TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 

Telecommunication Engineering

With the explosion of electronic media, telecom industry has become one of the fast growing sectors in every corner of the world. This field plays a major role in our day to day life and its technology has helped us to see, hear and communicate over vast distances. In this era of information and communication, more digitally enhanced communication devices like mobiles, internet and satellites are paving way to expansion for the wider reach of communication technology. As a result, there is a great demand for trained professionals in this industry and hence the importance of Telecommunication Engineering.

Telecommunication, a major field within Electronic engineering, is concerned with all types of information and transmission networks. It is the exchange of information over a distance, through electronic means and deals with communication systems such as cables, radio, satellite communications, TV, radar, navigational communication equipments etc. Telecommunication engineering is involved with the designing, manufacturing and operation of telecommunication devices. This exciting field of engineering is gaining tremendous popularity and the wide area of services provided by the telecom sector makes it a lucrative career for the youngsters with a range of opportunities.

Telecommunication engineers have always been in great demand because of the growing requisite of digital and wireless communication networks. It is an apt career for those who are interested in the fields of microelectronic devices, signal processing, data networking, coding, compression, encryption and transmission. Usually telecommunication engineers deal with the line, wireless or radio communication. The major tasks performed by them are designing and installation of telecommunications equipment according to the clients interest. They are responsible for the network maintenance, quality control of the products and developing software in the telecom industry, and troubleshooting. A telecommunication engineer should possess good knowledge of fiber optics, cellular technology, laser technology etc.

Career prospects in this highly specialised field is based on the candidates specialized skill and training, which varies from basic circuit designers to strategic mass developers. The main focal areas of telecommunication engineering are research and development, production, servicing , sales and marketing and teaching. Graduates with specialization in these areas can be employed as design development engineer, production engineer, quality assurance engineer, sales engineer, servicing engineer and software engineers.

 

Telecommunication Engineering : Eligibility & Course Areas

Students who have a strong foundation in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics can opt for a career in Telecommunication engineering. To become a telecommunication engineer one should have a graduate degree (B.E / B. Tech) or postgraduate degree (M.E) or at least a diploma in Telecommunication engineering.

Educational: The basic eligibility criteria for B.E / B.Tech is higher secondary or 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics with fairly high percentage of marks in aggregate. In some universities diploma holders in telecommunication engineering or those with B.Sc. degree are eligible for admission to the B.E. course. After the bachelor's degree, one can go in for a post graduate degree; i.e. M.E/ M.Tech in telecommunication engineering. Some institutes offer MBA course besides certificate, diploma and post graduate diploma courses in telecommunication, while some institutes offer various certificate and diploma and post graduate diploma courses. The basic eligibility for MBA and diploma courses is graduation and for post graduate diploma courses it is B.Tech / B.E

Selection: Admission to the B.E/ B.Tech courses is made on the basis of the marks obtained in +2 and the merit in the entrance examinations. Entrance to the IIT's is through the JEE' (Joint Entrance Exam) and for other major institutions through AIEEE (All India Engineering/Pharmacy/Architecture Entrance Examination) or their own separate entrance exams and other state level and national level exams.

A student with B.Tech degree in telecommunication from an A.I.C.T.E (All India Council of Technical Education) approved University can get admission to M.E/ M.Tech courses. 

Symbiosis Institute of telecom management admit students to MBA course on the basis of the marks obtained in Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP), Group Discussion and Personal Interview. In Amity Institute of Telecom Technology and Management, Noida the admission is based on CAT, MAT and GMAT score. 

The Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) is the National Apex Professional body of electronics and telecommunication, computer and IT professionals. The institute conducts both the graduate ship examination (AMIETE – Associate Membership of Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers) and diploma examination (DIPIETE – Diploma of Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers) in Electronics and Telecommunication and Computer Science and Engineering streams. A pass in AMIETE examination is recognised by Government of India for the purposes of recruitment to superior posts and services under the Central Government while a pass in DIPIETE examination is recognised by the Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India for the purpose of employment to posts and services under the Central Government in the appropriate field. The institute also conducts postgraduate level course ALCCS (Advanced Level Course in Computer Science) which 9s equivalent to M. Tech in Computer Science and is recognised by the Ministry of HRD for the appointment to superior posts and services under the Central Government. 

