Network Engineer

Aimee Brown

It’s the one pursuit HSC, college and university students agree on. Studying is the hardest thing to do. But Brad Hart attributes his speedy rise from a customer service representative to network engineer at telecommunications company Powertel to just one thing: study.

While working with the company, Hart has completed three TAFE courses over five years and hopes to top it off with an engineering degree in the future. “I find the personal achievement [that comes with studying] satisfying. Working hard at something over the last five or so years and to see the fruits of that labour with promotions, pay rises and a greater depth of knowledge of my work is an amazing feeling.”

Hart’s original role at Powertel was as a customer service representative, but he soon realised that he wanted to move into a more challenging position. “I wanted to work in an area that was more technical and more fulfilling,” he says. As a network engineer, Hart has realised his working ambitions. He is now responsible for installing and configuring the equipment that enables businesses to run different forms of communication services, such as internet and telephone networks.

Hart began his studies with a Certificate III in network administration at Macquarie Fields TAFE in 2001. He finished it two years later, then started a Certificate IV in telecommunications engineering at North Sydney TAFE. He enjoyed the field so much that he went on to study a diploma in the same specialisation, which he has just completed. He says the further study, particularly the diploma, provided him with valuable skills that enabled him to give more to the job.

“Completing the course has dramatically increased my career prospects and has opened so many doors for me already,” he says. “The diploma gives me a great depth of understanding into the technical side of the industry in which I work. “It is exciting finding out exactly how information is conveyed, even down to a mathematics level of how electricity traverses power lines.”

HOW TO BE…a network engineer


You should study a Certificate IV in telecommunications engineering at TAFE or another accredited institution. You can further your skills by getting a diploma in telecommunications engineering. Contact TAFE on 131 601 or at tafensw.edu.au