Telcom Engineering

Types of Degrees Telcom Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many telecommunications engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	125
Graduate Certificate	7

What Telcom Engineering Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to telcom engineering and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Telcom Engineering Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Telcom Engineering Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to telcom engineering:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Telcom Engineering Majors

A major in telcom engineering will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Telcom Engineering Major?

People with a telcom engineering degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Biochemical Engineers	6.4%	$96,980
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	3.7%	$102,700
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialists	3.7%	$102,700

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Telcom Engineering?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 61% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of telcom engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	16
White	13
International Students	88
Other Races/Ethnicities	4

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Telcom Engineering. About 70.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Telcom Engineering

Some degrees associated with telcom engineering may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for telcom engineering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	54.1%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.3%
Master’s Degree	14.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.7%
Doctoral Degree	12.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.0%

Online Telcom Engineering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	2	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	0
Bachelor’s Degree	4	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	7	1
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Telcom Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to telcom engineering.

Major	Number of Grads
Electrical Engineering	27,071
Other Electrical Engineering	468
Optical Enginering	115

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By NASA under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.