Job Responsibilities
Design of a wireless network. This job is beoken down into 2
responsibilities 1)find a location to place antennas to improve
coverage and 2)attend zoning hearings...1)I evaluated areas to
determine which had poor or no covearge at all. This is done by
driving an area, with a laptop connected to a mobile phone and
gps. While driving I place a call. The laptop has software to
track the latitude/longitude along with the signal strength at
each point. I later plot this on a mapping software. Once I
determine which areas need an antenna (cell site), I determine
the best place to put an antenna, the height and type of
antenna. I use a software with plots signal strengths. 2)Zoning
hearings are necessary because if a company is to put a cell
site in an area, the zoning board in a psecific town must
approve it. This requires meeting with attorneys and nightly
hearings where I give testimony.
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Job Requirements
Manhattan college has small classes; therefore, a student feels
he/she can ask questions. The professors are accessible. EE
requires all the calculus & general physics courses. You need to
at least finish calculus I before beginning the basic EE class
(although caluculus II would be much more beneficial). EE uses
alot of calculaus II. The EE has power, ciruitry,
communications, probability and has added wireless courses.
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Uppers
I have my own responsibilities. There is no micromanaging. I get to work outside
as well as in the office. Wireless is everywhere and allowed me to travel and
work anywhere in the world.
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Downers
The zoning hearings are tough. They are mostly at night (usually
beginning around 7:30) and it could end very late until early
morning. These hearings are time consuming and can be stressful.
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Lifestyle
Dress comfortable when going to the field. You could be walking in areas that
are not paved. Depending on the area of location of your responsibilities the
drive time to get to a location could be hours or minutes away. For areas far
away, I try to set up 3-4 visits in an area and leave early to avoid traffic.
That would take up the whole day. Usually a 4hr meeting every 2 weeks to discuss
the status of all the sites. Alot of creating plots for zoning hearing. These
plots are put on a large board for testimony. Also when in the office I always
have the comouter open with the coverage area of the existing coverage along with
possible candidate (sites I am thinking of approving). Work areas are nt written
in stone. It depends n what has to be done and where it need to be done. In an
average month. approximately 30-40% is out of the office.
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Compensation
As a contractor, the salary is 11K a month. Nothing else
included. And when going to the field, the company provides a
company van. If I worked outside my home area than a percentage
could be used as per diem.
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Advice to Jobseekers
I would advice getting experience with companies that hire
engineers and contract them out. Companies like LCC and WFI.
They hire you as a permanent with a lower salary and pay you a
perdiem if you travel outside their main headquarters. Something
like 50-80K with a perdiem of a few grand a month for living
exepenses.
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