Errr, hi?
Long time lurker... Decided it was time to be a bit more active here.
Been playing with electronics since i was a kid, started out with the Dick Smith kits, and never really looked back. These days i work as both an IT Systems Admin/Network Admin as well as communications system designer/engineer. I'm not uni qualified engineer (though i do have a selectoin of TAFE and industry qualifications) - just a job title which i'm not a big fan of, to be honest. More than a technician, though i do also have to do a lot of hands-on work as i'm employed for a relatively small company, so getting dirty is a bit of a requirement.
I work with copper, fibre and RF networks, pretty much of all types - Analogue/DSL, Ethernet, GPON, CATV, Large scale Wi-Fi, LTE, Microwave, etc etc. Mostly work on private networks and big business systems in remote areas (combination of City based and in the most remote areas of Australia). Partly due to my previous experience, and partly due to physical requirements (working as remote as i sometimes do) i have to know both the RF/physical side of systems as well as the software side, so being a "dual trade" for want of a better term, of both IT and Comms is a good fit. Jack of all trades, master of none, as they say. Handy to have a variety of skills when your nearest 'help' is over 1000Km away, if you even have phone or internet coverage
Also a Ham radio operator, have been involved since i was a kid through my father, slowly studying for my advanced license... I could probably pass a test now if i went for it, but would rather be 100% confident walking into the test, and i'm not in a real hurry, i get a fair chunk of the spectrum and reasonable power output levels as it is as a 'standard' call. Wouldn't mind having access to more of the microwave frequencies, and bigger power for VHF/UHF DX work (where 6dB makes all the difference), however.
Wouldn't mind moving more into the comms side of the business, but the company i work for is an IT business first, Comms second. I've been slowly growing that side of the company where i can, but being only a small company, it's customer demand driven, rather than going out and actively pursuing the market. Something more technical - and less IT - would be preferable, so we'll see how it goes in the coming years.
At home i like tinkering around with my radio gear, antennas, arduino gear and starting to get into home automation stuff too - next home i buy/build i hope to be able to do all the 'smarts' for it myself, particularly in terms of climate control, lights, power usage monitoring, etc. Most of what i'm learning on that side of things is working towards that goal. Oh, i also grow fish and vegetables in a closed loop (aquaponics) in my back yard too. That's tonights dinner