Telecommunication engineering is a fast-paced sector where graduates can work with cutting edge technology and have a global impact. The main objective of the telecoms industry is to allow people to communicate, whether they're talking on traditional fixed-line telephones, or using mobile devices to send and receive data from the cloud. Employers include BT, Virgin Media, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Nortel, Vodafone, O2 and EE, as well as IT consultancy providers such as Accenture and IBM. The sector is broadly split into vendors and carriers: vendor companies such as Metaswitch, Broadsoft and Ericsson sell the hardware and software products that carrier companies such as BT, AT&T and Yahoo! use in their networks. Activities vary by company and industry sector, but generally include research and development of hardware or software, technical sales and marketing, and installation and technical support. Companies that run large networks and data centres are also involved in infrastructure and networking activities. To recognise the importance of employability skills our Telecommunication Engineering degree focuses heavily on developing the competences that employers want such as effective team working, excellent communication skills and confident presentation skills. You will work in our brand new telecommunication laboratory facilities and you will have access to state-of-the-art hardware platforms and software tools in telecommunications, instrumentation and control systems, VLSI design and embedded software, and PCB design and manufacturing.

What it's like working in telecoms Roles are mostly office-based, although it is often possible to work from home. There are opportunities to travel and work abroad, but mobility is not usually a requirement. Teamwork is a major aspect of most roles, and those working in infrastructure or support teams are often client-facing. There isn’t a culture of working very long hours, but things do get more pressured when you’re close to releasing a new product. The sector has remained fairly recession-proof owing to the continued requirement for telecommunications solutions. Projects might include designing and developing new products, product testing, setting up infrastructure and supporting customers. The pace of the work depends on your role: a developer or designer might have a moderately-paced project whereas a colleague in support will work much faster to deal with customer issues. After studying on this course you will be equipped to deal with the variety of design optimisation challenges in the complex and frequently changing world of modern telecommunication systems design and management. You will be a work ready Staffordshire Graduate and enable you to be gainfully employed within the worldwide telecommunication industry or to proceed to further study and research. Our graduates are highly employable. For example in 2013, 100% of our Electronic Engineering graduates and 93% of our Mechanical Engineering graduates were in employment six months after graduation (Source: DLHE 2013).