Telecoms Engineer
Also advertised as: Broadband Engineer, broadcast engineer, communications designer, communications engineer, Fibre Engineer, Field Engineer
Installs and maintains the networks that carry phone and internet traffic.
What the job involves
Telecoms engineers install, maintain and repair the infrastructure that carries voice, data and broadband services, from exchange equipment to customer premises. You diagnose faults, run cabling and configure network equipment, often working outdoors or on customer sites. Apprenticeships are the standard entry route.
Typical responsibilities
- Install and maintain telecoms equipment and cabling
- Diagnose and repair network faults
- Configure network and switching equipment
- Carry out planned maintenance visits
- Support new service installations
Common employers
- Telecoms providers
- Network infrastructure contractors
- Broadband installers
- Utility companies
Pay, hours and working environment
Typical pay
£22,000 – £28,000 a year
With experience
£32,000 – £42,000 a year
Typical hours
37.5 hours, often with a van and travel between sites
Working environment
Outdoor and customer site work, in all weather
Remote working
on_site
Demand for this work
high
Pay ranges are indicative guidance drawn from advertised UK vacancies and published careers information. They are not an offer, and actual pay varies by employer, location and experience.
Skills and qualifications
Core skills
- Cabling and installation
- Fault diagnosis
- Network fundamentals
- Health and safety awareness
- Customer communication
- Working at height or in confined spaces
Transferable skills you may already have
- Practical hands-on trade experience
- Problem solving under time pressure
- Customer-facing communication
Requirements employers ask for
- Cabling and installation
- Fault diagnosis
- Network fundamentals
- Health and safety awareness
- Customer communication
- Working at height or in confined spaces
- No formal qualification required
- Full UK driving licence usually required
- Full UK driving licence
- support ICT system users
- ICT network security risks
- signal processing
- quality assurance methodologies
- provide ICT system training
- analyse network bandwidth requirements
- ICT network routing
- microwave principles
- interact with users to gather requirements
- ICT system user requirements
- design process
- ICT communications protocols
Useful but not essential
- Practical hands-on trade experience
- Problem solving under time pressure
- Customer-facing communication
- Level 3 Telecommunications Technician apprenticeship
- City & Guilds telecoms qualifications
- CSCS card for site work
- TypeScript
- C#
- Pascal (computer programming)
- apply technical communication skills
- implement ICT network diagnostic tools
- JavaScript
- integrate system components
- COBOL
Helpful qualifications
- Level 3 Telecommunications Technician apprenticeship
- City & Guilds telecoms qualifications
- CSCS card for site work
Licences and checks
- Full UK driving licence
Ways into this career
A degree is only one route. Where an apprenticeship, work-experience or qualification route exists, it is listed here alongside the academic option.
Apprenticeships and work-based routes
- Telecommunications Technician (Level 3)
Degree and college routes
- Related subject: Electrical engineering
- Related subject: Electronics
- Related subject: IT
Where this career can lead
next
Senior Telecoms Engineer
next
Network Engineer
next
Field Operations Manager
The good parts and the hard parts
What people enjoy
- Practical role with no desk-bound routine
- Strong demand driven by broadband rollout
- Apprenticeship route with a company vehicle often provided
What people find hard
- Outdoor work in poor weather
- Physically demanding, with lifting and climbing
Common questions
- Do you need a degree to become a telecoms engineer?
- No. As well as degree routes, this career can be entered through an apprenticeship or by building experience and qualifications on the job. not_required
- How much does a telecoms engineer earn in the UK?
- Typical advertised pay runs from £22,000 to £28,000 a year, rising towards £42,000 with experience. Figures are indicative guidance rather than an offer.
- What skills transfer into this career?
- Skills that transfer well include Practical hands-on trade experience, Problem solving under time pressure, Customer-facing communication.
Related careers
Scrum Master
Helps agile teams work smoothly and remove obstacles to delivery.
CRM Administrator
Configures and maintains the software a business uses to manage customer relationships.
IT Support Technician
Fixes technology problems for staff or customers, from logins to hardware faults.
Software Developer
Writes, tests and maintains the code behind applications and systems.
Systems Administrator
Keeps servers, networks and business systems running day to day.
Site Reliability Engineer
Applies software engineering to keep large systems reliable at scale.
Where this information comes from
- National Careers Service
- Institute for Apprenticeships
Last reviewed 16 September 2026.
Read how our career data is built and reviewed, or tell us if something here is wrong.