Most people like to watch TV, right? Well, you better believe Netflix and chill would not be a thing without the help of cable technicians. These miracle workers are responsible for installing, repairing and maintaining the cables that are necessary for internet and television services.
And it's not like it's an easy job either. The cables have high voltages that could kill someone instantly. Plus they have to work in all kinds of weather, since the job primarily takes place outside. So the next time you see a cable technician, you should thank them. They're the real reason you're able to binge-watch shows.
Cable Technician Overview
Cable Technician Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a cable technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.93 an hour? That's $39,375 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -6% and produce -13,100 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Cable Technician Do
There are certain skills that many cable technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed color vision, customer-service skills and dexterity.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a cable technician, we found that a lot of resumes listed 14.4% of cable technicians included customer service, while 9.1% of resumes included hand tools, and 7.0% of resumes included tv. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the cable technician job title. But what industry to start with? Most cable technicians actually find jobs in the technology and telecommunication industries.
How To Become a Cable Technician
If you're interested in becoming a cable technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 13.6% of cable technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.4% of cable technicians have master's degrees. Even though some cable technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a cable technician. When we researched the most common majors for a cable technician, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on cable technician resumes include bachelor's degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a cable technician. In fact, many cable technician jobs require experience in a role such as technician. Meanwhile, many cable technicians also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or cashier.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Cable Technician Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a cable technician can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as technician, progress to a title such as team leader and then eventually end up with the title project manager.
Cable Technician
Project Manager
7 Years
Account Manager
5 Years
Service Manager
6 Years
Co-Owner
6 Years
Product Manager
6 Years
Information Technology Manager
7 Years
Show More
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Cable Technician
Cable Technicians in America make an average salary of $39,375 per year or $19 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $52,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $29,000 per year.
Average Salary
$39,375
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Tradestar, Inc. Cable Technician Cable Technician | Tradestar, Inc. Tradestar, Inc. | 01/31/2021 01/31/2021 | $29,21801/31/2021 $29,218 |
Robert Half Cable Technician Cable Technician | Robert Half Robert Half | 12/18/2020 12/18/2020 | $49,56612/18/2020 $49,566 |
Robert Half Cable Technician Cable Technician | Robert Half Robert Half | 12/15/2020 12/15/2020 | $50,00012/15/2020 $50,000 |
Quality Communications Cable Care Technician Cable Care Technician | Quality Communications Quality Communications | 12/05/2020 12/05/2020 | $37,56612/05/2020 $37,566 |
Robert Half Cable Technician Cable Technician | Robert Half Robert Half | 12/02/2020 12/02/2020 | $39,65312/02/2020 $39,653 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Cable Technician Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Cable Technician. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Cable Technician Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Cable Technician resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Cable Technicians
1. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
2. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce
Mercedita, PR • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,914
Enrollment
4,155
3. Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI • Public
In-State Tuition
$11,788
Enrollment
11,008
4. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon
Bayamon, PR • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,940
Enrollment
4,169
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary
Top Skills For a Cable Technician
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.4% of cable technicians listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as color vision and customer-service skills are important as well.
- Customer Service, 14.4%
- Hand Tools, 9.1%
- TV, 7.0%
- Crawl Spaces, 5.5%
- Test Results, 4.7%
- Other Skills, 59.3% See All Cable Technician Skills
Best States For a Cable Technician
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a cable technician. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, Alaska, South Carolina, and West Virginia. Cable technicians make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $55,697. Whereas in Alaska and South Carolina, they would average $46,819 and $44,656, respectively. While cable technicians would only make an average of $43,848 in West Virginia, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. South Carolina
Total Cable Technician Jobs:
513
Highest 10% Earn:
$71,000
Location Quotient:
1.33
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$44,656
Avg. Salary
2. West Virginia
Total Cable Technician Jobs:
159
Highest 10% Earn:
$72,000
Location Quotient:
1.21
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$43,848
Avg. Salary
3. Alaska
Total Cable Technician Jobs:
96
Highest 10% Earn:
$55,000
Location Quotient:
1.33
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$46,819
Avg. Salary
How Do Cable Technician Rate Their Jobs?
Top Cable Technician Employers
Cable Technician Videos
Time Warner Cable - Technician.mpg
Voice and Data Cabling Technicians Toolbox
On the Job with a Charter Technician