I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

Hello,

I would like to study to become an Engineer for NTL or Telewest. I am wondering what kind of qualifications are needed and what kind of knowledge you need of telecoms systems? I was told I would need TV experience and RF?? is RF some sort of antenna cable? As you can see I'm not very knowledgeable on TV or telecoms systems and wouldnt mind a pointer where to find info on it.
What does an NTL engineer do on a daily basis anyway?


:)

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

RF = Radio Frequency

e.g. how signals are transmitted down cable lines (kinda ironic...)

So obviously they want you to know how the cable network works...
I don't know much about where to find the info, but I imagine (know) that there a few HNC's/HND's available from various polytechnics...

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

Speaking as an ex-ntl engineer my advice is dont ......
But if you must try doing a FND in telecoms like this http://www.eaifhe.ac.uk/New%20Course...%20Telecom.htm
Or you could apply for a job as an installer, though most of these are done by sub-contractors, who are overworked and underpaid and treated like *****e by ntl http://www.mcnicholas.co.uk/home/default.htm
There are no real qualifictions needed to be an installer except for a clean driving license, training is done by sending you out with a competent install crew for a few weeks.
"What does an NTL engineer do on a daily basis anyway?"
As little as possible :) .........


Andy E
ntl pirate

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

I understand there could be some openings/opportunities in the Celtic region shortly!

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

There is a training course at North Lincolnshire College for those wishing to learn the technical skills required to enter the cable tv and telecoms industry.
You can obtain a free information pack from:
Cable Television and Telephony Training Services Ltd
300 Skellingthorpe Road
Lincoln
LN6 0EX

Telephone:01522 880900

http://www.cable-training.co.uk

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

lo m8 ;)
lol
AndyE
ntl pirate

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

:eek: :nono: Having just spent the morning with an install guy I'm sorry but he worked his socks off. I think he did a brilliant job and I liked being his little gofer :D :D :D Handy hint for new customers being installed, make sure you move the TV and settees/chairs out of the way so the chap can actually get to the wall to do the install, doing a Mr Shifter when the tech arrives just wastes loads of time :erm:

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

please note the smile at the end of that comment .... it was meant to be a joke ...... I know how hard they work.. I used to be 1

Andy E
ntl pirate

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

I did see it but posted for the benefit of people who think they are just lazy sods :rofl: (which is what I used to think :Sprint: )

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

Was this some kind of work shadowing thing?

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

Yeah, I asked to do this to get an idea of how things are done on installs, opened my eyes ;)

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

looking at the Jobs page on the intranet there a quite a few tech jobs advertised around the country!

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

For the better or worse? Or perhaps that would be saying too much :disturbd: :erm:

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

Has put the lads in a better light ;)

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

I dont think I would fancy being a service or network tech at ntl these days, I guess it must be difficult completing eleven customer calls a day in 8 hours.
These calls can also be spread over quite a large are, one of my old collegues from ntl said one tech was starting in Newport, 2 calls in Cwmbran, 2 calls in Penarth and then 2 calls in Barry, If you know the area you will no doubt be shocked that ntl think thats possible.


After that he would then have to call in for his afternoon calls :shocked:

Its all apparently Quota driven and customers are getting repeat calls because there is just no time to fix the faults the first time around.
The amount of techs off sick in that area are also adding extra pressure to the ones still in work.
:)

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

helicopter & pilot provided of course :erm:

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

Don't forget plying them endlessly with tea. The last guy to come round probably left my house weeing for hours, but he was very happy at the time :)

Being an installer must bite though. Two of them (telephone, then broadband) had to run cables through my loft. It is dark, dirty, probably smelly and full of monsters. I'm not too fond of putting stuff up there, let alone actually having to work up there. Still, the constant stream of tea seemed to keep the last guy's spirits up :)

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

The last engineer to come here nearly ended up with a permanent residency in the cellar. Some of them are right miserable bast... people :D The only thing that saved him was his soft brown eyes :p: Oh and he fixed the fault.

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

we rock!! :tu:

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

You can not tar all the people with the same brush they might be having a bad day people do you know.

Round here they have had to repair lots of boxes in a short space of time due to an electrical storm.

The majority of these guys do an absolutely fantastic job for the money.

There are exceptions agreed

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

This thread has kinda gone a bit :notopic: but I was very impressed with the guys that came and re-installed everything in my new house on Saturday morning. They were sub-contractors, but they worked hard and installed everything quickly (not an easy task judging by all the messing around they had to do pulling up the manhole cover thingies)

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

Just outta interest (and no disrespect meant by this), but how d'you know you wanna be an engineer if you're not aware of what they do? Or was this more a 'what else do they do' kinda question?

Re: I wanna be an NTL engineer.
 

Thank goodness, I thought I was the only one wondering that ...

Jim, if you don't know what RF is, and you don't already know what an NTL tech does day to day, how do you know this is what you want to do? I've been to job interviews and I have also conducted them - believe me, if you don't convince them that this is all you've ever wanted to do since you were old enough to dribble on a remote control, you have no chance of getting a job.