How To Become A Cable Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a cable operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a cable operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.36 an hour? That's $36,106 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 12,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCable OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,106

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 4.95%

Black or African American 11.30%

Hispanic or Latino 15.39%

Unknown 6.24%

White 61.75%

Gender

female 27.88%

male 72.12%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

4.1

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.8

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a cable operator

Explore cable operator education requirements

Most common cable operator degrees

High School Diploma

40.6 %

Bachelor's

26.0 %

Associate

18.8 %

Start to develop specific cable operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Doff	48.92%
Hand Tools	28.18%
Safety Standards	8.36%
Quality Checks	8.12%
RAN	2.48%

Complete relevant cable operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cable operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cable operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cable operator resumes.

Research cable operator duties and responsibilities

Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Start and doff cones of ply yarn and place on doff rack.
Supervise the extrusion dept, braiding dept, cabling dept and shipping dept.
Inspect cable, measure samples using an OD tape and enter information on appropriate paperwork.

Prepare your cable operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cable operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a cable operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable cable operator resume templates

Build a professional cable operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your cable operator resume.