Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers

Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.

What you'd actually do

• Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment.
• Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories.
• Measure signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment.
• Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
• Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
• Access specific areas to string lines, or install terminal boxes, auxiliary equipment, or appliances, using bucket trucks, climbing poles or ladders, or entering tunnels, trenches, or crawl spaces.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

Much of the work happens outdoors; you're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job; it rewards working independently. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 1.3% of telecommunications line installers and repairers are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.

Related careers

• Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
• Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment
• First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
• Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
• Millwrights
• Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines

Quick questions

How much does a telecommunications line installers and repairer make?

The median pay is $35.73 per hour — roughly $74,500 a year, with the real range running from about $21.79/hr (10th percentile) to $49.85/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a telecommunications line installers and repairer?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a telecommunications line installers and repairer actually do all day?

Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment. Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories. Measure signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment.