10 answers
Nazir
Student
Edison, New Jersey
1
Question
Updated
809 views
How demanding/rewarding is this type of work?
What does a typical day on the job look like?
What does your work schedule look like?
How is the work environment in this type of workforce?
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work?
10 answers
Desmond Puerner
Senior Manager - Global Network Operations
1
Answer
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Desmond’s Answer
Hi Nazir, I hope the New Year has been wonderful for you!
I've been in Telecommunications for the past 13 years. I've worked for two of the largest companies in the United States - previously AT&T, and currently Verizon where I am a Senior Manager in Global Network Operations with a team of 5 reports and 86 indirect reports. This industry is very fast-paced and ever-evolving; agility and adaptibility is key! If you are fascinated with technology and love being able to connect the world with all of it's awesome abilities, then this industry is for you.
What does a typical day on the job look like?
Every day is different! My day can be comprised of many meetings, reviewing/addressing items on daily reports, or overseeing that network events are cared for accordingly while keeping my leadership updated. I could also be working through daily/monthly/quarterly/annual tasks as well as making sure projects move along as forecasted and/or essentially, doing all at the same time.
Additionally, my day could consist of being in the field with the people/teams while observing our offices and all of the machines, our network, assets, etc. while building partnerships with other organizations across the enterprise.
What does your work schedule look like?
Typically, my schedule is Monday-Friday and 8:00am-5:00pm, but being in telecommunications, my team and I have to be engaged/ready to respond to any network event 24x7x365. For example, when our network's integrity is compromised by a natural disaster such as a hurricane, it's 24x7 until re-established. This is where the teamwork and accountability comes in to play - at it's finest.
How is the work environment in this type of workforce?
At Verizon, the work environment is wonderful. From a culture standpoint, it's very inclusive, there's a lot of open-communication, leadership and executives are available for conversation engagement, and the V-teamers are gritty, highly intelligent, and take great pride in what they do.
The work environment per the industry is very fast-paced and demanding. It's important to stay on top of communciations and remain engaged. The good thing is, every day is different and there's infinite opportunity for professional/technical growth and exploration as well.
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work?
Regarding the company, I have amazing health benefits for my family and myself. There's also great Tuition Reimbursement, wonderful discounts on monthly mobile services, accessory discounts, and many employee discounts when it comes to travel, entertainment, buying homes/automobiles, etc. The biggest benefit though is working for an outstanding company that offers hybrid schedules, prioritizes work/life balance, makes you feel valued, and prioritizes cultivating an optimistic and forward thinking culture for the people. Regarding the work, you get the benefit of participating in innovative and fascinating projects, builds and tasks, that keeps the world connected, literally, and you can share with others, "I did that" respectively.
I've been in Telecommunications for the past 13 years. I've worked for two of the largest companies in the United States - previously AT&T, and currently Verizon where I am a Senior Manager in Global Network Operations with a team of 5 reports and 86 indirect reports. This industry is very fast-paced and ever-evolving; agility and adaptibility is key! If you are fascinated with technology and love being able to connect the world with all of it's awesome abilities, then this industry is for you.
What does a typical day on the job look like?
Every day is different! My day can be comprised of many meetings, reviewing/addressing items on daily reports, or overseeing that network events are cared for accordingly while keeping my leadership updated. I could also be working through daily/monthly/quarterly/annual tasks as well as making sure projects move along as forecasted and/or essentially, doing all at the same time.
Additionally, my day could consist of being in the field with the people/teams while observing our offices and all of the machines, our network, assets, etc. while building partnerships with other organizations across the enterprise.
What does your work schedule look like?
Typically, my schedule is Monday-Friday and 8:00am-5:00pm, but being in telecommunications, my team and I have to be engaged/ready to respond to any network event 24x7x365. For example, when our network's integrity is compromised by a natural disaster such as a hurricane, it's 24x7 until re-established. This is where the teamwork and accountability comes in to play - at it's finest.
How is the work environment in this type of workforce?
At Verizon, the work environment is wonderful. From a culture standpoint, it's very inclusive, there's a lot of open-communication, leadership and executives are available for conversation engagement, and the V-teamers are gritty, highly intelligent, and take great pride in what they do.
