OK, let me clarify then.
For background, I've acted as hiring manager for the telecommunications group at a large research university. I've had to shuffle through a lot of resumes over the years, all from those in the telecom field. I've been in this line of work for a long time, so what I'm trying to convey comes for years of experience as a tech, analyst, engineer and manager. I'm trying to help you overcome some of the pitfalls I see when applying for jobs in the industry. I've probably looked over a few hundred resumes in my career.
Thanks for the info. I highlighted a couple points that I want to hit on.
First - section 11 of my portfolio deals with commercial UHF transmitters I was involved with installing. So not everything in the Portfolio is "ham". However, that is where my radio work has been for the last 6-7 years so that is what I have most of to show.
The RTK's are a good start, but they don't really compare to what you'd find in a large repeater system, trunked system, etc. It's good experience, don't get me wrong, but it's a small segment of the industry. If you can find a job with a ag firm that does enough of those, you might find a good niche to fit into. We've had some issues with those locally where a "tech" would set them up on FRS frequencies.
As for the highlighted - that is precisely what I am trying to transcend.
I imagine the vast majority of the industries dealing with RF share the same sentiments. That is an underlying reason why I am trying to get more visibility and find something that may be rather obscure. The conversation can happen - but finding the people that can look past what I highlighted to allow the conversation to happen in the first place has been quite a challenge.
OK, then I'd recommend dropping some of the amateur oriented stuff. It's good knowledge to have, but it shouldn't be the basis for your resume/portfolio. Maybe I'm misreading it, but it looks like that is where most of your radio install experience is when it comes to repeaters and systems.
Expecting hiring managers to read deep in between the lines is asking a lot. They may be looking at a lot of resumes and won't take the time to do that. You've got to keep it short and sweet and speak directly to the skills they are looking for. Your portfolio goes in to depth on a few items. That's good as a conversation piece, but not going to help get past those screening resumes. You need to have a cover letter and then a page or two for a resume. That's it. The trick is figuring out how to market yourself. That usually means you need to write the resume and cover letter to the specific job.
From the way you worded your reply, it sort of sounds like you are wanting the hiring manager to change the way they do things to accommodate your resume/portfolio. That may work in some cases, but not others. When I'm looking at a bunch of resumes, I'm usually giving about a minute or two to each one. I'm looking for key words and experience. Spending 30 minutes or so trying to find that info takes a big chunk out of my day. You need to make it easier for them.
As far as networking - that makes sense with something else I ran in to last year... That is something I'm not interested in, however maybe that is a good conversation topic. What I outlined that I was looking for was:
- RF Test and Measurement
- Tower work including feedlines and antennas, installation, replacements, maintenance
- Mitigating RFI issues
- Tuning of RF-level infrastructure (transmitters, filters of all kinds, antennas, etc)
In one area that I explored it appeared that the position was actually an "IT job" - IE: Computers, Networking, Cameras, etc. Maybe what I am looking for doesn't exist - but IT isn't an area, at the moment, that I want to get in to. There may not be a way around it, though.
Might be you misunderstood what I was saying about networking skills. Either that, or you are going to need to change your attitude when it comes to IT. All modern radio systems involve some level of IP connectivity. It's either used for linking sites, linking repeaters, backhaul, monitoring systems, or just downright point to point IP links for various uses.
The list of what you are looking for is good, but it is severely going to limit you. Shops don't have guys that -just- do specific things. Most shops are pretty small and want people that have a lot of skills and can do it all. Limiting yourself to RFI issues, just tuning, or just tower work is going to likely keep you from finding most jobs. Those sorts of things are great, but they are the kinds of things you transition into after having the job for a while and proving yourself.
Back many many years ago when I was working for a communications contractor, we did a lot of category 5 wiring, coax, fiber optic cable, etc. We had a tech that "only wanted to do fiber". He was referred to as the "fiber prima-donna". He didn't last long. There wasn't enough work in his specific area to keep him going full time. It was easier for us to train the other techs that could do the other work to be good fiber guys. Having one specialist was of no value to us.
Don't try and be a specialist until you've got some time in the job. It won't go over well.
Basic IT skills can be picked up a your local community college, often by taking night classes. It'll boost your marketability. It's cheap investment. I won't hire people now that don't have some level of IP networking skills. In fact, I haven't seen a resume in about 15 years that didn't list at least some amount of networking experience or industry certifications. It would be a really good investment to secure something that boosts your skills there.
As to your point about people needing to re-do installs done by amateur radio operators - is that the primary reasoning that you stated the highlighted? And am I correct that you are alluding to "mobile installs" here, specifically?
Or are there negative perceptions out there of Amateur radio that carry through the entire RF realm outside of "mobile installs"? If so - what are they?
Thanks
Sure, let me clarify.
The skills needed to do an amateur radio repeater install are common with what you'll find in the industry, however there's additional skills and knowledge needed. It's the difference between an amateur and a professional. It's not limited to mobile installs. Any fixed, base, repeater, mobile, etc. installs.
Case in point...
I "inherited" a repeater system at one of our remote research sites. They were on a tight budget and one thing leading to another, as it often does, landed them with an amateur radio operator that would install a 3 repeater for them at a much lower rate than what a professional shop would have charged. Seemed like a win-win situation to them. They got their systems and save a load of money at the same time.
-until it didn't-
It didn't work. They had to change the set up due to some misunderstandings about how the system was going to work. The original design and install by the amateur radio operator was never going to work for a few reasons. The system had to be redesigned, licenses changed, etc. Then it still didn't work well enough to be of any real use.
They finally contacted me to help. The amateur didn't have the skills, knowledge or equipment to get the system working correctly. I had to retune duplexers, replace antennas, redo cabling, redo antenna mounts, and a ton of other little things.
Wasn't that the amateur radio operator didn't try, just that he was out of his area of experience.
The skills needed by most amateurs is quite a bit different that what you'll find in the commercial industry. The requirements for reliability are higher, the licensing/type certifications on equipment are different. The designs are different. In some ways the thinking is different.
Nothing at all that a good amateur radio operator can't learn. There are some really talented hams out there that do beautiful work, but they tend to be in the vast minority. Having the basics down is important. Most of the basics are not covered in a stack of multiple choice questions. There's a lot of skills that need to be picked up along the way, learned from others, learned from experience, and generally taught along the way by peers.
What I'm getting at is that an amateur radio license on its own doesn't translate into someone being a good radio tech in the commercial world.
It really sounds like you have some good skills that go beyond what most amateurs have, and I think that's a good thing. Your resume needs to reflect that, but it needs to not focus on the amateur radio side of things, and needs to instead show off some of the commercial centered skills.
The RTK installs are a good start, but that's a limited segment of the industry. Your photo of the install looks OK, but honestly I'd expect a cleaner install from my guys. There's a few issues I see, and they are issues I often see in amateur installs. Doesn't mean you did anything wrong, but does show that your skill level is more on the basic/entry level side of things. Your resume and what you say you are looking for seems to be more directed to being a specialist/higher level tech. It's good to aim high, we all should, but it's important to understand that starting near the bottom is part of the rights of passage. Not many get hired into mid/high level tech positions without some "time in rank".
I really hope you can take this as I intend it. I'd love to see you find a great job that gives you everything you are looking for. I'm only offering my own experience from doing this for a long time and being on the hiring end of things. You have some great skills, but you've got a few gaps you need to fill in if you want to get into the commercial shop. Won't be hard to do, but it's going to take some work on your part. As your resume/portfolio/skills stand, I'd probably give you an interview, but my gut feeling is that you'd need some time to build up your skills and experience to become a really valuable tech. You've got some possibilities, though, and I think your on your way.
