About This Career

Installs and repairs telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.

This career is part of the Arts, Audio-Video Technology and Communications cluster Telecommunications pathway.

A person in this career:

• Sets up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment.
• Travels to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories.
• Measures signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment.
• Inspects or tests lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
• Splices cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
• Accesses specific areas to string lines, or installs terminal boxes, auxiliary equipment, or appliances, using bucket trucks, climbing poles or ladders, or entering tunnels, trenches, or crawl spaces.
• Strings cables between structures and lines from poles, towers, or trenches, and pulls lines to proper tension.
• Cleans or maintains tools or test equipment.
• Pulls up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
• Lays underground cable directly in trenches, or strings it through conduits running through trenches.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 50 lbs., sometimes up to 100 lbs. You will need a lot of strength at this level.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Requires getting into awkward positions
• Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to conditions such as high voltage electricity, combustibles, explosives, and chemicals more than once a month
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time
• Work at heights above 8 feet more than once a month on structures such as ladders, poles, scaffolding, and catwalks

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Overnight travel
• Overtime work
• Weekend work