The work environment per the industry is very fast-paced and demanding. It's important to stay on top of communciations and remain engaged. The good thing is, every day is different and there's infinite opportunity for professional/technical growth and exploration as well.
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work?
Regarding the company, I have amazing health benefits for my family and myself. There's also great Tuition Reimbursement, wonderful discounts on monthly mobile services, accessory discounts, and many employee discounts when it comes to travel, entertainment, buying homes/automobiles, etc. The biggest benefit though is working for an outstanding company that offers hybrid schedules, prioritizes work/life balance, makes you feel valued, and prioritizes cultivating an optimistic and forward thinking culture for the people. Regarding the work, you get the benefit of participating in innovative and fascinating projects, builds and tasks, that keeps the world connected, literally, and you can share with others, "I did that" respectively.
Vicki Kropf
Marketing Manager
3
Answers
Oceanside, New York
Updated
Vicki’s Answer
Hi Nazir. I have worked in telecommunications for 32 years for the same company and have many different jobs. Each one has looked very different on a daily basis and each team and environment has been very different. This is one of the things I love about telecommunications. It has many different applications, lines of business, products, etc. That being said....
My current job is working in Marketing- Product Management for our Wholesale line of business. As a seasoned employee who has had many roles, my responsibilities vary. I work both in a Product Manager capacity and a Staff Support capacity. This makes my days very interesting and challenging. I often need to balance due dates and priorities to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
I mainly work standard business hours, but I have flexibility when I need it and I am flexible when the job needs it. I work mostly at home, but I do go to a office if it makes sense for F2F meetings.
My company offers excellent compensation and benefits that have given me the ability to have a very good life. I know this varies among telecommunications companies, but I believe for the most part, this industry can provide someone an interesting, comfortable, challenging career.
Try to narrow down the job type you are thinking about.
My current job is working in Marketing- Product Management for our Wholesale line of business. As a seasoned employee who has had many roles, my responsibilities vary. I work both in a Product Manager capacity and a Staff Support capacity. This makes my days very interesting and challenging. I often need to balance due dates and priorities to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
I mainly work standard business hours, but I have flexibility when I need it and I am flexible when the job needs it. I work mostly at home, but I do go to a office if it makes sense for F2F meetings.
My company offers excellent compensation and benefits that have given me the ability to have a very good life. I know this varies among telecommunications companies, but I believe for the most part, this industry can provide someone an interesting, comfortable, challenging career.
Vicki recommends the following next steps:
jasmine mcmahan
cs
1
Answer
Simpsonville, South Carolina
Updated
jasmine’s Answer
Its definitely a demanding job because you deal with a lot of customers from all over the world, but its also rewarding as well... I work from home so that is a plus there, also my work hours benefit my lifestyle outside of work.. I work a split shift so my hours are 9:30 to 1:30 and 5:30 to 9:30.. takes a bit of getting used to and it fits my life balance as well... We have great health benefits as well...
Frances Long
Network Engineer
13
Answers
Bedminster Township, New Jersey
Updated
Frances’s Answer
Hi Nazir - Shout out to Edison! As an AT&T Network Engineer, I work primarily from my home in NJ but I do report into the AT&T office in Bedminster. I work with other international telecommunications companies primarily on collaborative conference calls and email. I start very early 5:30-6:30 am so I can work with Asia, Europe, Middle East and African nations during their work day. I am a management employee, so I am expected to be available until the end of the US work day daily. As a salaried management employee I do what it takes to get the job done. There are occasions when it is necessary and expected for me take meetings out of my normal hours. It is important to be inclusive and work with other countries within their time zones; not just US time zones. Within the international organization of AT&T, we are very supportive of each other and help our teammates with any network solutions that require 'out of the box' thinking. As they say, 'two brains are better than one!' At AT&T we are respectful and inclusive. The group I work in has more experienced employees. As people retire, young people are filling in and enjoy learning from the older folks. In addition, younger people integrate more modern methods of doing work which the more experienced employees are eager to incorporate. AT&T has a comparable benefit package to other companies of our size - medical, vacation time, 401K, employee discounts, etc.
Check out the AT&T Careers website: www.att.jobs/careers/at&t
Search for Internships or Jobs in your area of expertise
Search for jobs in your area or remote
Frances recommends the following next steps:
Martin (Marty) Robinson
Manager
4
Answers
Hagerstown, Maryland
Updated
Martin (Marty)’s Answer
Hi Nazir!