Duration and Course Content : BE / B.Tech courses are of 4 years duration and the post graduate diploma, ME/ M.Tech and MBA courses are of 2 years. The duration of the diploma courses are 1 year and that of certificate course is 3 months.

A course on telecommunication teach students on various telecommunication devices such as mobile phones, cable TV, satellites, computer networking, radar, navigation etc. Particular emphasis is placed on wireless communication, mobile telephony, GSM architecture, internet protocol media system, CDMA, GPRS network, symbian operating system, voice over internet protocol, designing optical networks and understanding and designing data network etc. 

Personal skill:

The personal attributes needed for a telecommunication engineer is good communication skills, organisational ability, skills in evaluating situations, making quick decisions and solving problems. Excellent analytical and teamwork skills is a necessity, as is a sound knowledge of both computer hardware and software. They should possess a creative and inventive mind, an eye for detail, sustained attention and be very adept in public speech, technical writing and project management. Besides these, good knowledge of science, mathematics and strong background in computer hardware and C-language programming is very essential for the telecommunication engineer.

Telecommunication Engineering : Job Prospects & Career Options

The career prospects for Telecom engineers are increasing rapidly both in India and abroad because of the boom in this industry. Telecommunication Engineers are concerned with establishing communication by means of telephones, telegraphs, radar, radio, tele printers etc. Their work deals with designing, manufacturing, operating, maintaining, installing and troubleshooting of telecom devices. Telephone industry, computer industry, microwave radio systems, satellite communications, earth stations using satellite dishes, cellular phone industry, fiber optics communication systems etc. are some of the areas which provide job opportunities to the Telecommunication Engineers.

Plenty of job opportunities are available for graduates in the telephone industry. They could be employed as engineers/ test engineers, software/ application engineers, product managers, customer support staff, installers/ repairers, power reactor operators, power distributors/ dispatchers and many more. Cable and satellite networks, information and broadcasting sectors , railways or police wireless organizations, aerospace industry, telecommunication service providers, mobile phone service providers are some other areas that one could get a job. They can also find employment in this field as design development, production, quality assurance, sales, servicing and software engineers.

Graduates with excellent talent in designing, installing and troubleshooting telecom networks are in great demand in telecommunication companies such as VSNL, Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL, Reliance, Tata Indicom, Nokia, Siemens, Motorola etc. They can work as Telecom hardware and software engineer, telecom system solutions engineer, real-time computer systems developer, performance optimizer, DSP chip design engineer, image processor, video engineer, artificial intelligence and neural network engineer.

Employment opportunities are available in the filed of paramilitary force like the BSF, CRPF and defense-related organisations. Candidates with B.E/ B.Tech in telecommunication with 2 or 3 years experience can works as teachers and those with ME / M.Tech can work as lecturers or researchers etc. Those with MBA graduation can obtain managerial jobs. 

Some of the career prospects in the field of telecommunication engineering are :

• Research and Development : Telecommunication engineers can work in the field of research and development, which involves testing and conducting studies on new materials and chemical interactions.
• Production : The production engineers are engaged in developing and building the materials, machinery, assembly line operations and quality standardization.
•  Sales and Marketing : Telecommunication engineers with the ability to understand customer needs, evaluate potential applications and advise on matters regarding marketing can work in the field of sales and marketing. 
• Teaching : People with excellent academic record, great communication skills, great interest in teaching, and excellent command over the subject can work as teachers in this field. They are responsible for completing the syllabus of the students within the stipulated period and should handle all type of teaching work in accordance with the task.