How to become a telecommunications engineer
Official title: Telecommunications engineer
Also called: Fibre optics engineer, Field service engineer (telecommunications), Microwave engineer, Radio frequency engineer, Radio frequency identification device (RFID) engineer, Satellite engineer, Signal and communications engineer, Telecommunications network professional, Telephone engineer, Associate Radio Frequency Engineer, Senior Assistant Engineer/Assistant Engineer (Signal and Communications), Senior Engineer/Engineer (Signal and Communications)
Telecommunications engineer studies, designs and advises on telecommunications systems and equipment, and plans and supervises their development, construction, installation, operation, maintenance and repair. He/she plans and designs telecommunications devices or components, systems, equipment and distribution centres and communication networks, and specifies the production or installation methods, materials, quality and safety standards.
Main tasks
- Advising on and designing telecommunications devices or components, systems, equipment and distribution centres
- Specifying production or installation methods, materials, quality and safety standards and directing production or installation work of telecommunications products and systems
- Organising and directing maintenance and repair of existing telecommunication systems, motors and equipment
- Researching and advising on telecommunications equipment
- Planning and designing communications networks based on wired, fibre optical and wireless communication media
- Designing telecommunications networks and radio and television distribution systems, including both cable and over the air
Ways in
- University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 4 universities in Singapore
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $73,896 a year. The middle half earn $58,380 to $121,272 a year.
- Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
- Media/Broadcast engineer
- Electrical engineer
- Power generation/distribution engineer
- Lift engineer
- Electronics engineer
- Computer engineer
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Questions people ask
How do I become a telecommunications engineer?
Ways in include: Engineering degrees.
How much does a telecommunications engineer earn in Singapore?
Median full-time pay is $73,896 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $58,380 to $121,272.
Will AI change the work of a telecommunications engineer?
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026