A typical day in my work life consists of working from home and completing whatever my tasks are for the day. My schedule is quite flexible. Since Covid, we are mostly all working from home, which affords much flexibility. Verizon offers excellent hardware for your work from home experience. Additionally, online tools for instant messaging, web meetings, etc. to make your collaborative experiences almost as good as being face to face! The work environment will vary depending on the type of work you perform. For instance, if you work in an outside technical function, that is quite different from being in an office environment or working from home. But again, Verizon offers so many useful tools wherever you work, enabling you to be effective and productive no matter where you are working. I am in a coffee shop right now (!) writing this, because I have an appointment in 30 minutes, so I have the convenience with the tools offered to be able to achieve this!
My personal work schedule is basically Monday - Friday from ~ 9am - 6pm ET. Many workgroups offer flexibility on your start-stop times to fit your time-zone, etc. Work-life balance is very important to Verizon, so the flexibility for me is awesome.
You asked about the types of benefits offered working at Verizon. Besides the work environment benefits I mentioned earlier, the medical/vision/dental benefits are quite good. When my wife had heart surgery a few years ago, the hospital billing person said "you have very good insurance" ... I guess that was in comparison to what she saw others had ... so that was great information to have since I don't know how to compare Verizon benefits with others, but I am very satisfied.
I wish you the very best of luck in your future career!
A typical day in my work life consists of working from home and completing whatever my tasks are for the day. My schedule is quite flexible. Since Covid, we are mostly all working from home, which affords much flexibility. Verizon offers excellent hardware for your work from home experience. Additionally, online tools for instant messaging, web meetings, etc. to make your collaborative experiences almost as good as being face to face! The work environment will vary depending on the type of work you perform. For instance, if you work in an outside technical function, that is quite different from being in an office environment or working from home. But again, Verizon offers so many useful tools wherever you work, enabling you to be effective and productive no matter where you are working. I am in a coffee shop right now (!) writing this, because I have an appointment in 30 minutes, so I have the convenience with the tools offered to be able to achieve this!
My personal work schedule is basically Monday - Friday from ~ 9am - 6pm ET. Many workgroups offer flexibility on your start-stop times to fit your time-zone, etc. Work-life balance is very important to Verizon, so the flexibility for me is awesome.
You asked about the types of benefits offered working at Verizon. Besides the work environment benefits I mentioned earlier, the medical/vision/dental benefits are quite good. When my wife had heart surgery a few years ago, the hospital billing person said "you have very good insurance" ... I guess that was in comparison to what she saw others had ... so that was great information to have since I don't know how to compare Verizon benefits with others, but I am very satisfied.
I wish you the very best of luck in your future career!
Kenwyn Subidar
Field Engineering
2
Answers
Couva, Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago
Updated
Kenwyn’s Answer
If you love being and working outdoors while earning a decent salary Telecomms Field Engineering is where you want to be.
Your days will never be boring since each day will see you working in a different location.
You will get to see the country like few people can...mountains beaches great scenery.
You would work as part of a team whose mission is to keep the network operational 24/7/365 minimising unplanned downtime and working non stop to restore unplanned service disruptions.
You will be attacked by mosquitos bees and every imaginable biting insect.
You will work long hours to restore service bearing in mind that the community where you are working is depending on you to restore connectivity with their loved ones.
If you are rostered to be on-call you will work on weekends and holidays, and when called by the NOC you will work until service is restored or you are relieved.
You will work under every imaginable type of weather condition.
This job is not for the faint hearted, its for tough people who like challenges continuous learning and winning.
Your manager may yell at you if he thinks you are taking too long to restore service but hes just thinking about the customers too so dont take it personally.
You need a cool analytical mind to troubleshoot and resolve network faults and the more you understand how the system works the easier it becomes to find the root cause and either repair replace or find a temporary workaround.
You will upgrade SW and HW systems Optimise RBS/BTS systems troubleshoot AC and DC power systems Standby Power systems.
You may work with FTTX systems, PDH and SDH Microwave systems, Satellite Systems, Radio Access Network Systems, Wireless systems, DAS, Land Mobile etc.
