Hope on the horizon?

2004 telecommunication job market is starting to look better. Some major 3G companies are still cutting their work force, but hiring (sub)contractors at the same time. A lot of 3G project are entering into the busy rollout phase and experienced people find it easier to find jobs.

In late 2002 telecommunication job market could not be been much worse. More than 500,000 jobs have been lost worldwide in the last two years. Every major vendor and some operators have announced layoffs. The biggest job cuts were in the order of 50,000 in Lucent Technologies, Motorola and now Ericsson. Operators, which have not cut their work force, have head count freezes and very few permanent jobs are created in the industry. GSM operator One.Tel in Australia went bankrupt in 2001 and Broadband Mobile in Norway decided not to build a 3G network and hand back the license to the Government. Even the biggest mobile operator Vodafone has announced that they are going to postpone their 3G software application development, while at the same time cutting permanent staff. If you have tried to apply for a job in telecommunications lately, you will know how hard it is to get somebody to call you back.

So where is the silver lining? Well, some countries are just starting to develop their second generation networks, like Nigeria and Kenya in Africa, Albania and some east European countries. In China and Latin America where the mobile business is booming, there are plenty of jobs opportunities in expanding current second generation networks. All around the world, operators are upgrading their networks to the so called 2.5 generation which offers higher data speeds using GPRS technology. Finally, in most mature GSM countries, operators have already started work on developing 3G, much of which is being outsourced to smaller local companies. Greenfield 3G operators are also slowly getting started. Opportunities are there but you need to be ready for them, competition for jobs is tougher now.

To get a good 3G/GPRS job you need to become an expert in your field. Go to internal and external technical courses, even pay for those if you have to. For example APIS, Widermind, Imagicom, PMCG Consultancy, Mpirical, Aircom or Wraycastle provide a range of 3G technical courses. Universities like for example University of Oxford and University of Surrey offers short UMTS, Electronics and Communications courses for graduate-level professional engineers. Attend seminars and exhibitions to make contacts, nothing beats a good network of friends. Research the companies and get to know the people you want to work with. Some of the main events are listed here. Local events provide a better opportunity to get a deeper understanding of what is happening with the organisations in your area. Get all the literature you can get your hands on. Our Books Page has a good selection of 3G / UMTS books. Get ready for the job and the job will come to you!

Good places on the Internet to start looking for a job are Jobserve, Hotjobs and Monster. Jobserve is the biggest and the most popular 3G/UMTS work search site and has links to numerous agents' web sites, which contain more job listings. Free web resources like Job UK gives you advices and tips how to find and get the job you want.

If you have good job search tips email those to us.

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