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Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
Install, set up, rearrange, or remove switching, distribution, routing, and dialing equipment used in central offices or headends. Service or repair telephone, cable television, Internet, and other communications equipment on customers' property. May install communications equipment or communications wiring in buildings.
Other titles employers use
Broadband Technician · Central Office Technician · Combination Technician · Customer Service Technician (CST) · Field Technician · Install and Repair Technician · Installer · Outside Plant Technician
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Demonstrate equipment to customers and explain its use, responding to any inquiries or complaints.
- Test circuits and components of malfunctioning telecommunications equipment to isolate sources of malfunctions, using test meters, circuit diagrams, polarity probes, and other hand tools.
- Test repaired, newly installed, or updated equipment to ensure that it functions properly and conforms to specifications, using test equipment and observation.
- Climb poles and ladders, use truck-mounted booms, and enter areas such as manholes and cable vaults to install, maintain, or inspect equipment.
- Assemble and install communication equipment such as data and telephone communication lines, wiring, switching equipment, wiring frames, power apparatus, computer systems, and networks.
- Run wires between components and to outside cable systems, connecting them to wires from telephone poles or underground cable accesses.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to practical and organizing work.
- Practical
- Building, repairing, using tools, or working outdoors
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Critical Thinking
- Operations Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Active Listening
Subjects to know
- Customer and Personal Service
- Telecommunications
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Mathematics
Useful strengths
- Oral Comprehension
- Problem Sensitivity
- Near Vision
- Visual Color Discrimination
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 3.5 | Shared rooms, but not shoulder to shoulder |
| On your feet | 3.5 | Up and down through the day |
| Talking face to face | 4.3 | A regular part of the day |
| Working with your hands | 4.3 | Handling tools, instruments or materials |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a postsecondary certificate. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- High school or less 43%
- A certificate or some college 32%
- A four-year degree 17%
- A two-year degree 8%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Computer aided design CAD software
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Electronic mail software
- Presentation software
- Word processing software
- Analytical or scientific software
- Web platform development software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 21,500
- Job openings each year
- 2,300
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 15.3%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 21,500 | 2,300 | 15.3% |
| Florida | 16,200 | 1,740 | 16.4% |
| California | 14,800 | 1,540 | 8.0% |
| Georgia | 8,580 | 880 | 4.9% |
| Illinois | 7,670 | 760 | −2.0% |
| New York | 7,530 | 0 | — |
| North Carolina | 6,180 | 660 | 16.4% |
| Pennsylvania | 6,090 | 630 | 6.3% |
| Colorado | 5,040 | 540 | 13.0% |
| Missouri | 4,450 | 450 | 2.3% |
| Washington | 4,350 | 440 | — |
| Virginia | 4,110 | 410 | −1.0% |
| Michigan | 3,970 | 410 | 7.9% |
| Ohio | 3,920 | 410 | 12.0% |
| Arizona | 3,890 | 400 | 7.2% |
| South Carolina | 3,460 | 360 | 4.8% |
| Alabama | 3,240 | 340 | 9.5% |
| Indiana | 3,020 | 300 | 1.0% |
| Louisiana | 2,960 | 300 | 5.3% |
| New Jersey | 2,940 | 280 | −10.6% |
| Tennessee | 2,720 | 280 | 9.2% |
| Minnesota | 2,670 | 280 | 9.9% |
| Wisconsin | 2,600 | 260 | 2.4% |
| Maryland | 2,560 | 260 | 6.2% |
| Kentucky | 2,240 | 230 | 8.2% |
| Iowa | 2,140 | 220 | 8.1% |
| Mississippi | 2,080 | 220 | 8.9% |
| Connecticut | 2,070 | 200 | −3.3% |
| Oklahoma | 1,840 | 190 | 9.5% |
| Oregon | 1,770 | 180 | 1.7% |
| Utah | 1,740 | 180 | 10.8% |
| Arkansas | 1,710 | 170 | −2.3% |
| Kansas | 1,470 | 140 | −5.2% |
| Puerto Rico | 1,430 | 150 | 10.0% |
| Nebraska | 1,390 | 150 | 13.9% |
| New Mexico | 1,340 | 140 | 11.7% |
| Massachusetts | 1,260 | 130 | 5.9% |
| New Hampshire | 1,140 | 120 | 8.6% |
| Nevada | 970 | 100 | 11.5% |
| West Virginia | 830 | 90 | 9.2% |
| Idaho | 770 | 80 | 8.5% |
| North Dakota | 760 | 80 | 8.6% |
| Montana | 750 | 80 | 5.6% |
| Alaska | 560 | 60 | −5.1% |
| Maine | 500 | 50 | 8.7% |
| Delaware | 450 | 40 | −19.6% |
| District of Columbia | 440 | 50 | 10.0% |
| Rhode Island | 410 | 40 | 5.1% |
| Wyoming | 370 | 40 | 8.8% |
| South Dakota | 360 | 40 | 9.1% |
| Vermont | 290 | 30 | — |
| Guam | 250 | 30 | 8.7% |
| Virgin Islands | 70 | 10 | 40.0% |
Career to college
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