Career profile for Telecommunications Line Technician

What does a Telecommunications Line Technician do?

Telecommunications Line Technicians install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.

What kind of tasks does a Telecommunications Line Technician perform regularly?

Telecommunications Line Technicians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment.
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.
Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
Access specific areas to string lines, or install terminal boxes, auxiliary equipment, or appliances, using bucket trucks, 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.
Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches.
Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.
Dig trenches for underground wires or cables.

The above responsibilities are specific to Telecommunications Line Technicians. More generally, Telecommunications Line Technicians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Performing General Physical Activities		Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment		Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events		Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Performing General Physical Activities

Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment

Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events

Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Handling and Moving Objects

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

What is a Telecommunications Line Technician salary?

The median salary for a Telecommunications Line Technician is $58,870, and the average salary is $61,860. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Telecommunications Line Technician salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Telecommunications Line Technicians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Telecommunications Line Technicians earn less than $34,180 per year, 25% earn less than $41,060, 75% earn less than $82,030, and 90% earn less than $97,840.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Telecommunications Line Technicians is expected to change by -0.6%, and there should be roughly 13,100 open positions for Telecommunications Line Technicians every year.

Median annual salary: $58,870
Typical salary range: $34,180 - $97,840
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): -0.6%

What personality traits are common among Telecommunications Line Technicians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Telecommunications Line Technician are usually higher in their Realistic interests.

Telecommunications Line Technicians typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Telecommunications Line Technician tend to value Support, Relationships, and Independence.

Most importantly, Telecommunications Line Technicians strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Telecommunications Line Technicians moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Telecommunications Line Technicians moderately value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Telecommunications Line Technicians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, attention to detail, and cooperation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Telecommunications Line Technicians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

What education and training do Telecommunications Line Technicians need?

Working as a Telecommunications Line Technician usually requires a high school diploma.

Telecommunications Line Technicians need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Telecommunications Line Technicians

5.8% did not complete high school or secondary school
38.3% completed high school or secondary school
31.8% completed some college coursework
12.8% earned a Associate's degree
9.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
1.5% earned a Master's degree
0.2% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Telecommunications Line Technicians

Telecommunications Line Technicians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as telecommunications, customer and personal service, or public safety and security knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Telecommunications Line Technicians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Telecommunications		Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Telecommunications

Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Important Abilities needed by Telecommunications Line Technicians

Telecommunications Line Technicians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Telecommunications Line Technicians need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and near vision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Telecommunications Line Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Critical Skills needed by Telecommunications Line Technicians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Telecommunications Line Technicians frequently use skills like speaking, critical thinking, and complex problem solving to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Telecommunications Line Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Complex Problem Solving		Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Operations Monitoring		Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
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.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

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.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Telecommunications Line Technician

Telecommunications Line Technician

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