of you.
• You've already laid out your goals/journey (Job Corps, Velex), just continue to build up on.
• Embrace teamwork and be a team player.
• Be eager to learning and absorbing as much as you can at every stage.
• Also, make it a priority to grow your professional network, as it can open many doors for you. (Creating a LinkedIn profile would be a great first step)
• Lastly, remember, it's not about how you start, but how you finish.
Wishing you all the best.