Being someone who gets the job done you will invest in additional tools and training to keep ahead of developments in the field.
There are some downsides. While you will have a lot of freedom while working in the field it can be disadvantageous since you wont have a lot of "face time" with Managers and others in the Head Office who may make decisions about promotions, the tradeoff can be great camaraderie with your onsite teams of Riggers Contractors and others and that sense of accomplishment when you first bring a service to a community where there was none before or restore service after a Network Failure.
I hope this helps.
Your days will never be boring since each day will see you working in a different location.
You will get to see the country like few people can...mountains beaches great scenery.
You would work as part of a team whose mission is to keep the network operational 24/7/365 minimising unplanned downtime and working non stop to restore unplanned service disruptions.
You will be attacked by mosquitos bees and every imaginable biting insect.
You will work long hours to restore service bearing in mind that the community where you are working is depending on you to restore connectivity with their loved ones.
If you are rostered to be on-call you will work on weekends and holidays, and when called by the NOC you will work until service is restored or you are relieved.
You will work under every imaginable type of weather condition.
This job is not for the faint hearted, its for tough people who like challenges continuous learning and winning.
Your manager may yell at you if he thinks you are taking too long to restore service but hes just thinking about the customers too so dont take it personally.
You need a cool analytical mind to troubleshoot and resolve network faults and the more you understand how the system works the easier it becomes to find the root cause and either repair replace or find a temporary workaround.
You will upgrade SW and HW systems Optimise RBS/BTS systems troubleshoot AC and DC power systems Standby Power systems.
You may work with FTTX systems, PDH and SDH Microwave systems, Satellite Systems, Radio Access Network Systems, Wireless systems, DAS, Land Mobile etc.
Being someone who gets the job done you will invest in additional tools and training to keep ahead of developments in the field.
There are some downsides. While you will have a lot of freedom while working in the field it can be disadvantageous since you wont have a lot of "face time" with Managers and others in the Head Office who may make decisions about promotions, the tradeoff can be great camaraderie with your onsite teams of Riggers Contractors and others and that sense of accomplishment when you first bring a service to a community where there was none before or restore service after a Network Failure.
I hope this helps.
Arleen Keller
Manager in 60 at AT&T
1
Answer
Triadelphia, West Virginia
Updated
Arleen’s Answer
I worked in Advanced Technical Support for AT&T. I worked for the company for ten years. I left AT&T, because the work was extremely monotonous. I was talking on the phone constantly for 8 or more hours, five days per week. Working on the phones is certainly not for the creative or active person. Whatever career you choose, keep in mind that you will be doing it 40 hours per week. All calls were recorded and there was a list of one dozen or more things that you must do and say on each call. This career is only for the very patient. The money is good, but it was not worth it to me. Many others were completely happy doing the same thing day after day. You must be one of those people if you choose any career answering phones.
You have started at the right place. Keep speaking to those already working the job. They can tell you exactly what the job is like.
Arleen recommends the following next steps:
Tanya Brownlee
Senior Project Manager
1
Answer
Bogart, Georgia
Updated
Tanya’s Answer
Hi Nazir,
Nice to meet you virtually. I have had the opportunity to work for ATT for 23 years and proud to say I have done so.
For your questions, it can be both demanding and rewarding. The thing I like most about working here is that there the ability to move to different positions to continue to learn and develop all the time. The learning never stops. When I started at the company, I started in sales right out of college. It was something different every single day. We had goal to achieve monthly which was demanding yet rewarding since the more you sell, the more you earn! The ability to make a customer's day was extremely motivating for me. Since it was retail, I had to be open to work nights and weekends, holidays etc. You have to be there when the customer is there. Like any role, you have to be good at what you do to be promoted. I worked very hard to learn as much as I could, took on additional responsibilities as they became available, networked and eventually was promoted into leadership. Many years later I have been in sales operations, human responses and project management. My role now is more of a Monday- Friday 8am-5pm day for the most part, and I love what I do. For me it was important to choose a company with growth potential. You may need to start with a position that isn't the perfect schedule or has a few things you don't love but getting your foot in the door and doing well at that role, opens the door for that future position that could be your dream job. Hope that helps.
How is the work environment in this type of workforce?
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work?
Nice to meet you virtually. I have had the opportunity to work for ATT for 23 years and proud to say I have done so.
