Network engineering careers vary based on the company and responsibilities, including telecom service providers, in-house engineers, and freelancers. Engineers can manage various systems, including telephone and internet networks, and may focus on a narrow or broad portion of a network. Interpersonal skills are also important for customer support.
There are many different types of network engineering careers, and the possibilities seem to grow a little each year. Perhaps the most common path starts directly at a telecom company; Engineers in these configurations work to establish and maintain Internet connectivity across broad platforms. Most of these workers are only given a few projects or code to work with, and typically don’t manage the network in their sum. There are also careers within certain companies or corporations, often referred to as “in-house” engineers, and these professionals are often responsible for creating more limited networks, often for the exclusive use of employees and sometimes certain customers. Sometimes people with information technology and coding experience also freelance or work for consulting firms that complete project work for a variety of clients. In most parts of the world, networking technology expertise is very high, and people with the right training often choose employers, workplaces, and geographic locations.
narrowing the net
Network engineering careers vary based on the type of company or organization the engineer works for, as well as the engineer’s responsibilities. In larger companies, a network engineer may be responsible for a very narrow portion of a network, while in larger operations he or she may be responsible for the company’s entire telecommunications system. The “network” in network engineering can refer to a variety of different systems, including telephone networks, where the engineer may be responsible for developing, configuring, and managing the hardware and software of a telephone system; or computer and Internet networks, where the engineer can configure and manage the company’s Internet and Intranet systems.
Telecommunications service providers
Perhaps one of the prominent careers of network engineers is provided by a large telecom service provider that serves various companies with their networking needs. Due to the sheer volume of services that large companies like these provide, many engineers are often kept permanently on staff, and each is often assigned a restricted task. For example, the engineer might focus on the physical installation or configuration of the customer company’s telephone or Internet network.
Alternatively, network engineers can be tasked with being the customer support contact for a subset of the company’s customers. Thus, although the engineer needs a technical background to interface between the client and the other engineers who manage the networks, he will also need interpersonal skills to maintain the relationship with the client.
Working directly for companies
Unlike working for a network service provider, network engineers can also be employed in-house. That is, individual companies can hire their own engineers to manage their own networks, rather than hiring working contracts. Often, these network engineers will be responsible for a variety of networking tasks, including not only configuring and technically managing systems, infrastructure, and web programming, but also training and managing employees in the way they surf the net. Network engineers can also help a company strategically plan its network system in terms of implementing enhancements as needed.
While the term “network engineer” most commonly refers to engineers who manage computer networks or the Internet, there are certainly also network engineers who focus on systems within a company that can expand beyond basic telephone and intercom systems within of a network. Some cover audio/visual conferencing technology and fax systems, for example, and can also coordinate interoperability between countries and sister offices around the world.
Freelance and consulting opportunities
In many cases, it is also possible for network engineering specialists to work as freelance consultants. More often than not, these people need some degree of experience to prove their worth; previous work, both in the telecommunications industry and internally, can also help a person build a network that can lead to work connections later on. A number of qualified professionals also join information technology consulting firms, where they can enjoy the benefits of steady, salaried employment without commitment to a particular service or company. These types of consultants may not have the choice of clients that true freelancers do, which can be a disadvantage.
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