Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers

Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.

Median Annual Wage: $54,450

Education: High school diploma or equivalent (60%); Post-secondary certificate (14%); Less than high school diploma (13%)

Projected Growth: Slower than average (3% to 7%)

Related Job Titles: Service Technician; Installer; Field Service Technician; Lineman; Combination Technician; Outside Plant Technician; Cable Splicer; Cable Technician; Installation and Repair Technician (I & R Technician); Cable Television Technician (CATV Technician)

Browse Job Listings

Browse Schools

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers.

More Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Careers

  • 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, or by climbing poles or ladders, or entering tunnels, trenches, or crawl spaces.
  • Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.
  • String cables between structures and lines from poles, towers, or trenches and pull lines to proper tension.
  • Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
  • Lay underground cable directly in trenches or string it through conduits running through trenches.
  • Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.
  • Dig trenches for underground wires or cables.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers.

  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers.

Search Local Job Listings