For your questions, it can be both demanding and rewarding. The thing I like most about working here is that there the ability to move to different positions to continue to learn and develop all the time. The learning never stops. When I started at the company, I started in sales right out of college. It was something different every single day. We had goal to achieve monthly which was demanding yet rewarding since the more you sell, the more you earn! The ability to make a customer's day was extremely motivating for me. Since it was retail, I had to be open to work nights and weekends, holidays etc. You have to be there when the customer is there. Like any role, you have to be good at what you do to be promoted. I worked very hard to learn as much as I could, took on additional responsibilities as they became available, networked and eventually was promoted into leadership. Many years later I have been in sales operations, human responses and project management. My role now is more of a Monday- Friday 8am-5pm day for the most part, and I love what I do. For me it was important to choose a company with growth potential. You may need to start with a position that isn't the perfect schedule or has a few things you don't love but getting your foot in the door and doing well at that role, opens the door for that future position that could be your dream job. Hope that helps.
How is the work environment in this type of workforce?
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work?
Lance Anderson
Engineer
4
Answers
Bolivar, Missouri
Updated
Lance’s Answer
What does a typical day on the job look like?
A typical day for me is managing and maintaining the network. That could be completing a new tower build, fixing an issue with an existing tower, taking training, training others or working on a special project
What does your work schedule look like?
The majority of my work schedule is 8-5 with an on call week mixed in. There are occasions when I need to work at night but alot of times I am able to work my own schedule.
How is the work environment in this type of workforce?
The work environment is great! I get to decide what needs my attention that day and go do it. I interact with coworkers throughout the day and occasionally have events and meetings where we meet up as a group.
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work?
Time off, flexibility, great benefits and great coworkers
A typical day for me is managing and maintaining the network. That could be completing a new tower build, fixing an issue with an existing tower, taking training, training others or working on a special project
What does your work schedule look like?
The majority of my work schedule is 8-5 with an on call week mixed in. There are occasions when I need to work at night but alot of times I am able to work my own schedule.
How is the work environment in this type of workforce?
The work environment is great! I get to decide what needs my attention that day and go do it. I interact with coworkers throughout the day and occasionally have events and meetings where we meet up as a group.
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work?
Time off, flexibility, great benefits and great coworkers
Julio Arriola
Engineering Manager
2
Answers
Lake Forest, California
Updated
Julio’s Answer
Hi Nazir
Hope this helps. Good luck!!
What does a typical day on the job look like? I check on performance at the beginning of the day, talk to my team to get updates or coordinate required actions, talk to my boss to see if there are any important items, attend meetings (most of them technical but there are a few all-hands to attend every once in a while). I have a work phone that I use to be in touch should something critical come up during non-work hours.
What does your work schedule look like? The intended schedule is a normal office day (8AM-5PM) but given the dynamic nature of our industry and our responsibility to manage a live network with millions of customers, we do have to flexible enough to operate outside these hours. You can still plan your days and weeks, but disruptions to the plan are frequent.
How is the work environment in this type of workforce? It's very dynamic - the technology that we manage evolves quickly, so you have to be very agile with your skills. The environment is also very collaborative and focused in order to support network growth that keeps up pace with customer demand.
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work? Good compensation and benefit packages (medical/dental/401k/life insurance/saving accounts)
Hope this helps. Good luck!!
What does a typical day on the job look like? I check on performance at the beginning of the day, talk to my team to get updates or coordinate required actions, talk to my boss to see if there are any important items, attend meetings (most of them technical but there are a few all-hands to attend every once in a while). I have a work phone that I use to be in touch should something critical come up during non-work hours.
What does your work schedule look like? The intended schedule is a normal office day (8AM-5PM) but given the dynamic nature of our industry and our responsibility to manage a live network with millions of customers, we do have to flexible enough to operate outside these hours. You can still plan your days and weeks, but disruptions to the plan are frequent.
How is the work environment in this type of workforce? It's very dynamic - the technology that we manage evolves quickly, so you have to be very agile with your skills. The environment is also very collaborative and focused in order to support network growth that keeps up pace with customer demand.
What type of benefits is offered doing this type of work? Good compensation and benefit packages (medical/dental/401k/life insurance/saving accounts)
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