4.1. Scope of the profession

Syllabus Excerpt

  • nature and scope of telecommunications engineering

  • health and safety issues

  • training for the profession

  • career prospects

  • relations with the community

  • technologies unique to the profession

  • legal and ethical implications

  • engineers as managers

  • current applications and innovations

4.1.1. Nature and Scope

Telecommunication Engineers are responsible for:

  • Equipment: design, build, maintain, repair

  • Transmission Media (copper, optic fibre, radio waves): design, build, maintain, repair, evaluate, control, write software to control and manage

Nature

  • Training - university + postgraduate

  • Systems Analyst - identifying faults & correcting them in systems

4.1.2. Health and Safety Issues

  • In the past, chemical and waste from materials used, e.g. fumes from soldering

  • Now, only (untrue) concerns about radiowaves

4.1.3. Training for the Profession

  • Trade skills for installation and maintenance

  • University Training in engineeering, mathematics, physics, IT software/hardware, design, manufacture, and materials

  • Graduate + Postgraduate Training is often necessary for jobs

  • On-job training

  • As a growing field, so the training is often growing and rapidly developing alongside

4.1.4. Career Prospects

  • 40% of ASX companies have engineer-trained managers

  • Many jobs will exist that do not exist yet

  • Can be government or private companies
    • Smaller companies are at the forefront of innovation as they are agile and can innovate rapidly

4.1.5. Relations with the Community

  • Generally quite good as people like phones & the benefits it provides

  • BUT:
    • visual pollution from wires + infra

    • Annoyance due to delays in installation & management

    • Quality & speed of the Transmission

    • Radiowave safety

4.1.6. Technologies Unique to the Profession

4.1.8. Engineers as Managers

4.1.9. Current Applications and Innovations