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.
📋Key Responsibilities
- •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.
- •Test connections to ensure that power supplies are adequate and that communications links function.
- •Note differences in wire and cable colors so that work can be performed correctly.
💡Inside This Career
The telecom technician installs and maintains communications equipment—setting up switching systems, maintaining network infrastructure, and ensuring that telecommunications services function reliably. A typical day centers on equipment work. Perhaps 70% of time goes to installation and repair: installing equipment, configuring systems, troubleshooting problems, performing maintenance. Another 20% involves testing and documentation—verifying performance, completing records. The remaining time addresses customer coordination and travel.
People who thrive as telecom technicians combine electronics knowledge with networking expertise and the systematic approach that communications troubleshooting requires. Successful technicians develop proficiency with telecommunications systems while building the diagnostic abilities that complex network problems demand. They must trace problems through interconnected systems. Those who struggle often cannot master the complexity of modern telecommunications or find the troubleshooting tedious. Others fail because they cannot keep current with rapidly evolving technology.
Telecommunications installation and repair represents essential infrastructure work, with technicians maintaining the systems that enable voice and data communication. The field has evolved dramatically with technology changes. Telecom technicians appear in discussions of network careers, communications infrastructure, and the workers who maintain connectivity.
Practitioners cite the essential work and the technical depth as primary rewards. Enabling communications is meaningful. The technical complexity is engaging for problem-solvers. The industry evolution provides learning opportunity. The demand remains strong for connectivity. The skills transfer across telecommunications contexts. The independence of field work suits some. Common frustrations include the technology pace and the pressure. Many find that constant technology change makes skills obsolete. Outage pressure is intense—communications must work. The complexity creates difficult troubleshooting. Shift work is common for network operations. The field service aspects require travel.
This career requires telecommunications training and certifications. Strong electronics knowledge, networking ability, and diagnostic skills are essential. The role suits those who want communications technical careers and can handle complexity. It is poorly suited to those uncomfortable with technology change, wanting simple systems, or preferring predictable problems. Compensation is moderate to good for technical telecommunications work.
📈Career Progression
📚Education & Training
Requirements
- •Entry Education: High school diploma or equivalent
- •Experience: One to two years
- •On-the-job Training: One to two years
- !License or certification required
Time & Cost
🤖AI Resilience Assessment
AI Resilience Assessment
Low Exposure: AI has limited applicability to this work; stable employment prospects
How much of this job involves tasks AI can currently perform
Likelihood that AI replaces workers vs. assists them
(BLS 2024-2034)
How much this role relies on distinctly human capabilities
💻Technology Skills
⭐Key Abilities
🏷️Also Known As
🔗Related Careers
Other careers in installation-repair
🔗Data Sources
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