atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information IT Guy Seeking Telecom training / College/ career advice

Hey everyone, this is an awesome resource and I've learned a lot just by reading.

I'm 21 and curently work in IT as a network engineer. I want to dive into the world of telecom work, specifically working with PBX and VoIP systems, doing install, config, maintnance, ect.

I was wondering if there are any Colleges that offer a good formal degree AS or BS related to telecom that would be of benefit. Aside from the CCNA cert and FCC license I hold, what are other useful certs that are worth looking into?

Any career advice or information would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks,
Matt
:toast:

Matt, I have to be honest with you. The only way to obtain "real" telephone system training is to go through a manufacturer. You are pretty much screwed there since dealers usually the only ones who have access to these resources. You will need to work for a dealer willing to invest in your training. Even then, you would only receive training on that particular manufacturer's product. There's no longer a "generic" phone system training program.

Unlike computers where there are only a handful of operating systems out there, EVERY telephone system manufacturer has it's own unique protocol. There's no inter-system compatiblity.

Gone are the days of generic systems, like 1A2 where you could mix and match products from various manufacturers. Today, every system is unique and not compatible with any other. While there may be few exceptions to my gloom and doom, that's pretty much a reality.

IP telephony appears to be steering manufacturers toward a uniform standard, but you will probably not see it any time soon. With competition between manufacturers being tighter than ever, I don't see cooperation between them happening within a reasonable time frame.

The only thing I can offer, and it's only as a suggestion, is Lincoln Tech. They claim to offer a nationwide training program. Perhaps they might be able to refer you to a local training program or facility. Honestly, the only reason that I make this suggestion is because I have seen some of their advertising on TV about their telecommunications training programs. Remember that for now, and probably for many years to come, you won't see a fixed, uniform installation practice for tradional telephone systems.

Sorry to burst your bubble here. It's great to see someone at your age and level of expertise willing to take the first step. You are not afraid to ask questions. That's the best place to start.

I doubt that the information I have offered will lead you to the the resluts you need, but a second suggestion might be to simply contact local telephone equipment sellers in your area. We are always eager to find young, energetic people who truly want to learn. I think if you make the call and manage to get through to someone who cares, you might be on your way.

My final suggestion is that you start at the back of the Yellow Pages and work your way forward. The larger companies won't take your call. Start with a smaller company and then work your way up after you have gained on-the-job experience. If you feel the need, you will at least have some credentials under your belt so that you can move elsewhere in your career.

Good luck in your endeavors. This is a great business to enter, but be prepared to use your brain and patience a lot.

Thanks Ed! That is very helpful advice!
What do you think of the TIA CTP cert? Is it worth bothering with? Seems like it would be a good way to show my knowledge.

I was one of those kids fascinated with phones from an early age, and I would rather watch the (at the time) GTE guy out working on the junction box than hang out with kids my age.

I've read quite a few books and manuals on telephony, pbx's, and the general workings with phone systems.

Also, do you think the cisco IP telephony cert is worth the bother?

Thanks for all your help!
I'll start calling around!
- Matt

Yes, I was the same way when I was a kid. I had always wanted to be in the phone business.

EIA/TIA certifications are great to have under your belt, but they primarily focus on wiring. There's not much to be learned about systems through that type of course.

I am always hearing about Cisco IP products on this forum; mostly bad. I really don't know anything about them except for what I have read here. Again, you would be narrowing your training by getting certified on just one certain brand. Really, the best way to learn is on the job.

You should try to get an entry-level position with a telephone interconnect company and show them what you are capable of. If you show your stuff, your employer will only be too happy to arrange for you to receive training of systems through the manufacturers. Of course it's not going to happen overnight, but be patient and it will work to your advantage.

Matt,

The last IT guy I worked with used to have the dual job of network and telephone. His training on both was ITT Tech. They are everywhere. IF you get a good instructor you'll get an overview of telephony at the PBX level.

Then the enduser sent him to the manufacturer's school. Most of these require you to take a pre-school test to see if you have the basics and at hat level. They want your money, they won't fail you, they just don't want to hold your hand.

Good luck. but remember the son "---- don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys" works for telephone men, too.

KLD (Last week it was 40 years of doing this.)

You may want to take a look at global knowlege:
https://globalknowledge.com/
They have training in Nortel networks as well as several classes having to do with general telephony and VoIP. I know at my last co. several of the telephony engineers took classes through them...I believe they even offer certain certs through Nortel and Cisco. They have onsite classes throughout the US as well as virtual classrooms, e-learning and self paced online courses.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone!

KLD - The position you mentioned that the IT guy had... That's sort of what I'd like to do. Thanks for the info.

sampson - Thank you for the link to globalknowledge! I'm interested in taking some of the nortel certs, but don't quite know which ones to go for. Could you offer any advice?

Thanks again!

What is your end purpose?

Have your own company?

Work for someone and get a steady check?

Become a supervisor?

I've been doing this for 21 years and there has never been a bigger change in telephony than voip.

Old phone people like us will go away a bit at a time as IT people do phones and computers. It was a nice ride but I see the handwriting on the wall.

Two good customers, profitable, steady adds moves changes. One went to Cisco (with a full month of problems) and Covad when the voice mail died and they said to hell with the Toshiba. The other is taking out a Samsung 3 cab iDCS 500 and putting in Cisco. Our last job is cabling 30 new IP phones.

I have a Cisco 7960 working off my DSL on hosted IP and the quality is equal to the Toshiba CIX 100 phones that give me all the features of a key set and a 60 button console for speed dials.

Cisco has a few buttons when compared to anything but a butt set. That said, people keep buying and buying and buying. I wish they wern't here, but they are the new reality and they are going to be maintained by IT people not old phone codgers.

I laping up what I can before I retire, but my job won't be here in ten years or maybe even five if Cisco keeps doing what they are, Selling, Selling, Selling, Selling.

If I were staring off as a kid out of school, I would get a college degree in anything and take Cisco classes. Phone people want to sell Avaya and Nortel and all because the Cisco IT people don't have that training.

If Cisco comes out with phones that have lots of read the button label and it works, they will hurt all the telcom manufactures more than they are now.

Easy to sell against Cisco to non-savy people. "You want a phone that can't show all your lines, that can't voice announce to an extension, why the future is here and its a failure." Not so easy to execs who travel and carry a voip phone with them or like to get calls at home when they choose or look at a phone at midnight to see if they have office voice mail.

I'm 60 and if I had to start this all over again today, I would put my cards on Cisco, hire cheap cable installers and try to survive the competition that wants to eat me alive.

THE Bunnie -

Thanks for that perspective!
As far as my goals, I'd like to advance to a higher level position with a nice, steady paycheck or possibly start my own company. Although I wouldn't be opposed to working for a "telco" doing infrastructure-type work.

As far as the cisco certs - I already have the CCNA, and I am working on the CCNP & CCVP, and possibly the CCIE

However, I'm not going to bank on only the cisco certs. I figure the more certs the better, and the cisco ones are cheap compared to some of the manufacture certs out there.

Thanks for the info!

To everyone who has posted - THANK YOU!
(Please don't think of me as a competitor, though!)
Cheers!
- Matt

Would any of you be able to direct me to a few local inter-connect companies that are in the seattle/ Pacific Northwest Washington area that I may be able to contact for information? Even just a job shadow for a day or two?

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Thanks,
Matt