Overqualified to be a Technician, Underqualified for Project Management

[Pablo Picasso]

Dear all,

I am trying to re-enter the telecoms / fibre-optic industry as a technician but am apparently suffering from being stuck between a rock and a hard place:

• My CV is "too academic" apparently (I have a university degree and taught English at a university). How does this make me "too academic"? I interpret this as code for "I can't relate to your diverse, non-traditional career path."
• This is then followed by a suggestion to aim at higher roles like project management. For most positions, I do not have the required telecoms/fibre-optic industry experience to apply for those project management roles. Most importantly, I want to work as a field technician, not be stuck in an office.
• My old telecoms experience is too dated apparently.
• My recently gained City & Guilds in fibre-splicing and copper cabling is ignored.

A bit of background:
1) I was originally a telecommunications technician 20 years ago - did that for 6 years.
2) I then went to University and gained a master's in chemistry.
3) I moved to Bangkok and taught English at a major university for 8 years.
4) I've just recently come back to the UK and gained a City & Guilds in fibre-splicing and copper cabling. I'm also self-studying CCNA (since everything is moving to IP these days).

I can't fathom what this fear of being "too academic" is about. I am NOT too academic in reality - I'm practical, knowledgable and can think on my feet due to my diverse experience.

I have noticed though, that quite a few "engineers" in the telecoms industry do not have a degree, are not particularly well-educated and can barely spell - this is more so for less professional, smaller companies.

Could it be that my CV is seen as being a poor fit because I DO possess these skills, and I am thus seen as being over-skilled and a poor fit to work alongside less well-educated workers? I couldn't care less to be honest because, as I've said above, I'm pretty practical and down-to-Earth.

It has been suggested to me that merely having a degree means that people in largely non-degreed industries will feel threatened, especially hiring managers. This sounds quite plausible really. But it is pretty sad, to be honest.

There are of course more professional companies with degree-qualified telecoms engineers, but such companies offer few entry-level positions. (I have applied to graduate programmes with large companies etc., but have had no luck so far).

There has been the suggestion I should "dumb down" my CV. This does not sound like a healthy long-term strategy though...

Thoughts?

P.S. I am 43, so this shouldn't be a huge barrier.

 

[loftie]

Don't take this the wrong way, this is how I interpret what has been written - take with a pinch of salt, it's just one guys cynical opinion.

You were in the field for 6 years, I assume you got bored because you went off to uni.
At uni you did MChem (well done btw, am envious) which, I assume, is completely unrelated to telecom tech.
You then went to a different country to teach, so again career path switch, something not related to your previous two career paths.
You've now come back and want to go back to step one while being massively over qualified for it WRT other fields that you've done. I imagine they'd be asking why.

They probably assume you're looking for a stop gap, coupled with you switching career paths, plus you say you're well educated compared to other techs so maybe you don't 'fit'. Depending on the general age of the other techs, are you older than the other applicants? Because that may also be a factor.

My experience of grad programs is that companies generally want new/recent grads.

I can't imagine dumbing down your CV will work. Also, i'm not sure how you'd do if, and it's a big if, what I've written is correct. Either way, someone half decent should probe into your dumbed down CV and figure out how educated you are.

I assume there's no such thing as voluntary work in the field you're looking at? Have you tried firing off some speculative CVs explaining why you want to do the role you're looking for? If you're applications don't scream burning passion for the job, then my question would go back to why does he want this role?

The above is just one guys rambling thoughts, it may well be complete bs. Good luck!

 

[Pablo Picasso]

It's pretty accurate actually. I'm 43. Many fibre installers are ex-army and quite young. Many telecoms technician positions tend to look for recent experience.

I'm thinking I'm missing "mid-level" experience, which I can't access without gaining an entry-level role splicing fibres or installing basic telecoms equipment due to my diverse background.

As for the "whys": I am steering well away from chemistry as I don't think there are enough opportunities in the field and feel the salaries are not great - apart from that, I more enjoy telecoms/electronics type work. I'm done with teaching as well as it's a dead-end career, which is why I've gotten out of it now.

 

[Pablo Picasso]

It is a bit of a conundrum, because, as you said, I'm going back to the start. The idea is to get an entry-level role as an "in" or "foot in the door", and then progress quickly to a mid-level or higher engineering position, which I could definitely do - the problem is getting "in" somehow.

 

[Pablo Picasso]

I assume there's no such thing as voluntary work in the field you're looking at? Have you tried firing off some speculative CVs explaining why you want to do the role you're looking for? If you're applications don't scream burning passion for the job, then my question would go back to why does he want this role?

