Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
The work is installing, rearranging, and removing switching and routing equipment in central offices and headends, and servicing phone, cable television, and internet gear on customers' property. Day to day, that means assembling lines and wiring, running connections to poles or underground cables, and testing circuits with meters, polarity probes, and diagrams to find faults. The job also involves climbing poles and ladders, using truck-mounted booms, and entering manholes and cable vaults, plus showing customers how equipment works and answering their questions. It suits people who like hands-on diagnostics, careful color-coded wiring, and a mix of office, building, and outdoor site work.
Typical education: High School Diploma or GED
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$63'890
Median Wage Market Position
$63'890
What you might do
- Install switching and routing gear at phone offices
- Connect building wiring to outside cable systems
- Trace faults in phone and internet equipment
- Climb poles or enter manholes to inspect gear
- Test new cable and internet hookups on site
- Show customers how their phone equipment works
Skills that matter
- Isolating the source of a circuit fault
- Installing switching gear and building wiring
- Testing new or repaired equipment against specifications
- Showing equipment and answering customer complaints
- Reading circuit diagrams before a repair
- Matching wire colors so connections stay correct
AI & the future of this role
Software may guide cable routing and speed up remote troubleshooting for phones and internet gear. On-site installs, customer-premises access, and messy real-world wiring still rely on skilled field technicians.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details