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IvanMcDonald
Mrs.Rowe
1December2014
English
MyCareers
Theknobsturninbothdirections,iftheyonlyturnedinoneit,wouldbecalledadding
notmixing(FloydTurner).IhaveworkedinthebroadcastindustryforthreeyearsandI
holdthetitle(asof2013)asaCertifiedRadioOperator.Ihaveenjoyedworkinginthebroadcast
fieldsomuchthatIplantopursueacareerinthebroadcast/communications.ThethreecareersI
aminterestedinpursuingareareaCertifiedBroadcastRadioEngineer,aWirelessNetwork
Engineer,orsimplyaCertifiedRadiooperator/SoundOperator.
Acertifiedradiooperatorisatitlegrantedtoindividualswhopasstheexamination
requirementsofthecertification.ThecertificationisregulatedbytheSocietyofBroadcast
Engineersandindividualswhousethetitlewithoutmeetingtherequirementscouldfacelegal
action.InpreviousyearstheFederalCommunicationsCommissionrequiredradioannouncersto
holda3rdclassradiooperatorslicence.ItwaslaterrelaxedtoholdasimpleRestrictedradio
license.ThereisnocurrentrequiredradiooperatorlicencesgivenbytheFCCanymorethe
SocietyofBrodcaastEngineershassteppedinandtheexamthegivecoversmuchofwhatthe
original3rdclassexamcovered.(Turner).Radiooperatorsareresponsibleforoverseeingthe
stationandkeepingitwithinguidelinesandoutofhugefines.
Overthesummerof2013ItookatestfromtheSocietyofBrodcastEngineerstobecome
certifiedradiooperator.TheFCCrequireseveryradiostationtohaveatleastonecertified

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operator,Iamoneonofthefew.certifiedradiooperatorsmustknowahugedealaboutallthing
inradiobroadcasting,fromtheFCCrulesandguidelinestodailystationoperation,stationlogs
andEAS(EmergencyAlertSystem)onthetechnicalsideCROsmustunderstandstationlayout,
flowofsignal,howtousesoundmixers,microphones,computerbasedrecordingsystems,
telephoneinterfacesystems,remotecontrolsystems,audiopatchingandrouting,equalizers,
headphones,audioprocessors,satellitesystemsandgeneraltechnology.
Acertifiedradioengineermusthaveatleastfiveyearsofsuitableexperiencein
broadcastengineeringandachieveapassinggradeontheexam.Workingwithabroadcast
engineerforthreeyears,Ihaveseenanddonemuchmorethanieverknewexisted,fromgeneral
maintenanceandkeepinglogstoclimbingtowersandbeingneckdeepinmanuals.Adayswork
foracertifiedBroadcastengineerconsistsofworkingonbrokenequipment,makingwires
generatorupkeep,installingnewthings,buildingnewsites(Turner).
In2012,Iassistedinbuildingourfifthtransmittersite(atransmittersitereceivesthe
mainsignalandrebroadcastitonadifferencefrequencythereforeexpandingthereachofthe
station)Iassistedineverypartfromdiggingtheholetotyingrebartopouringconcrete.ialso
assistedinbuildingthetower,andsettingthetransmitterbuilding.Thenextpartthatismost
tedious:installingthetransmittersandservers,androuters,andreceiversgettingallthepower
runtoitspecificspotsitsgettingeverysmallwireinitsplace,everyziptieeveryscrewandbolt,
Thatmakesitcometogetherinonebigpuzzleandrunsmoothly(Turner).Thefeelingof
completingsuchalargeprojectwithonlyfourworkersmakesallthehardworkworthit.

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WearenowbroadcastingGodswordinanotherlocation,alocationwheretherewasnoChristian
radio.wearenowworkingonpaperworkforanothertransmittersiteanditwillsoonbesending
outmoreGoodNewstomorepeople.
Thenextjobiwouldconsiderwouldbeawirelessnetworkengineer.AWNEisan
individualwhoisconcernedwiththesetupmaintenanceandtroubleshootingofallwireless
networks(Janssan).Fromsmallbusinesstechsandinternetproviderstolargecellcompanieslike
AT&T,allwirelessnetworkengineershavethesamefunction.Whatiswirelesstoyou,is
Wallsofcablesandswitchesandserversonourend(Hillenbrand)
Imyselfamveryversedinnetworking,havinghelpedsetupmultiplenetworksfor
transmittersitesandIunderstandtheNetworkingworld.IhavenotonlysetmyownStaticIPup,
butihavealsosetupprofessionalUbiquitiAirvisionIPcamsmyselfwhichwireintoaswitch
andthenshootona5GHzsignaltomyhousewherethatsignalissenttomyserver,theend
result,bytypingthe9digitaddressintoabrowserthatIcanstreamandwatchrecordingsonthe
camswhereverandwheneverIneedto.Iamnowcurrentlyworkingoninstallingthosesame
camerasupforallofourtransmittersstations.
Inthiscomputerizedgeneration,myknowledgewillgetmefarinwhateverjobIpursue.
WhetheritistalkingintoamicrophoneormakingsurethattheFM/AM/DigitalAudioSignal,
reachesyourstereoswithclarity,orsendingyoutheInternetrighttoyourhomeormobile
device,orevenstraighttoyourcarortruck,Iwillbepreparedandready.