Voluntary work seems to be non-existent due to cost, safety and time issues involved. It is a possibility though.
I need to fire off more speculative applications though and clarify my intended career path and why I'm pursuing it - that's a good idea.

 

[iamdjdz]

Where do you live?

 

[69Dude]

You have your prince 2 for project management right? It's practically mandatory here and CV's are immediately consigned to the bin if you don't hold it.
https://www.axelos.com/best-practice-solutions/prince2

The excuse given to you is generic and we use it all the time when it comes across that a person hasn't given the impression they're a grafter or have the ability thoroughly sort things out for a major incident.
In the past we've been bitten too many times by underexperienced project managers that implement a project without proper investigation of surrounding tertiary systems, it causes major issues and then they are too inept to take charge (deer in the headlights) without being forced by contract to provide real soultions during the warranty period. You'll get something like a project manager being responsible for implementing a new HR system then fudging the whole thing because they never properly accounted for failure edge cases in an azure deployment or misinterpreted a db/ad schema etc then two days into live everything is failing. It's far too common where a new system is brought in and something completely incompatible has been missed by PM's due to a lack of architectural understanding like authentication compatibilities for sign on or legacy certificate chain restrictions, so sad.

If you want to ignore an IT management path and be real IT then you have to do your time, even with a CCNA we will flat out deny any applicant without 3 years experience at a lesser level like a Service Desk, Telecoms, Desktop or Front Line Support team.
You're expected to have experience and awareness of how to deal with high impact service outages before you're trusted to configure core networking as well as the lower level experience to know all system types and support implications.
There's currently a guy on our Service Desk 10 years your senior with an honours in IT and a CCNA doing his time for another year, whilst I can have a great conversation with him on networking issues at a conceptual level, real life networking issues of how other systems interact with networking were still outside of ability.

You should also avoid slagging people up for not having a degree at any point during working in IT, before/after interviews etc. You're not better than them and they probably have £20k worth of certs and accreditations a piece.

 

[Pablo Picasso]

Where do you live?

I'm in Glasgow.

 

[iamdjdz]

Ah I was going to suggest a couple of companies but ones based in Bournemouth and the other near me.

 

[Pablo Picasso]

You have your prince 2 for project management right? It's practically mandatory here and CV's are immediately consigned to the bin if you don't hold it.
https://www.axelos.com/best-practice-solutions/prince2

Hi 69 Dude,

You may have misread my post, but in my thread title I mentioned I was "Underqualified for Project Management", and wrote that I am trying to re-enter the telecoms / fibre-optic industry as a technician. I then went on to say that I do not have the industry experience to apply for project management roles, which were suggested to me by hiring managers. This is the reason why I am applying for entry-level technician roles and not project management roles.

If you want to ignore an IT management path and be real IT then you have to do your time, even with a CCNA we will flat out deny any applicant without 3 years experience at a lesser level like a Service Desk, Telecoms, Desktop or Front Line Support team.

The sector I'm aiming for is telecommunications engineering installation, faulting, maintenance and testing, rather than IT or networking. Most roles I'm looking at are either fibre-optic splicing or telecoms apparatus maintenance & faulting (e.g., fibre/copper links and transmission systems). The entry paths within these roles don't involve customer service or helpdesk roles, but rather field installation and maintenance roles. There is some crossover with networking due to more and more kit using IP, so the CCNA is just helpful as technicians sometimes need to have some basic knowledge of networking.

You should also avoid slagging people up for not having a degree at any point during working in IT, before/after interviews etc. You're not better than them and they probably have £20k worth of certs and accreditations a piece.

I'm not sure where you drew those inferences from because there's nothing in my post that criticises non-degreed workers. I did criticise some people's dreadful spelling, but that's not surprising considering I taught English for 9 years. What I did say is that others have suggested to me that having a degree is often perceived as threatening by people in largely non-degreed industries. That's not something which is particularly hard to believe, but the main issue was how to overcome the perception of being overqualified, or "too academic" in order to get a "foot in the door" for an entry-level technician's role.

 

[Pablo Picasso]

Ah I was going to suggest a couple of companies but ones based in Bournemouth and the other near me.

Thanks for the offer. It's a bit far south for me though - family are up here in Scotland. I'm mainly just bouncing ideas as it's hard to get an objective view of what might be wrong with my job strategy.

Loftie was right on the money I think with the comments about a stop gap perception, switching career paths, not being a good "fit" and the potential age issues. That's helped a lot too.
Cheers.

