Why demand is growing for 5G-ready telecoms engineers

With many 5G spectrum auctions planned in 2018 we could see 5G deployments happening in the US and some Asian markets later this year. The arrival of 5G is expected to increase productivity and bring new products and services to market that have yet to be invented. Building on the foundation created by 4G LTE, 5G will dramatically increase the speed at which data is transferred across the network.

With the new opportunities brought about by this technology, 5G will create a highly competitive business environment across multiple industries. But it can only be built with the right skills and, as a result, many newly qualified engineers, technicians and 5G-ready engineers could find themselves being in very high demand over the next few years.

According to new research commissioned by wireless telecommunications company, Qualcomm, 5G technology will have the same economic impact as some of the biggest innovations mankind has witnessed in recent history such as electricity, the steam engine, and the internet due to its status as a ‘general purpose technology’. It’s expected that 5G will be used to enhance everything from mobile broadband to the Internet of Things (IoT). With $200 billion to be invested annually in the 5G value chain, the research estimates 5G will create $12.3 trillion of global economic output by 2035.

With this huge investment in 5G technology and colossal economic output expected, there is growing demand for 5G-ready telecoms professionals. In fact, the authors of the research predict that there will be 22 million 5G-related jobs by 2035.

Mark Payne, Network Infrastructure Recruitment Specialist at Networkers, comments on the skills and experience hiring employers will be seeking:

“In the 5G telecoms market, where talent is becoming a key commodity, we are starting to see a surge in demand for 5G-ready telecoms engineers who will be required for the radio network, core network and backhaul.”

“As telecom operators and vendors look to deploy fifth-generation (5G) networks and services they will be looking for engineers with knowledge of technologies such as LTE-Advanced, SON, C-RAN, Massive MIMO, Millimetre wave (mmWave), Network functions virtualization (NFV), Software Defined Networks (SDN), Network Slicing and IoT.”

“Many engineers will need to evolve their skills and adapt to these new technologies. Gaining knowledge of scripting and open source software will be particularly sought after as companies gear up to embrace 5G technology.”

To find out more about Qualcomm’s research, read the full article from RCR Wireless here.

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