Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$63,890

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$51,830 – $81,690

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

140,920

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-3.3%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

11,300

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Postsecondary nondegree award

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

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.

Main tasks

• 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.
• Inspect equipment on a regular basis to ensure proper functioning.
• Collaborate with other workers to locate and correct malfunctions.
• Climb poles and ladders, use truck-mounted booms, and enter areas such as manholes and cable vaults to install, maintain, or inspect equipment.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Postsecondary nondegree award

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 3

Medium preparation

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers

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• Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment

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• Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers

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• Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment

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• Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers

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