 

[dowie]

You may have misread my post, but in my thread title I mentioned I was "Underqualified for Project Management", and wrote that I am trying to re-enter the telecoms / fibre-optic industry as a technician. I then went on to say that I do not have the industry experience to apply for project management roles, which were suggested to me by hiring managers. This is the reason why I am applying for entry-level technician roles and not project management roles.

On what basis are you concluding that you're under qualified for project management roles after hiring managers have suggested you apply for such roles?

 

[Pablo Picasso]

On what basis are you concluding that you're under qualified for project management roles after hiring managers have suggested you apply for such roles?

Mainly because I felt those hiring managers (technician managers) were making assumptions and weren't taking into account the specific background skills and experience that most project management roles seem to require in telecoms.

That's why I was starting to have the feeling I was stuck between a rock and hard place - overqualified for one role, and underqualified for another.

It may be worthwhile to start looking more closely at project roles as I know that I don't necessarily have to meet every job requirement on the list to have a chance.

It's a good point you make though - maybe they had good reasons for their suggestions that I'm overlooking.

 

[dowie]

No one is really overqualified for a role, that's the sort of excuse that gets trotted out by people who have some qualifications and can't get a job. They're probably more reluctant to hire someone who has spent several years doing something completely different and now wants to come back and do something entry level... you're perhaps (rightly or wrongly) seen as someone who might not stick around for long.

Perhaps get some more qualifications relevant to the area you're interested in. you can study for CCNA via the OU btw... and you'll get 60 credits towards a degree/grad certificate IIRC.

 

[Pablo Picasso]

They're probably more reluctant to hire someone who has spent several years doing something completely different and now wants to come back and do something entry level... you're perhaps (rightly or wrongly) seen as someone who might not stick around for long.

Yes, I get the feeling that those are the main issues that need addressing. In the meantime, I'm doing driving work to build up funds for more short courses, and I'll just have to keep persistently knocking on doors in the meantime until one opens.

 

[Trifid]

I'm not sure where you drew those inferences from because there's nothing in my post that criticises non-degreed workers. I did criticise some people's dreadful spelling, but that's not surprising considering I taught English for 9 years. What I did say is that others have suggested to me that having a degree is often perceived as threatening by people in largely non-degreed industries. That's not something which is particularly hard to believe, but the main issue was how to overcome the perception of being overqualified, or "too academic" in order to get a "foot in the door" for an entry-level technician's role.

This is the problem. You're not going for the right role. Your trying to do a labour intensive job (pulling cables) with a academic past and a professional outlook in the future? Try getting a job in the IT department of a school where you will be doing a mix of work if you don't want to be sat at a desk all day. Or desktop support. Otherwise take a hard look at what you actually want in life and focus on that.

 

[Hyburnate]

Going after both CCNA and something practical is a red flag for me.

When I interview someone for an engineering role, and they tell me they are pursuing CCNA makes me feel like they don't know what they want.

What is your on the tools experience with? Copper or fibre? I'm assuming as you've been away from it, fusion splicing is something that is quite new to you? It's a very over saturated market at the moment, with a lot of contractors out there, and speed is king and that's what pays the money, there are a lot of agencies out there which can get you contract work, however, expect travel.

To be honest with you, if you want to re-enter the telecoms game, expect 12-14hr days incl. travel. Is that something you'd be interested in? It's the reason it's a younger guys game.

Project Management within the industry is the natural progression, you need a lot of experience for it however, I'd say around 9 Years of hands-on experience, if you can master it (the transition from cutters to keyboard) then you can make a strong wage, anywhere from 35k - 60k+ location dependant.

I would take a strong look at what you want to do. If you want to remain on the tools for a bit, without travel and long hours, it may be worth looking at BT/Kelly but they're not great places to work.

e; Also, having a degree isn't a bad thing, but you're up against people with a vast amount more experience.

Source; I'm in the industry

 

[Pablo Picasso]

Going after both CCNA and something practical is a red flag for me.

When I interview someone for an engineering role, and they tell me they are pursuing CCNA makes me feel like they don't know what they want.

What is your on the tools experience with? Copper or fibre? I'm assuming as you've been away from it, fusion splicing is something that is quite new to you? It's a very over-saturated market at the moment, with a lot of contractors out there, and speed is king and that's what pays the money, there are a lot of agencies out there which can get you contract work, however, expect travel.

To be honest with you, if you want to re-enter the telecoms game, expect 12-14hr days incl. travel. Is that something you'd be interested in? It's the reason it's a younger guys game.

