Some questions about network and RF engineering careers at cellular carriers
I know we have some employees of the big 3 on here as well as the tower leasing companies and contractors. I'm early in my career, I have a degree in computer science, and I currently work in IT for a large manufacturing corporation, but I'm interested in cellular tech and am curious what engineering careers look like at the big cellular operators.
What backgrounds do RF or RAN engineers usually have? Would my lack of an electrical engineering degree and much physics/signal processing education preclude me from this? Since I'm very familiar with IP networking already, I would imagine that the network engineering side would be a more natural transition than RF, but I imagine I'd enjoy thinking about cell sites in the physical world.
How much RF and core network engineering is done at the carriers themselves vs. contractors? (And how much is in the US vs. offshore these days?)
I've heard that Verizon and AT&T have both done layoffs recently -- are you ever worried that specializing in this field (especially RAN engineering rather than core network engineering) makes your skills less transferrable to other kinds of companies?
If you've got any other thoughts I'd love to hear as well!