Wireless Network Engineer
A Wireless Network Engineer job description includes installing, configuring and maintaining wireless network equipment, network management and security including 802.11 b/g/n/ac standards and industry best practices for implementing high-density WIFI solutions.
Moreover, to put it concisely, a Wireless Network Engineer needs to assess, plan and develop for several operations capabilities for wireless telecommunications.
As more companies continue to embrace Wireless LAN, the demand for wireless network engineers has grown manifold in the recent past. The proliferation of mobile applications, which require testing in a wireless environment, is also one of the other reasons why enterprises need their services more. Research indicates that 60% of enterprise level managers report utilizing freelancers in their workforce.
But with the emergence of Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) DevOps, the advent of 5G, and virtualization, it is necessary for Wireless Network Engineer to be open to reskill themselves, as it could likely bring about changes that might change the way they operate.
It is, however, averred by experts that despite all the changes that may take place in the networking landscape, the demand for Wireless Network Engineers will continue to rise.
Wireless Network Engineer Job Description
To become a freelance Wireless Network Engineers, aspirants need to be well-versed in wireless equipment, wireless LAN (WLAN) standards, design, and protocols. Wireless Network Engineer job descriptions will require excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. They should also have good communication skills as they would need to work alongside vendors, network technicians, and customers.
Wireless Network Engineers need to be available round-the-clock to support mission-critical applications. They should have strong customer service skills.
The responsibilities and duties of a Wireless Network Engineer include the following.
- Devise, plan, deploy, and improve wireless networks from the beginning to implementation by collaborating with vendors, managers, and network engineers.
- Understand client requirements to be able to cater to their appropriate needs.
- Manage firewalls, such as Palo Alto, Juniper or Cisco ASA.
- Handhold other in-house engineers to train them on wireless technologies, besides guiding other non-technical people.
- Use tools to evaluate to test and tweak wireless products, such as routers, switches, hubs, bridges, virtual private networks (VPNs), and network amplifiers, among others.
- Design and validate the performance, quality, and reliability of the RF link.
- Design and implement WLANs and other wireless networks.
- Write manuals and document current network procedures.
- Have extensive knowledge of routing protocols (OSPF, EIGRP, and BGP).
- Make use of enterprise monitoring tools (SolarWinds and Splunk).
- Optimize network performance by supervising performance, addressing network problems and breakdowns, and partnering with network engineers to optimize the network.
- Develop and implement policies and classify and oversee access to protect network systems.
- Make sure that all equipment, including servers and the other network products, are well-connected.
- Devise and support radio frequencies (RF) link performance, reliability, and quality.
- Enable data and system protection by developing and maintaining mechanisms for backing up and retrieval.
- Collaborate with different teams to ensure the optimized performance of VoIP and other wireless telecommunication devices.
- Work with security team to evaluate threats, troubleshoot issues, and comply with appropriate security configuration standards of their organizations.
- Design and deploy changes to the configurations of clients as per the applicable change management process.
- Proactively handle all network security solutions.
- Make use of testing and diagnostic tools to assess and modify equipment.
Wireless Network Engineers Job Prospects
As more companies continue to embrace Wireless LAN, the demand for wireless network engineers has grown recently. The proliferation of mobile applications, which require being tested, is also one of the other reasons why enterprises need their services more.
With the emergence of Software Defined Networking (SDN), DevOps, 5G, and virtualization, it is necessary for an engineer to be open to reskill themselves, as it could likely bring about changes that will change the way networks operate.
It is, however, averred by experts that despite all the changes that may take place in the networking landscape, the demand for Wireless Network Engineers will continue to grow.
Wireless Network Engineer Training & Educational Qualifications
Most employers would look for Wireless Network Engineers who have gone through wireless network engineer training to earn a bachelor's degree or an equivalent in mathematics, engineering or computer science. They should have a certification in Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Wireless or Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) or Aruba Certified Mobility Associate (ACMA).
Since it is a skillset that requires experience, a minimum experience of five years in WAN/LAN engineering is mandatory for an aspirant.
Through wireless network engineer training, they should become adept with wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi, WiMax, and WAP. Wireless Network Engineer Training should have a thorough knowledge of 802.11n and 802.11a. They should be able to understand scripting languages, such as Bash, Perl or Python.
Engineers should have extensive knowledge of both wired and wireless networking.
Wireless Network Engineer Salary
According to Indeed, the average earnings of a Wireless Network Engineer (CCNP certified) range in a senior position from about $87,772 per year to $106,566 per year in the United States. While their average annual earnings are $83,998 per year, freelancers earn $24.57 per hour, says Payscale. There are numerous additional factors that make up the salary of a Wireless Network Engineer.
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