Project Management within the industry is the natural progression, you need a lot of experience for it however, I'd say around 9 Years of hands-on experience, if you can master it (the transition from cutters to keyboard) then you can make a strong wage, anywhere from 35k - 60k+ location dependant.

I would take a strong look at what you want to do. If you want to remain on the tools for a bit, without travel and long hours, it may be worth looking at BT/Kelly but they're not great places to work.

e; Also, having a degree isn't a bad thing, but you're up against people with a vast amount more experience.

Source; I'm in the industry

Hi there. Thanks for the tips and suggestions.

The specific roles I'm aiming for are a) rail telecoms engineering technician (installation, testing or maintenance) or b) fibre-splicer. The longer-term goal would be senior technician field roles. Rail telecoms will incorporate fibre-splicing more and more with time, so it's relevant to that sector as well. Some splicing is outsourced in the sector, e.g., Kelly, but some work is done internally. I have to aim for at least two areas as I need to keep my options open, but rail telecoms is definitely the most preferable choice.

The CCNA has some significance to my target areas, but it's not a major aim and can be left off the CV. As IP is becoming more and more relevant in rail telecoms, it would be a useful qualification for getting a foot in the door - it would become much more relevant at senior tech level positions too as they tend to have some overlap with networking.

My on the tools experience is telecoms installation, maintenance and faulting (copper installation, CCTV, PA systems, line faulting, and general maintenance). Fibre-wise, my experience is in basic maintenance/faulting of transmission systems (PDH, SDH). Splicing is new. I've just completed a City & Guilds in fibre-splicing and copper cabling.

Rail sector telecoms would be the first choice. Conditions and pay are quite good. It would definitely be preferable to long-hours as a fibre splicer. I cannot relocate outside of Scotland, but 10-12 hour shifts fibre-splicing would be fine.

As you say, I'm up against far more experienced people in fibre-splicing and there seems to be no openings for splicing assistants. What's the best way to get an "in" as an assistant in fibre-splicing?

 

[Pablo Picasso]

This is the problem. You're not going for the right role. Your trying to do a labour intensive job (pulling cables) with a academic past and a professional outlook in the future? Try getting a job in the IT department of a school where you will be doing a mix of work if you don't want to be sat at a desk all day. Or desktop support. Otherwise take a hard look at what you actually want in life and focus on that.

In the sector I'm aiming for (rail telecoms, where I used to work) there would be practical work at the start as an installer - as you say, there's a conflict with getting an "in" with my academic background. But there are also a range of mid-level roles that are still primarily field-based but more professional (e.g., senior tech/tech support). Those mid-levels roles would be far easier to get within the industry. I'm not sure if fibre-splicing has similar progression opportunities as my primary experience (where I did my apprenticeship) was rail telecommunications.

I've never considered desk jobs really - prefer being out and about.

 

[Hyburnate]

Hi there. Thanks for the tips and suggestions.

The specific roles I'm aiming for are a) rail telecoms engineering technician (installation, testing or maintenance) or b) fibre-splicer. The longer-term goal would be senior technician field roles. Rail telecoms will incorporate fibre-splicing more and more with time, so it's relevant to that sector as well. Some splicing is outsourced in the sector, e.g., Kelly, but some work is done internally. I have to aim for at least two areas as I need to keep my options open, but rail telecoms is definitely the most preferable choice.

The CCNA has some significance to my target areas, but it's not a major aim and can be left off the CV. As IP is becoming more and more relevant in rail telecoms, it would be a useful qualification for getting a foot in the door - it would become much more relevant at senior tech level positions too as they tend to have some overlap with networking.

My on the tools experience is telecoms installation, maintenance and faulting (copper installation, CCTV, PA systems, line faulting, and general maintenance). Fibre-wise, my experience is in basic maintenance/faulting of transmission systems (PDH, SDH). Splicing is new. I've just completed a City & Guilds in fibre-splicing and copper cabling.

Rail sector telecoms would be the first choice. Conditions and pay are quite good. It would definitely be preferable to long-hours as a fibre splicer. I cannot relocate outside of Scotland, but 10-12 hour shifts fibre-splicing would be fine.

As you say, I'm up against far more experienced people in fibre-splicing and there seems to be no openings for splicing assistants. What's the best way to get an "in" as an assistant in fibre-splicing?

Don't have any experience in the rail side of things as the customer base I deal with is primarily SME/Education.

Regarding assistants, there isn't really a requirement for assistants in my experience, it's a one man job to fusion splice.