Career
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers
Install and fix the equipment that keeps us connected.
$63,890
Median pay
-3.3%
Job growth, 2025–35
11,300
Openings a year
Postsecondary nondegree award
Typical education
Under 2 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Note differences in wire and cable colors so that work can be performed correctly.
- Test circuits and components of malfunctioning telecommunications equipment to isolate sources of malfunctions, using test meters, circuit diagrams, polarity probes, and other hand tools.
- Drive crew trucks to and from work areas.
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Note differences in wire and cable colors so that work can be performed correctly.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Repairing, Troubleshooting, Critical Thinking, Quality Control Analysis.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
Under 2 years of education after high school (postsecondary nondegree award), for a median of $63,890 a year and 11,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Communications Systems Installation and Repair Technology/TechnicianCIP 47.0103
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers$74,330 · -3.4%
- Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers$63,520 · +1.2%
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment$74,090 · +0.3%
- Telecommunications Engineering Specialists
- Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers$52,600 · +4.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.